„Tesla den Hahn abdrehen“: An alliance for water protection and mobility transition
Groups and people from Brandenburg and Berlin have joined forces in the alliance. Together, we want to express our demands against the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide.
Because time is running out! The consequences of climate change are already evident. Changes in the water system can no longer be denied. Instead of counteracting this development with smart policies, those in power are exacerbating the situation. This is particularly evident with the establishment of Tesla in a water protection area. Tesla will increase the risk of pollutants entering the groundwater and at the same time tie up water that is needed for the local population, schools and social facilities.
If politicians do not act, we must. Our alliance is the answer to this failure. We are committed to protecting water and forests in the region and worldwide. Instead of the destructive use of water for profit, as here by Tesla,we are calling for a mobility transition with free public transport as the first step towards a social infrastructure for all. Instead of further deforestation for the expansion of the Tesla factory, we demand the preservation of the forests that are so important for the climate. Like the entire climate justice movement, we stand for diverse forms of organization and action within the groups involved. We share a very clear anti-racist and anti-fascist stance.
If politicians don’t act, we have to do it. Our alliance is the answer to this failure. We are committed to protecting water and forests in the region and around the world. Instead of the destructive use of water for profit, as here by Tesla, we are calling for a mobility transition with free public transport as the first step towards a social infrastructure for all. Instead of further deforestation for the expansion of the Tesla factory, we demand the preservation of the forests that are so important for the climate. Like the entire climate justice movement, we stand for diverse forms of organization and action within the involved. We are united by a clear anti-racist and anti-fascist stance.
Our alliance is committed to the following:
1. Securing water resources
The climate catastrophe is already here and its consequences are becoming more and more evident. In Brandenburg and Berlin, water is becoming increasingly scarce for people and nature, and this trend will continue to intensify. Governments have no answers to the climate impact crises, no adaptation strategy that is geared towards people’s needs. Instead, they are selling off our most important source of livelihood. We are united in our fight to preserve drinking water and to ensure that people’s interests are given priority over the profit interests of corporations. The increasingly scarce water must not be wasted by companies such as Tesla for the production of cars; construction in a water protection area poses a particular threat to the water supply.
2. Climate protection
The climate catastrophe is endangering the lives of billions of people through heat, droughts, water shortages, floods and shrinking agricultural land. There can only be one answer to this: immediate climate protection. We are united in our fight against the pseudo-solutions and false alternatives of green-painted capitalism. That is why we reject Tesla’s Gigafactory and its expansion and see ourselves as part of the global struggle for climate justice.
3. Mobility transition
Electric cars are not an alternative, but the continuation of a dead-end technology. Replacing the existing fleet of combustion engines with electric cars will only lead to a shift in the problems at the expense of people and the environment in other parts of the world (for instance, lithium mining). The number of cars must be drastically reduced. We are united in the fight for mobility as a social infrastructure with free public transport for all, so that car dependency is reduced, especially in rural regions.
4. Internationalism
The climate crisis is primarily caused by states and companies in the Global North, while the mass of the population in the Global South is most affected by the consequences. Climate justice therefore means tackling the causes locally and globally. The main cause is an economy in which profits arise from the exploitation of people and nature.
5. No nazis
The local AfD („Alternative für Deutschland“) pretends to be in opposition to Tesla. In fact, this party stands for car mania and excessive speeding and fights against a mobility transition. At best, it rejects electric cars in favor of petrol and diesel vehicles and supports the fossil fuel industry. We take a clear position against right-wing politics and Nazis. Our response is always an anti-fascist and anti-racist one. We are united in the fight for solidary instead of divisive responses to the social and ecological crisis.
The alliance comprises the following groups and organizations: Bürgerinitiative Grünheide, Interventionistische Linke Berlin, Left Ecological Association, Sand im Getriebe Berlin, Solidarisches Potsdam, TOP B3rlin, Perspektive Selbstverwaltung, Anti Atom Plenum Berlin, Extinction Rebellion, Wald statt Asphalt, Wassertafel Berlin-Brandenburg, Ende Gelände Berlin, Robin Wood, Linksjugend Solid.
Our alliance
