“The Biggest Story of Our Time” - Climate Actvism and the Election

The American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut are holding a series of in-person events across the United States highlighting how German and American journalists based in the United States see political and social developments in Germany, the United States, and internationally. Our guests will take a step back from the stories they follow day to day and address a range of topics that affect citizens in both countries. Following the in-person gatherings, the discussions are released as podcasts.

From sea-level rise, melting glaciers and extreme heat waves to the transition to renewables- climate change affects everyone, it’s the biggest story of our time. How are a climate activists in both the US and Germany addressing the topic? What is at stake and how could the US election impact the future of fossil fuels? Is there more awareness for climate change in Germany than in the US?

We are talking to Luisa Neubauer, climate activist from Germany and the most prominent representative of the German climate movement and Bill McKibben, environmental activist, educator, founder of Third Act and author of many books.

Moderated by Sabrina Shankman, who is reporting on climate change for the Boston Globe.

Luisa Neubauer is a German climate activist and author and has been dubbed the “Greta” of Germany and recently named as one of Time’s Next100 rising stars. She is one of the primary organizers behind Fridays for Future in Germany. She has helped mobilize 1.4 million youth in Germany, and has spoken openly about her beliefs that the politicians and media are ignoring the climate crisis.

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben is a contributing writer to The New Yorker, an educator, environmentalist, and a founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. He founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Sabrina Shankman covers the climate crisis for the Boston Globe as part of the Into the Red team. She joined the newspaper in 2021 after reporting for eight years at Inside Climate News, where she covered the arctic. At the Globe, her work helps readers understand climate change-fueled extreme weather events, the emerging science and policy of climate change, and the work being done at the state and regional level to address the crisis.

Host or Publisher Goethe-Institut Boston