Foreword by the Management Board - March 2023

Foreword by the management

Dear UfU member, dear friend,

These are truly turbulent times in which we live. While economic and energy crises are being triggered by a war that is now affecting the whole world, we are slowly but steadily running out of time to meet the 1.5 degree target. Thousands of people protested in Lützerath against RWE’s mining of the hamlet and the development of the coal under the village, and a new group, “The Last Generation”, is sparking debates about civil disobedience with its controversial forms of protest.

We are aware that the new federal government could have done with better starting conditions than a permanent fire-fighting campaign last year. Nevertheless, despite the inflation, energy crisis and a raging war in Europe, after one year of a traffic light government, it has to be said: There is not much left of the coalition agreement. The war in Ukraine has shifted the political focus and strongly influenced the policies of the federal government. 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, 200 billion euros for the energy crisis, fuel rebates, suspension of the_{CO2 tax increase}, new gas contracts with Qatar, LNG terminals supplied with fracking gas from the USA – all measures that show how dependent we still are on fossil fuels. Justifications can be found for each of these measures as to why they were necessary. At the same time, however, it is also clear that the German government is primarily trying to preserve our status quo with these measures.

However, there is still a lack of policies that initiate forward-looking changes. It is also possible, for example, that the Berlin school construction offensive wants to spend up to 700 million euros a year on school construction and maintenance in Berlin[1] without anchoring climate protection in this program, although emissions in the construction sector urgently need to be reduced. Furthermore, there is no political plan for a turnaround in transportation; the transportation sector misses every climate target by a wide margin. Time and again, planning acceleration is viewed too one-sidedly and attempts are made to restrict citizens’ opportunities to participate. For many people, especially younger people, this not only leads to frustration but also increasingly to climate anxiety.

Climate anxiety refers to “the increasing awareness that the ecological basis of our existence is in the process of collapse.”[2] This fear is affecting more and more young people around the world and is also on the rise in Germany. According to a study by Barmer Krankenkasse, 68% of young people in Germany are struggling with a great or moderate fear of climate change.[3] Studies in other countries show the same results. In a 2021 study, 10,000 young people aged between 16 and 25 from ten countries were asked about their attitudes towards climate change. It reveals a bleak picture of these young people with regard to their own future and the trust they have in their governments: 65% say that their government is letting young people down, 64% say that governments are lying about the impact of the measures taken and 60% of young people think that their own government is dismissing the plight of the people. At the same time, only 36% of respondents believe that governments act scientifically. [4]

So is it really so surprising that groups like the last generation are becoming more and more popular? And what does it say about a society that not only accepts the fact that the majority of its young citizens have great fears about the future, but also calls for prison sentences for the troublemakers the first time they rebel? It may be debatable whether the last generation is doing a disservice to climate change or not, and one may well feel disturbed by street blockades and other forms of action by the group. But fighting these groups only treats the symptom, not the disease. In the long term, it is a threat to democracy if an entire group in society, in this case young people, does not feel properly recognized. Anyone who wants peaceful coexistence, including between the generations, must ensure that young people can participate, that they can have hopes and plans for their own future and that their legitimate fears and concerns are taken seriously. This requires a political and social rethink from us and, above all, from the older generations. Our actions and policies must be future-oriented and take all people from young to old with us and change with a view to meeting climate targets. Otherwise, we will continue to give our young people a feeling of stagnation. Otherwise, we run the risk of these people losing faith in our society, democracy and our values. Then the last generation will not be the last grouping of this kind.

Florian Kliche & Dr. Michael Zschiesche
UfU Managing Director

[1] Senate Department of Finance 2022, The Berlin Senate’s school construction offensive

[2] Amelia Browne 2022, Earth Org, What is Climte Anxiety?

[3] Helmut Broeg 2022, Stern, What do we actually know about climate anxiety?

[4] Research and Teaching 2021, “Climate anxiety” widespread among young people?