Fridays for Future Draws Only Hundreds in Berlin as Germany Logs 12,500 Heat Deaths
Updated
Updated · DW (English) · Aug 15
Fridays for Future Draws Only Hundreds in Berlin as Germany Logs 12,500 Heat Deaths
1 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Aug 15
Summary
Only a few hundred people joined a Fridays for Future protest outside the chancellery last week, even as Germany faces record heat, 12,500 heat-related deaths so far in 2026 and widening drought and wildfire damage.
Activists blame weak turnout on climate-action fatigue, hostile online abuse and a federal government they say has stayed largely silent, still avoiding a national heat summit while relying on stopgap measures such as easing Sunday truck bans.
80% of Germans are worried about climate change and more than half support higher climate spending, but researchers say attention has shifted to Ukraine, Gaza and economic pressures while anti-climate political forces have grown stronger.
Berlin's response is also split internally: Environment Minister Carsten Schneider wants heat protection written into the Basic Law, while CDU/CSU partners resist and SPD lawmakers say coalition unity has forced compromises on climate policy.
Germany remains committed to climate neutrality by 2045 under the Paris Agreement and national law, but recent remarks from Chancellor Friedrich Merz have deepened doubts about how hard the government will push.