Climate activists target Volkswagen, glue hands to facility floor

Nine environmental activists in Germany have glued themselves to the floor at a Porsche pavilion in a hunger strike, protesting what they call a climate emergency. The target this time is Volkswagen.

The activists are calling on Germany to introduce cheaper public transport tickets and to set speed limits on the country’s highways to reduce carbon emissions

One of the activists explained, saying, “Volkswagen is the largest car manufacturer in Europe and the second largest in the world. We are here as scientists because we know there is a clear connection between the amount of CO2 emissions and the increase in temperatures.”

The group is part of an organization called Scientist Rebellion. Sixteen members camped out overnight, tweeting from the building about their motives and the challenges of their protest.

Gianluca Grimalda, one of the activists who took part in the protest, said they were left in the dark, had no place to use the bathroom in a decent manner and that there was no heating. He also complained about the fact they could not order their own food and had to take what was provided by Volkswagen.

Social media users quickly ridiculed their efforts. One Twitter user asked “Why are you ordering food while on a hunger strike?”

Another users wrote, “No light, no heating means less CO2. That’s what i‘d call a success.”

Still the group says they received a fair amount of support, tweeting images of people standing outside the complex in solidarity.

In recent years Volkswagen has pushed heavily into electric cars and, last year, was the top-selling maker of EVs in Europe.