Climate activists call off protests in Austria – no longer believe in success

– We no longer see any prospects for success, the action group says in a statement.

For two and a half years, the climate activists have tried through a series of actions to persuade the government, consisting of the conservative party ÖVP and the Greens, and the citizens of Austria to turn their backs on fossil fuels.

They say they now realize that “Austria wants to remain ignorant of fossil fuels”, and that the country therefore indirectly accepts that they are “partially responsible for the death of billions of people”.

Risks large fines

The money left over from the group’s fundraising campaigns will go to cover the legal costs of members who are brought to court.

Several activists risk fines of several tens of thousands of euros for having participated in protests, according to Last Generation.

However, the climate group stresses that the fact that they are ending their climate campaign in Austria does not mean that there will be no more climate protests in the country, but that they will then be held under a new name.

Continues in Germany

– We give room for something new to emerge. We have engaged more people politically than ever before and planted the seeds for a peaceful uprising, they say.

Last generation Austria has received a lot of media attention for a series of protests over the past two years. Among other things, they have stuck to the streets, disrupted shareholder meetings, interrupted concerts and theater performances and participated in protests at European airports.

The group, which has German origins, has no plans to stop the protests in Germany. According to the group’s spokesperson Marion Fabian, on the contrary, they are planning further actions against German airports.