++ Information meeting at noon, 20.09.24: Climate strike by Fridays for Future ++

Fridays for Future has called for a global climate strike today. People are also taking to the streets in Germany – in more than 100 locations.

In Berlin, the activists want to march in front of the Chancellery. From Fridays for Future’s point of view, the political parties are now paying little attention to climate protection. The climate protection movement also criticizes the fact that the federal government has still not introduced the climate money that it announced in the coalition agreement.

In the afternoon, Fridays for Future demonstrations are also scheduled to take place in Rhineland-Palatinate, for example in Mainz and Koblenz. There will also be rallies in Baden-Württemberg, for example in Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Stuttgart.

Ahrflut Investigation Committee: Chairman thanks witnesses

The chairman of the investigative committee on the Ahr flood, Martin Haller (SPD), thanked the more than 200 witnesses. Haller said in the state parliament debate on the final report that without the witness statements, the committee would never have been able to do its work. Firefighters and police officers were among those questioned.

The witnesses had experienced some terrible things on the night of the flood. When asking all the necessary questions, the committee always tried to give the witnesses the greatest possible recognition and not to overstep any boundaries. At least 135 people died in the Ahr flood. The committee’s main task was to clarify what mistakes were made and who was responsible for them.