Talk by Jana (Fridays for Future Würzburg)

So, this is actually my first speech at a protest, so please excuse my nervousness.
In this election campaign, we can observe how right-wing narratives dominate the media. The AfD fuels fears and spreads hate and agitation against migrants and recipients of citizen’s income. In a historic vote—many of you may still remember—Nazis, together with capitalists and conservatives, almost passed a law. The CDU/CSU is now playing dangerously close to the foundation of our democracy.
And all of this is happening while the climate crisis continues to escalate, and we should be taking action now to curb it. This election campaign, where migration policy is being given such enormous focus from so many sides, is nothing but a shameless distraction.
The political climate and the Earth's climate are heating up in parallel. Instead, we need a solidary, democratic coexistence where no profits are made from basic human needs.
Last year, we already surpassed the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Climate Agreement, and since then, all signatories have disregarded it. Global emissions last year were around 42 gigatons of CO2. We only have a remaining budget of about 200 to 250 gigatons before reaching the point where 1.5°C warming becomes the norm. This means that if nothing changes, the budget will be exhausted by the end of the next legislative period.
In times when the dark shadows of the past are resurfacing and, in my opinion, parliamentarism is driving full-speed into a wall, we urgently need real climate justice.
That’s why we at Fridays for Future demand the following:
First: Germany must phase out natural gas by 2035 in a planned and reliable manner. We need a mobility and heating guarantee for everyone. This means that all basic needs must be met affordably and in a climate-neutral way.
Second: Most party platforms primarily promise tax cuts without any clear plan on how to finance them. That’s why we demand: Tax the super-rich so they pay their fair share for the transformation.
Third: By now, we know pretty precisely the share that companies like Shell, ExxonMobil, and others have in the severity of droughts, the intensity of wildfires in California, or the extreme flooding in Spain last October. That’s why we demand: A central fund for climate adaptation and disaster relief, financed through taxation of fossil fuel companies.
Lastly: To make the transition to renewable energy sources work, we need People Power. That’s why we demand: A training initiative for 300,000 new workers annually in future-oriented industries, with fair wages and good working conditions.