Climate protesters have been accused of endangering human lives after they once again blocked motorways in Germany.
Motorways in Germany have once again been blocked by climate protesters, sparking accusations that the activists involved are “endangering human lives” with the stunt by delaying emergency services.
Roads were once again reportedly blocked in Hamburg and Berlin by activists concerned with the effect food waste has on the climate on Friday morning, with similar protests occurring earlier this week.
According to a report by Bild, activists threw rotten food onto the road surface of Berlin’s Autobahn 100, with some activists reportedly glueing themselves to the tarmac.
The action — which was seemingly organised by the “Save Food – Save Lives” campaign — resulted in significant traffic jams, with delays being estimated at 40 minutes.
Campaigners widely publicised the demonstration on social media, with one post claiming that actions regarding climate today have a 98 per cent chance of killing “our children”.
“This is an emergency. We kill our children with a probability of 98 per cent,” wrote the climate group online. “More and more citizens are resisting peacefully across the country.”
However, others slammed the group’s actions, with one fire department spokesman, Rolf Erbe, reportedly calling the group out for endangering human lives.
“Current information for the fire brigade and rescue service: Due to a spontaneous demonstration, the Virchow Klinikum emergency centre cannot be reached via the motorway. Significant obstructions and longer travel times for all rescue vehicles!” Erbe reportedly wrote in a post on social media.
“You want to save food, but endanger human lives!” he continued.
Germany’s ongoing “Save Food” protests closely resemble controversial demonstrations by climate activists that took place in the United Kingdom last year.
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion splinter faction “Insulate Britain” repeatedly blocked motorways throughout the UK in 2021, the demos being estimated to have cost the taxpayer £4.3 million last year in policing costs alone.
The blockades resulted in serious injury for people unable to reach medical care on time, something which was justified by some protesters who compared it to allowing soldiers to die for the greater good in World War II.
Police in the UK were meanwhile criticised for their soft approach towards demonstrators, with videos emerging at the time showing law enforcement protecting protesters from angry motorists, with some even going as far as to stop traffic to allow the activists to go out onto the road to block it.
As a result, a number of motorists took the law into their own hands, dragging the radical demonstrators off of roadways in order to allow traffic to pass.
Luckily for commuters in Germany however, this same soft approach by law enforcement does not yet appear to be occurring, with Bild reporting that police had removed the eco-warriors from the road after around an hour.
Officers also took the time to sweep away the rotten food dumped on the road surface by protesters, which can be seen in footage uploaded online.
This diligence however has not prevented some motorists from taking somewhat of a more direct approach in dealing with the food-waste activists, with Bild reporting at least one angry commuter as having punched a protester in the face.
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