German climate activists will join the XR A12 blockade in The Hague

The supporters of the climate group Extinction Rebellion, who block the A12 highway in The Hague every day, could be joined by a more radical group from Germany, called “Letzte Generation”. This group plans to come to The Hague with about 100 people to participate in the traffic blockade on Saturday and Sunday.

Letzte Generation, German for Last Generation, is known in Germany for its road blockades, where activists sometimes glue themselves to the road. The action group has also been involved in actions involving artwork and the recent graffiti on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The action group also tried to disrupt the Berlin Marathon last Sunday.

Carla Hinrichs, spokesperson for Letzte Generation, stated “Fossil subsidies and governments lying about their deadly consequences are a global problem. The German government is investing billions in oil, gas, and coal while claiming to be doing everything it can to combat climate change. That is exactly what is happening in the Netherlands and actually all over the world. That is why we support Extinction Rebellion Netherlands in the A12 blockade.”

Extinction Rebellion said in a statement regarding the support of the German activist group that “The fact that the A12 blockades are also becoming known outside the Netherlands strengthens Extinction Rebellion's opposition to the annual 39.7 to 46.4 billion euros in fossil subsidies.”

Extinction Rebellion has been blocking the A12 every day since September 9. For the first 18 days, the protesters were held up near Malieveld, but since Wednesday there has been little police presence and the blockaders have been able to go into the tunnel. There they demonstrate between the temporary Tweede Kame and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

The climate activists want to keep up the blockades until the politicians have decided to abolish the so-called fossil subsidies. By this, the activists mean all regulations with which the government favors the use of fossil fuels. According to the Cabinet, all tax breaks, excise tax exemptions, and other schemes amount to 39.7 to 46.4 billion euros per year.