Climate protest in Egypt: It works without superglue

In Sharm el-Sheikh nobody has time. Negotiators rush from air-conditioned conference hall to air-conditioned conference hall. Shortly across the yard, briefly into the heat, then back into the next room. Back to man-made coolness. “Time is of the essence,” say scientists in Egypt every day as they unveil new reports showing delicate progress and huge gaps on the way to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. “Time is of the essence,” say politicians and diplomats. “Time is of the essence,” say the activists who also came (more precisely: flew) to Sharm el-Sheikh.

The German representatives of Fridays for Future knew that they would be ridiculed for the idea of ​​taking the train to Istanbul and then taking the plane to Egypt – the intention was to show that there is no such thing as a climate-friendly travel option , explain the activists. If you have to fly, then at least in such a way that someone else takes notice.

Once in Egypt, the school strike movement hardly manages to attract more attention. Their own forms of protest, demands drawn on their hands, chants, small demonstrations – all of this is overshadowed by mashed potatoes on paintings and superglue on the streets. With actions like this, Extinction Rebellion and Last Generation activists are raising the bar almost every day. On the other hand, hardly anyone looks when a realistic-looking, oversized dinosaur runs across the conference grounds and warns of extinction. A mascot from a sports stadium could also advertise a shower. Such protests seem small and well-behaved compared to the increasingly radical actions in museums, on streets and monuments.

In Sharm el-Sheikh, many representatives of the climate movement are therefore adopting a different strategy. They can’t win the competition for attention with increasingly flashy campaigns, especially since many reports from scientists already trigger enough alarm. Because: So far, the world community is as far from its goal of quickly limiting global warming as a winter world championship in Qatar is from a summer fairy tale. The vast majority of activists at the COP climate conference therefore no longer only rely on classic activism, their goal is the heart of the climate conference: the negotiations of the delegations, which determine what goes into the final declaration. So talk to the right people instead of protesting.

“We’re not that good at promotions either,” says Daniela Ordowski and laughs. She is the federal chairwoman of the Catholic rural youth movement in Germany. She is in Egypt for two weeks to represent the members of her association – young people in Germany whose future is at stake in the desert sands of Sharm el-Sheikh. But much of the work was done before the trip. An appointment was made with all German state secretaries and ministers present to meet at the COP. “Two weeks ago, for the sake of completeness, we also asked the Chancellery.” Ordowski was surprised when the confirmation for an exchange with Olaf Scholz came. But she didn’t want to be used for a quick photo and a superficial conversation. So the announcement to the Chancellery: If there is to be a photo, then double the talk time. The Chancellery finally gave in.