For the period from August 9 to 15, a broad alliance of left-wing and environmental activist groups has registered a protest camp in the Stadtpark Hamburg. At the so called ‘System Change Camp’, workshops, lectures and other educational activities will take place there for a week, in which climate politics, postcolonialism and anti-capitalism will be discussed.

“We want to connect with Hamburg’s population and welcome people from backgrounds to our camp,” says Luka Scott of the alliance organizing the System Change Camp, “Our broad workshop program is open to all citizens interested in climate policy, and we look forward to engaging in conversation over meals prepared together.”

The protest camp is explicitly directed against the construction of new terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Amongst those calling for participation in the camp besides environmental activist groups like ‘Ende Gelände’, ‘Extinction Rebellion’ and ‘RWE & Co enteignen’, there is among others ‘Abya Yala Anticolonial’, a group of Central and South Americans who continue the struggle against the colonial order, and the antimilitaristic group ‘Rheinmetall entwaffnen’. With the joint political camp, the groups want to explicitly draw attention to the connections between climate crisis, neocolonialism and wars.

Charly Dietz sums it up as follows: “We fight for social, economic and ecological justice worldwide, on an equal footing and hand in hand with the Most Affected People and Areas. This requires a fundamental system change. At the System Change Camp we want to unite different perspectives and struggles to learn from and with each other. This is the only way we can create a climate of justice and solidarity.”

In its fundamental ruling in May 2022, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht granted protest camps special legal protection. The court ruled that infrastructure and overnight tents are also protected under the freedom of assembly. The activists see themselves strengthened by this ruling and are looking forward to the camp in the Stadtpark Hamburg.

And there is more than enough reason to protest: The decision for the expansion of infrastructure for LNG has led to criticism in broad parts of the climate movement. It focuses on its production using fracking technology, which is banned in Germany, and on the emissions generated during the combustion, as well as the production and transport, of LNG. During the period of the camp, there will be calls for action in Hamburg and the surrounding area to oppose the expansion of LNG infrastructure.

Contact details
E-Mail: systemchange_camp@riseup.net
Charly Dietz: +49 163 681 177 6

Website:
https://systemchange.noblogs.org/

Involved groups and alliances:

Abya Yala Anticolonial,
Antifa Hoheluft,
BUNDjugend,
Debt for Climate!,
Ende Gelände,
Extinction Rebellion,
FAU Hamburg,
GasExit,
Gegenstrom Hamburg,
Gemeinsam gegen die Tierindustrie,
Grüne Jugend Hamburg,
Internationale Sozialistische Organisation,
Interventionistische Linke,
Janun,
Kesselbambule Klimacamp,
Klimakollektiv Oldenburg,
Klimatreffen Hamburg,
KLIRR!,
Lützerath Lebt,
Rheinmetall Entwaffnen,
RWE & Co enteignen,
Transform LEJ,
…ums Ganze!,
Ung Vänster Göteborg & Bohuslän,
Wald statt Asphalt