Climate activists glued themselves to the runways at Germany's largest airport in Frankfurton Thursday morning. The day before,  activists blocked the airport in Cologne/Bonn, also temporarily suspending air traffic there.

The protest action was well-timed: Germany's summer vacation period has just begun and hundreds of flights had to be canceled.

The Last Generation group has claimed responsibility for the latest actions, with activist Lina Johnson defending the campaign.

"We feel sorry for the people who want to go on vacation. We also feel sorry for the delays," she told DW. "But we all act as if we live in a reality that no longer exists. I would describe the governments in Germany and elsewhere as a real danger and the real criminals. Because they are burning more and more fossil fuels and investing in fossil forms of energy. This is a complete betrayal of the younger generation."

But German politicians beg to differ. In the state of Hesse, home to Frankfurt Airport, the head of government, Boris Rhein, reacted strongly to the brief disruption, stressing its far-reaching consequences.

"These irresponsible and criminal climate hooligans are only interested in causing as much damage as possible on the backs of thousands of holidaymakers who are looking forward to a few days of vacation," he said.

Who is the Last Generation?

Last Generation was formed in 2021, the name a nod to the fact that activists consider themselves the last generation before the Earth reaches the tipping point of climate breakdown. In Germany, their protests have mainly focused on blocking roads and runways in an effort to affect transport policy. They derived from the international climate movement Fridays for Future led by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, which got hundreds of thousands of young people to go onto the streets around the world to demand more climate protection.

Famous buildings and works of art have also been targeted by attacks with paint and other liquids, also in Germany, where Last Generation has an estimated 500 to 600 members. The group, which is mainly financed by donations, even stood in the European elections at the beginning of June, but only received 0.3% of the vote.

The name of the group goes back to a quote from former US President Barack Obama in 2014. At the time, he said: "We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it."

Climate protection disappears from headlines

The new disruptions come at a time when concerns over immigration, security and inflation have pushed climate change to the back of German voters' minds. In times of high energy prices, wars and growing populism, many people in Germany have no appetite for climate protection measures.

Campaigns such as a paint attack on the world-famous Brandenburg Gate in Berlin last fall have raised the temperature of the protests. Cleaning the Berlin landmark cost €150,000 ($162,000). Group members network across international borders, with activists in other countries also resorting to radical means.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described Last Generation's climate protests as "completely crazy."

In Berlin, a climate activist of the Last Generation group was sentenced to one year and four months in prison in mid-July. The district court found her guilty of damage to property, resisting law enforcement officers and coercion.

In response to widespread harsh criticism, Last Generation had announced to refrain from further disruptions on roads and airports in early 2024. The new actions in Frankfurt and Cologne/Bonn seem to indicate a change of mind.

Just last week, the German government reacted to the many previous disruptions to public life and decided to amend the Aviation Security Act. In the future, anyone who forcibly enters an airport and thus "impairs the security of civil air traffic" can be punished with up to two years in prison.

This article was originally written in German.

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