BERLIN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The environmental activist group Fridays for Future (FFF) called for a global day of strikes on Friday, with climate protests planned in nearly 250 locations in Germany alone.
"We are in the midst of a climate crisis," the group said in a statement. "That's why we need to get out of coal, oil and gas now. We need a real change in transport and a fresh start at all levels."
In Germany, FFF is calling for a CO2 tax on all greenhouse gas emissions and for compensating consumers with so-called climate money that the government decided to introduce in its coalition agreement.
The activists also want to bring forward the country's net zero emission target by ten years. Germany's current climate protection law aims to reach net zero by 2045 compared with 1990 levels.
Even without a tightening of climate policies, Germany is struggling to expand renewable energies quickly enough to reach its targets. In August, the Expert Council on Climate Change (ERK) found that although a climate action program proposed by the German government in June could enable a significant reduction of emissions, a "large gap" would remain to reach the set goals.
FFF has been active in Germany and many other European countries for more than five years now. Despite their efforts, only one in four Germans feels "strongly" or "very strongly" influenced by them, according to a survey published by public broadcaster ARD on Friday.
A large majority of Germans, 75 percent, even said that the protests have little or no influence on their personal attitudes toward climate and environmental issues, the survey found.
