“As climate activists we need to stand up for democracy”

But in the four years since, public interest in cutting pollution has waned, anger at the Green party has surged – egged on by politicians across the political spectrum – and policies such as phasing out gas boilers have sparked fury among some voters. “With the German heating law, I think media and party politics tested the waters on how easy it is to get people tricked into believing the Greens want an eco-dictatorship … and that we need to protect ourselves from [climate activists], rather than the climate crisis,” said Neubauer. Neubauer has previously criticised centrist politicans, including the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, from the centre-left Social Democratic party, for polluting the discourse and normalising hateful rhetoric against climate activists.