German activists demand attention to climate change before elections

Drawing attention to the impact of climate change, German activists on Tuesday entered day 16 of their hunger strike in front of the German Chancellery in Berlin, with the clock ticking down to general elections on Sept. 26.

The activists said they would continue the strike until they are able to speak with the Christian Democratic Union's Armin Laschet, Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, and the Green Party's Annalena Baerbock, with all three vying to succeed Angela Merkel, the retiring chancellor.

Lea Bonasera, organizer of the protests, said she is one of seven people who started a hunger strike 16 days ago to protest Germany's political parties lacking a strong program to tackle climate change.

"If something isn't done, it will be too late for humanity," she said.

Bonasera said Laschet and Scholz ignored their requests to meet, with only Baerbock agreeing to a 45-minute phone call.

Bonasera said the world faces a critical situation on climate and that the issue would grow even more important in two or three years.

Hunger striker Jacob Heinze said his body is getting weaker every day but his mind is growing stronger.

Heinze said the German government does not take the climate issue seriously enough and campaign manifestos have too little to say about the issue.

"The government failed on this. The failure of politics is unacceptable, so we will continue our struggle until our demands are met," he said.