Climate activists chop top off Berlin Christmas tree

Berlin, Nov 21 (EFE).- Climate activists chopped off the top of Berlin’s iconic Christmas tree in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday to raise awareness of the “catastrophe” of climate change.

Two of the protestors, members of the Last Generation group, used a cherry picker to reach the tip of the 15-meter-high tree (roughly 49 feet), and cut it with a saw.

A banner on the aerial work platform read “This is just the tip of the Christmas tree.”

“While all of Germany spends the week getting the best gifts from the biggest stores, others are wondering where they get their water to drink after drought and floods have destroyed their crops,” said the activists in a statement published on the organization’s website.

The activists denounced “empty promises” as carbon dioxide continues to build up in the atmosphere amid frequent extreme weather events, which continue to rise, the statement added.

According to local media, police officers at the site did not realize the intentions of the climate activists and initially thought that the cherry picker was being used for maintenance work.

The group said that further actions were planned at Munich’s Ostbahnhof.EFE

jam/aef/ch