Activists protest in front of the Ministry of Finance in Berlin on Monday, demanding global debt relief and climate justice Photo: picture alliance/dpa
From BZ/dpa
On the occasion of the G7 summit, climate protectionists blocked the entrance to the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin.
According to the police, around 40 activists have been occupying the front entrance of the building since Monday morning. A gate entrance was also blocked by around five to ten people.
Some of the activists also stuck to the building. In addition, according to the police, around 35 people are blocking Niederkirchnerstrasse in front of the ministry, with eight people sticking to the roadway. The police then blocked the street.
The activists held up signs that read something like “Global Debt = Global Crime” and “G7 You Owe, You Pay: Cancel the Debt” and “G7 you owe, you pay: cancel the debt”). They also smeared paint on Wilhelmstrasse in front of the ministry.
“Like many other countries in the Global North, Germany has a historical responsibility for the climate crisis, in a way a climate debt to the rest of the world, and as one of the G7 countries it also has an enormous influence on general world politics. That’s why our protest here is exactly right,” said activist Kim Weier, according to a statement on Monday.
The action is part of a series of demonstrations taking place under the title “Debt for Climate” on the occasion of the G7 summit. According to the announcement, the activists are calling for debt relief for countries in the Global South. The countries should be “freed from the debt trap” so that they would not have to mine fossil raw materials.