Newsletter #50 – 2021: How will it go on?
A turbulent 2020 is over. The climate justice movement has not been spared from the pandemic either. Nevertheless, we look back on a year of many successes – despite a challenging time. In this newsletter we will look back on last year and would like to invite you to the Ende Gelände alliance meeting on … Continued
A turbulent 2020 is over. The climate justice movement has not been spared from the pandemic either. Nevertheless, we look back on a year of many successes – despite a challenging time.
In this newsletter we will look back on last year and would like to invite you to the Ende Gelände alliance meeting on January 15th — 17th .
Decentralised mass action in September 2020
3,000 activists* successfully blocked coal and gas infrastructure throughout the Rhineland on the last weekend of September 2020. No buisness as usual this year, but 10 small camps, 14 mini-fingers and an extensive hygiene concept. Together with Fridays for Future and Alle Dörfer bleiben we claimed: We will not be stopped. The fight against the climate crisis continues – not despite, but precisely because of Corona. Because for both the climate and Corona crises counts: while corporations receive billions in gifts and continue to exploit people and the planet undisturbed, the costs fall on those who already have the least. With the action weekend we have revealed: Not with us. We remain disobedient. For climate justice worldwide — stop coal, save villages, dredge capitalism!
Actions during the eviction in the Dannenröder Forest
In November and December, we took part in the struggle for the Dannenröder Forest and campaigned together with the local squatters for a change of the transport sector. For over a year, forest squatters had protected the Dannenröder Forest, an intact mixed forest in northern Hesse, from being cleared for a highway route. The struggle culminated at the end of this year. Ende Gelände showed solidarity with the activists* on site in two spontaneous actions. Through the joint resistance, the clearing came to a complete standstill on the respective days and could be successfully blocked for the moment. In Dannenröder Forst, a clear sign was set that we as a climate justice movement stick together and that also in the future every anti-climate destructive project has to reckon with collective resistance and blockade!
Day X in Lützerath
The defense of the villages against RWE continues this year! On January 5, Day X was declared in Lützerath near Garzweiler! RWE has started to prepare houses for demolition after clearing work was already done in autumn. Local activists* are already occupying the roofs of some houses to prevent another village from falling victim to RWE’s excavators for no reason. Although expert opinions clearly show that the coal that lies under the villages is not necessary for a stable energy supply, the home of the residents continues to be destroyed for pure greed of profit and at the same time any climate goals are ignored (you can find the source to this statement here. On site support is urgently needed — so let’s go to Lützerath!
There is a contact person for all new arrivals, contact point is the Mahnwache Lützerath.
Please travel in your affinity groups and remember FFP2 masks. There will be a hygiene concept on site so that everyone can safely go into action. More information about actions in Lützerath can be found here: twitter.com/LuetziBleibt
Outlook 2021
Now we want to look ahead to 2021. In December and January, exciting debates on various topics have already been held at Ende Gelände: What will happen with coal, gas and the transport sector? What does the Bundestag (German government) election mean for us? What other topics could be interesting for us? We want to bring these debates together at the first Ende Gelände meeting in the new year and spin even more ideas for the new year.
<h4>To this end, we would like to invite everyone to discuss together at the online alliance meeting from January 15th — 17th and to start into a resistant 2021! This and the following alliance meeting are part of the joint strategy process of the climate justice movement for the new year.
Would you like to help shape the path to more climate justice policies this year? You want to get involved, join the discussion and find ways with many other motivated people how we can place and address the climate crisis as a central issue in this new year?
Now is a great time to start or rejoin Ende Gelände, because 2021 is still a blank slate for all of us.
We will start on January 15th at 17:30 with a welcome for new people and an introduction to the technology. Then on Saturday, we’ll debate together and share ideas and positions for the new year and beyond. On Sunday, the Alliance meeting will end around noon.
We are looking forward to seeing you!
We meet digitally via the software BigBlueButton. You’ll get the login details when you sign up here:
https://www.ende-gelaende.org/en/registration-digitales-bt/
We are looking forward to many old and new faces, to discussions, to exciting conversations and to many new creative ideas! We as the climate justice movement are once again especially loud and especially uncomfortable in this new year!
