G7 protestors wear giant heads of world leaders to draw attention to climate change

Climate activists dressed as leaders of the Group of Seven countries, on Sunday, flooded the town square in Garmisch-Partenkirchen located close to G-7 summit venue in Germany to demonstrate actions on climate change. As leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan gathered at the start of a three-day summit at Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian mountains, demonstrators converged at G-7 venue and were told that only up to 50 registered participants can hold a march or a protest and these protesters will be escorted through the high-security cordon to a site 500 meters (about 550 yards) from the venue, according to German news agency dpa.

This triggered several pro-climate change activists as they believed that their rights were being curtailed. 

Police scuffle with protestors during a demonstration ahead of the G7 meeting in Munich, Germany, Saturday, June 25, 2022. The G7 Summit will take place at Castle Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Credit: AP

Activists from Oxfam wear giant heads depicting G7 leaders during a demonstration in Munich, Germany, Saturday, June 25, 2022. The G7 Summit will take place at Castle Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen from June 26 through June 28, 2022.Credit: AP

Pro-Climate activists roast Earth, demand more effective measures

Despite being asked to vacate the area, protesters dressed in Bavarian garb and oversized heads that resembled the US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other leaders, staged protests roasting the earth. They demanded more effective climate change policies.

“We are expecting a clear signal that they are going to fulfill their commitments of the Paris agreement and make clear improvements when it comes to climate protection,” Charlotte Becker of the campaign group Oxfam told dpa. 

Organizer Franz Haslbeck meanwhile stressed that the location of the protest doesn't conform with a court ruling issued in connection with the last G-7 at Elmau in 2015. The court had allowed the demonstrators to be present within “eye- and earshot” of the venue.

German police water canons approach a gas station to pick up gas in Klais near Elmau, Germany, Saturday, June 25, 2022. The G7 summit will start on Sunday. Credit: AP Photo/Michael Probst

The NGOs laid demands on the protest for a tax on excess profits that the governments earned during the COVID-19 pandemic via medical services and vaccinations. It would have generated hundreds of billions of dollars, they said.

That funding shall be used to fight poverty, hunger, and climate change, they argued. Reporters on the ground for the agencies estimate that there were perhaps 4,000 demonstrators that had taken to the streets in Munich to protest for the cause. A police spokeswoman, Carolin Englert, told dpa that the protests had been peaceful. During the key summit, the leader will convene the sessions with researchers on climate change from nearby Mittenwald.