Speech by Fridays for Future

Today is the fifth day of the COP.

The COP — the Conference of the Parties, the World Climate Conference.
The annual gathering of the global community to discuss how to get out of the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. But it’s not as if nothing has happened since then. Ten years ago, at the COP, the Paris Climate Agreement was negotiated. A “landmark agreement,” they said — there was talk of the “spirit of Paris.” And today? After a long path of disappointment, we now lay the 1.5°C target to rest. It was ridiculed, made into an enemy, betrayed, ignored — and drifted further and further out of reach. Because global emissions cared little for the so-called breakthrough of Paris — they kept rising, instead of falling. One might wonder why that is. Aren’t we all in the same boat? Surely, we’d never think of sawing off the branch we’re sitting on?

No, we are not all in the same boat. The countries that have contributed least to the climate crisis are often those suffering the most from it. This injustice is systemic — and maintained by those who profit from it most, including at conferences like the COP. The negotiations are riddled with fossil fuel lobbyists who work tirelessly to sabotage real progress and preserve the status quo — the very condition that destroys the livelihoods of billions for the profit of a handful of the super-rich. Let’s call it what it is: fossil capitalism.

And so it happened that last year’s so-called World Climate Conference looked more like a networking event for fossil corporations than an attempt to save the planet. But this year, everything is supposed to be different — for the first time in years, the COP is taking place in a democratic country: Brazil, a country itself deeply affected by the climate crisis. What could possibly go wrong, right?

Well, for example, our Chancellor was already there a week ago, delivering a fiery speech that had absolutely nothing — nothing — to do with what truly matters now: the rapid and just phase-out of fossil fuels. This failure by Friedrich Merz is unacceptable, a disgrace to the global community, and a slap in the face to everyone already suffering from the climate crisis.

Instead of showing leadership, Merz babbled about the German economy and “technological openness” — anything to avoid giving the impression that Germany might actually take serious action. And that’s exactly the problem: it is now up to us to assume global responsibility. Germany is among the richest industrial nations — and as such, it cannot hide. It must use the COP to stand up for what is urgently needed: a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and climate financing that truly meets the needs of the Global South.

This requires a clear commitment to the Paris Agreement in the form of an ambitious climate target — not the last-minute zero-statement from the EU that the German government is hiding behind. Today, here and now, we are sending a bright signal — for climate justice, for a phase-out of fossil fuels, against the fossil lobby, and for a livable future for all.

We know the power is in our hands. We will not give in, and we will not rest until those responsible for the climate catastrophe are held accountable.