WhatsApp chat rooms and Telegram channels across Germany lit up in the early hours of April 29. Young people frantically exchanged messages in a tone that went from disbelief to surprise to euphoria.
The country¡¯s highest court had just ruled that the government¡¯s 2019 climate law was incompatible with fundamental rights, a victory for the nine young German activists who filed the lawsuit and for the global youth climate movement. Over the next few days, it also changed the course of Germany¡¯s politics, economy and climate strategy for the next three decades.
¡°For us it has been rather shocking. We were surprised because we did not have so many expectations of winning,¡± said Nick Heubeck, a 22-year-old student and a spokesperson for the Fridays For Future movement in Germany, one of the organizations supporting the suit. ¡°Much of what has happened over the past few days would have been completely unthinkable before the ruling.¡±
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