“… what does that lead to?”
Habeck opposes the last generation
06/09/2023, 3:35 p.m
Robert Habeck believes that the climate issue should not be the overriding concern. To underline this view, the economics minister lashes out against the last generation: with their actions, the activists would do more harm than good to climate protection. The spokeswoman for the climate group disagrees.
According to Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, the last generation group’s pasting campaigns are damaging efforts to protect the climate. “This process prevents a majority for climate protection,” said the Green politician at the Evangelical Church Congress in Nuremberg. “It’s not helping with climate protection.”
He also warned against subordinating everything to climate protection. “If we put the climate issue above everything … what does that lead to?” asked Habeck. Energy was also used for the Kirchentag, for screens, lights and the arrival of tens of thousands of visitors. But would it be better not to hold the Kirchentag, he asked. “The question of guilt basically means that you are unable to act and think.”
“Shouldn’t I have had four sons because then CO2 emissions would be reduced? That’s hopeless,” emphasized the minister. The question must therefore be: “How do we create climate neutrality under the conditions of a functioning society?” It is important to take as many people as possible with you on the way to better climate protection, said Habeck: If politicians stop addressing and taking people with you, don’t work to ensure that there are majorities, then that opens up space for populism.
In this context, he also acknowledged communicative omissions in the debate about his controversial heating law. His approach initially “didn’t get through,” he admitted. But in the meantime one is “back on a path of solution orientation”. Habeck emphasized again: “This is a crucial law.”
The spokeswoman for the last generation, Carla Hinrichs, responded to Habeck’s criticism during a panel discussion: “Since when does the government consider the protest against itself to be right or wrong?” Shortly before the discussion, members of the Last Generation had glued themselves to the street in front of Nuremberg Central Station. Some of the asphalt around the eight activists was cut out, a police spokesman said. The climate protection group wrote on Twitter about this action: “No and Amen.”