Ajit NiranjanFri 24 Jan 2025 00.00 ESTShare
The rise in extreme weather is not generating political support for climate action, Germany’s best-known climate activist has warned, as conspiracy theories increasingly circle after disasters made worse by global heating.
“Like many, I did buy into the idea that big catastrophes would do something to politics,” said Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future Germany. “I bought into that – and I’m glad about it – because I was naively believing there was a democratic responsibility that would live through coalition changes and climate changes.”
The 28-year-old activist, who spent three months in the US before the presidential election, said she had been shocked to see the destruction from Hurricane Helene “play into the cards of those denying climate disasters”.
Far-right influencers and conspiracy theorists used the wildfires that ravaged California this month to attack efforts to stop the planet from heating. Similar disinformation was seen in Spain after deadly floods struck Valencia in October.
On Wednesday, the Guardian revealed the extent to which climate science deniers from a US-based thinktank had been working with rightwing politicians in Europe to campaign against efforts to protect nature and quit fossil fuels.
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