German officials condemn climate protests at roads, port

BERLIN (AP) — German officials condemned protests Monday by climate activists who blocked roads including near the country's biggest port.

Members of the group Uprising of the Last Generation glued themselves to roads in Stuttgart, Freiburg and near the port of Hamburg to demand an end to food waste. The group argues that throwing away vast amounts of usable food contributes to hunger and climate change.

Bavaria's top state security official said such blockades weren't covered by freedom of assembly.

“To massively impede people's mobility or block the movement of goods is a serious breach of the law,” Joachim Herrmann of the conservative Christian Social Union told Germany's Funke media group.

Omid Nouripour, the head of Germany's environmentalist Green Party, expressed support for peaceful protests but said the blockades could undermine popular support for measures to tackle climate change. He also criticized the activists for threatening to step up their protests unless the government agreed to their demands by last Sunday.

Germany is not on track to meet its goals for reducing emissions of planet-warming gases.

The blockades are reminiscent of the protests last year by the climate action group Insulate Britain, which obstructed many main highways and roads in the U.K.

___

Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate