Germany climate activists protest gas power plant expansion

Climate activists in Germany are intensifying protests against the expansion of gas infrastructure. The group Ende Gelände has announced mass actions involving civil disobedience to oppose new gas power plants. Additionally, a broad coalition including Greenpeace and BUND is organizing large-scale demonstrations under the slogan ‘Future instead of Gas – Defend the Energy Transition!’

The protests respond to German economic policy aimed at building at least 10 gigawatts of new gas power plants by 2031, with potential expansions up to 41 gigawatts. While the government suggests these plants could later run on hydrogen, critics and energy researchers argue that such reserves are oversized. The Wuppertal Institute has suggested that more efficient and cost-effective backup solutions could be achieved through electricity market flexibility rather than expensive new plants.

In Karlsruhe, specific actions targeting the energy company EnBW have occurred. Activists from the ‘Widerstandskollektiv Karlsruhe’ engaged in blockades of the company's headquarters and distributed thousands of fraudulent letters to residents. These letters falsely warned citizens not to drink tap water due to potential contamination from fracking gases. The group also used fake warning signs at construction sites to protest EnBW's planned gas power plant at the Karlsruhe Rhine Harbor.