A climate activist was pulled off the highway as they were in the process of gluing themselves to the Germany’s Bundesautobahn 9, which connects Munich and Berlin. Video footage shows a police officer dragging the protester off the road before they were able to stick their palm to it, in an incident that happened Monday, December 5.
The activist was reportedly a member of the Last Generation, a student-led activist organization that is focused on raising awareness about the need to act to prevent the worst effects of climate change. The action is just the latest in a line of increasingly public protests that have received wide attention.
In October, the “Extinction Rebellion France” group, took credit for a number of activists who threw oil on the hoods of a trio of classic Ferraris at the Paris auto show and glued themselves to the cars.
That group, specifically, was denouncing the automotive industry, which it claimed was attempting to launder its image with “green vehicles, but continues to promote individual cars as the future of transportation.”
Another group of protesters, operating under the “Scientist Rebellion” banner, glued themselves to the floor of the Porsche exhibit at Volkswagen’s Autostadt museum, in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Their protest lasted 30 hours and their demands included the implementation of a 62 mph (100 km/h) speed limit on highways, a move they claimed could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.4 million tonnes per year.
Although the protests have ended peacefully, a pair of activists is being charged with impeding an emergency response vehicle, reports Reuters. They were part of another group of protesters who glued themselves to a road in Berlin, on October 31.
A fire truck was caught up in the traffic jam that was created by that protest, and authorities say that it was delayed in its response to an accident that involving a cyclist who was critically injured after being run over by a cement truck.
20 hours and counting!
“We do this because it is an emergency and we have to act as such.”
We demand that the CEO of @VW pushes for a 100 km/h speed limit. It would immediately reduce emissions by 5.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gases every year.
We demand commitment to life. pic.twitter.com/sxIKhJUZYh
— Scientist Rebellion (@ScientistRebel1) October 20, 2022