And yet, the 19-year-old recently landed in jail for doing just that, in protest at the German government’s failure to act on climate change. Schinkoethe is part of a group called Uprising of the Last Generation that claims the world has only a few years to turn the wheel and avoid catastrophic levels of global warming. Like-minded activists elsewhere in Europe have disrupted major sporting events such as the Tour de France and the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone in recent weeks, while others taped themselves to the frame of a painting at London’s Royal Academy of Arts on Tuesday. But Schinkoethe’s group has mainly targeted ordinary commuters in cities like Berlin, who, on any given day this summer, might find themselves in an hours-long queue caused by a handful of activists sticking to the tarmac. Their actions have sparked outrage and threats from aggrieved motorists. Tabloid media and some politicians have accused them of wreaking havoc and harming ordinary people just trying to go about their business. Some have labeled them dangerous radicals. Schinkoethe says the escalation of tactics is justified. “If we wanted people to like us, then we’d do something else, but we’ve tried everything else,” he told The Associated Press. “Fine, we asked. We showed calm.” He remembers taking part in the Fridays for Future protests led by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, which saw hundreds of thousands of students around the world skip school and demonstrate for a better world. “I was really hoping that something would change, that politicians would react and finally take us and the science of climate change seriously,” he said. “But we’re still headed for a world that’s 3 to 4 degrees Celsius (5.4 to 7.2 Fahrenheit) warmer.” Such a rise in global temperatures is more than double the 1.5 C (2.7 F) limit agreed by countries in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. While progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the experts agree that the goal is still far away. Scientists agree that the world has no time to waste in reducing emissions, but have tried to counter the “catastrophicism” by arguing that the world is not heading for a single cliff edge so much as a long, steep slope with many sharp drops. “Every tenth of a degree matters,” said Ricarda Winkelmann, a scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research near Berlin. “If we really start acting now and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, the chances are that we can limit some of the most serious climate impacts,” he said. Such messages are lost on many of those caught up in the blockades. In two protests witnessed by The AP in June and July, several truckers emerged from their cabs to rebuke activists. One pulled two protesters off the street. Other drivers, some of whom were unaffected by the blockade, also pelted the activists. Some expressed support for the climate cause, but questioned the manner in which the protests were conducted. “They need to find a different way to do this than blocking other people,” said a commuter who would only give his name as Stefan. Berlin’s mayor has called the road blockades “crimes”, while the city’s top security official is demanding prosecutors and courts quickly issue convictions. So far, no case has gone to trial. However, Schinkoethe believes she has no choice but to continue. “We need to create friction, peaceful friction, so that there is an honest discussion and we can act accordingly,” he said. That sentiment was echoed by Ernst Hoermann, a retired railway engineer and grandfather of eight who regularly traveled to Berlin from Bavaria to take part in the protests. “Basically we have to cause discomfort until it hurts,” he said as an officer tried to pry him off the road with cooking oil. Similar protests led to weeks of jail sentences in Britain, where the government sought court orders to preemptively stop road blockades by the group Insulate Britain. Hoermann, 72, said he doesn’t fear fines or the prospect of jail time. “It doesn’t compare to the fear I have for my children,” she said. Last Generation recently tried to focus attention on Germany’s plans to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea. Despite having the most ambitious climate target of any major industrialized nation, Germany’s centre-left government is trying like other European countries to replace Russian energy imports and avoid painful fuel shortages in the coming years. Schinkoethe says the number of people participating in the group’s actions has grown from 30 to 200 within six months, and argues that the blockades follow a tradition of civil disobedience seen during the US civil rights movement and struggle for women’s suffrage. “What we’re doing is illegal,” he said. “At the same time it is legitimate.” Manuel Ostermann, a senior official of one of Germany’s police unions, accused the group of committing crimes while posing as victims. “Where the process of radicalization begins, extremism is not far away,” he tweeted. Members of the Last Generation sought to counter this, citing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who earlier this year said that “the really dangerous radicals are the countries that increase fossil fuel production.” “I will continue until the government locks me and the other activists up for our peaceful protests or gives in to our demands,” Schinkoethe said.
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