'Make The Climate A Priority Again,' Says Germany's Student Activist Neubauer

In a not-so-distant past before coronavirus lockdowns, students around the world were storming the streets to demand climate action. In Berlin, there was a name on many activists' lips: Luisa-Marie Neubauer.

A 24-year-old university student, Neubauer is sometimes considered Germany's answer to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. And like the younger Swede, Neubauer staged weekly Fridays for Future student strikes in her city to push for a stronger response to climate change.

But since the coronavirus pandemic, Fridays for Future had to cancel mass mobilizations and move most of its campaigning online. Now the movement is taking careful steps to retake the public sphere.

Though global carbon emissions during the shutdown, economies are beginning to rev up again. Activists are pressing for recovery strategies to take into account social and environmental concerns.