Us and Them: Living in a Polarized World — Climate

Anja Windl from Germany is a climate activist with a group called "The Last Generation." They take dramatic action in order to draw attention to climate change. Time and again, they have glued themselves to streets, defaced works of art and private planes, or loudly disrupted events. In Anja's opinion, politicians, business leaders and the majority of citizens in affluent Germany are all failing to do enough to combat climate change. Yet the country is a major contributor to global warming, Anja says. For Thorsten Alsleben, the activities of climate activists are nonsensical and even dangerous. The managing director of the "Initiative New Social Market Economy" - a lobbying organization founded by German industrial companies - does not deny that climate change exists. However, he warns against governmental policies that stifle Germany's economic strength. In his opinion, the free market and a carbon tax will serve to ensure companies produce in more climate-friendly ways. Moreover, he says, Germany only contributes around 2 percent to greenhouse gas emissions - much less than front-runners China or the US. Some 9,200 kilometers away from Germany, 38-year-old Anto Purnomo takes his boat through the mangrove forests of Langsa, in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. He makes his living by felling mangroves and selling the wood. Mangroves bind CO2. But more importantly, the plants are key to coastal protection and home to valuable ecological systems, countless fish, and other marine animals. He knows about climate change, but he has to feed his family. Taufik Hidayat, on the other hand, is trying to stop the deforestation of the mangroves. He knows how important they are for the people and nature of the coastal regions. If sea levels continue to rise due to global warming, the mangroves can at least provide some protection. The 24-year-old works for the NGO Indonesian Coastal Conservation Foundation in Langsa, Aceh. His father, a crab fisherman, already warned him about of the dangers to locals if the mangroves continue to disappear. Taufik is aware that everyone has to fight climate change in their own way. But he also knows that people in the wealthy industrialized countries have a special responsibility.