COP26: “I am hopeful that something happens, but I don’t think it will”

An interview with Annika Kruse, Fridays for Future Hamburg, Germany.

Credits to Carl Egge

The clock is ticking and COP26 has started. The big UN gathering is being delivered across two sites. The Scottish Events Campus is referred to as the Blue Zone, and the Glasgow Science Centre is known as the Green Zone. The Blue Zone is an UN-managed space which hosts the negotiations. The big fishes are there. The Green Zone is managed by the UK Government, and is a platform for the general public, youth groups, academia, artists, and others. The (lucky) smalls fishes are there.

I wasn’t fortunate enough to get a pass for the Green Zone - not saying the Blue one. So, I decided to get in touch with a Fridays For Future (FFF) spokesperson who will be there. Annika Kruse accepted my interview request. You can tell immediately that this is not her first interview. She has already sat on several panels for Fridays for Future, has given speeches in front of a large audience, and was interviewed for TV reports. Her answers are very clear and precise.

Annika is turning 20 today (happy b-day!) and has been part of Fridays For Future for three years, focusing mainly on Germany and international politics. She is studying political sciences at the university of Hamburg. She plays violin in the Felix Mendelssohn Youth Orchestra. And she has a pass to the COP’s Blue Zone – for the second year in a row!

Annika, what was the triggering event to become a climate activist?

There wasn’t really a single event, it just came overtime. I remember in 2018 we had a very hot summer in Germany, and I was wondering why. At the same time, RWE AG - one of Europe’s largest power generators - petitioned to expand one of its largest open-pit coal mines. This implied to further cut down the ancient Hambacher Forest, located between Cologne and the Dutch border. There was a lot of opposition to it. On 6 October 2018, more than 50,000 people demonstrated against the mine, occupying the forest, and even building treehouses.

Then, Greta came. I started to read a lot and I soon realized there was no other option but joining the movement. With some friends, we founded the local group of Fridays For Future in my hometown, Winsen an der Luhe. At the beginning, we were confronted with a lot of opposition. But things have evolved pretty fast and in March 2019 we were more than one million strikers worldwide!

Who is your climate villain? 

Well, I would say in Germany we have many politicians who are very bad at doing their job when it comes to climate. They are several, not just one.

And your climate hero?

I remember reading a book from Wangari Maathai when I was ten. She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 to plant trees across Kenya, in an effort to meet the basic needs of rural women. Wangari has managed to plant 30 million trees in the country, many of which still stand today. That was very fascinating for me. And of course, Greta Thunberg.

Have you ever met her?

Yes, three times. We got along pretty well, and we are chatting sometimes. Not because she is famous, simply because we are working together as a team. In the media she is portrayed as the angry and serious teenager, but she is actually really funny and nice.

In timely fashion, COP26 kicked off on Halloween. Are you scared about the outcomes?

Most of us don’t really have big hopes about COP26 because in the UN system it is extremely hard to get things done. Glasgow is likely to be one more in a so far unsuccessful series of COPs. In my view, not a single person really believes that climate justice will be achieved at any of these events. I am hopeful that something happens, but I don’t think it will.

What is the best outcome you can expect from COP26?

It is twofold. On the one side, there are enough finances to support every country around the globe. On the other, there is consensus that each country will be punished if they do not achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions aligned with the 1.5°C goal.

And the worst?

The worst outcome would be no outcome, which is what happened at the last COPs.

You got a pass for the Blue Zone to COP26. What are you going to do there?

The Blue Zone is very exclusive, and the majority of people is kept out of this context. My goal is communicating to everyone what is going on: what has to be done and what is actually done. Last year, I was at COP25 in Madrid so this will be my second UN event. I had a pass for the Blue Zone, and it was very shocking to meet in one room many of the politicians that are destroying our planet every day! It was really sad that nothing came out of that COP.

Do you feel different about COP26?

Yes, I do. I am more informed. I know many of the people who are there. I know the topics that will be discussed. I know where I should go. I am feeling way more confident going to this COP compared to my first one.

Let’s imagine you have super-powers. What is the one action you would do to stop climate change now?

Prohibit the construction of any coal mine or fossil fuel plant. And no nuclear.

If I will call you back once COP26 is over, will you pick up the phone?

Sure, you can call me.

Fantastic - I will follow you on Twitter to know what is happening in the exclusive Blue Zone. And we talk again in a couple of weeks!