Starving for honesty (original German: Hungern bis ihr ehrlich seid and abbreviated: HE!) was a hunger strike and protest camp in Berlin, Germany in mid‑2024 that also served as a meeting point for climate activists. The hunger strikers called on German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to recognize the severity of scientific consensus on climate change by issuing an official policy statement or Regierungserklärung that reacts accordingly. The hunger strike began on 7 March 2024, with strikers joining one after the other, until a total of eight people had joined the strike. The original protest camp was erected on 25 March in Spreebogenpark, Berlin — in view of the German chancellor's residence or Bundeskanzleramt. On 29 April, the camp was required to move to Invalidenpark, Berlin. The two longest strikers, Wolfgang Metzeler-Kick and Richard Cluse, went without solid food for 92 and 77 days respectively. On 27 May, the medical team of Metzeler-Kick described his medical condition as life‑threatening and withdrew support on legal grounds. Metzeler-Kick was hospitalized on 3 June but returned to the camp the same day after his condition had stabilized. On 6 June, he announced he would suspend his hunger strike. All remaining hunger strikers ended their action on 13 June.
Background On 26 February 2024, activists blocked an intersection in Siemensstadt, Berlin in front of the Heizkraftwerk Reuter West coal‑fired CHP power station. On 7 March, representatives of the alliance handed over a letter with their demands to Olaf Scholz at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. That handover was accompanied by a symbolic protest in which Wolfgang (Wolli) Metzeler‑Kick, an engineer and activist who had previously drawn attention as a member of the Last Generation group, stood on a block of ice with a noose around his neck in front of the Federal Chancellery. This action was intended to illustrate the urgency of the climate crisis. On that same day, Metzeler-Kick became the first activist to commence an indefinite hunger strike. The strikers reportedly limited themselves to a maximum of 500 ml of fruit or vegetable juice per day, plus vitamin supplements and electrolyte powder. Metzeler‑Kick refused juice in the latter part of his strike and as a result his blood sugar levels became critically low.
Demands The strikers and their supporters were calling for a government policy statement that explicitly recognizes the current scientific consensus on climate change. The alliance stated:
that the climate crisis poses an existential threat to human civilization. that the CO2 content in the atmosphere, now at 420 ppm, is too high; that the 2021 SSP1‑1.9 pathway, which targets 350 ppm by 2150, offers the best chance; and that rapid radical action is needed to change course. The last three points are backed by references to the scientific literature and reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The alliance was not pursuing other goals besides the ones above. According to the alliance, the hunger strike was to end the moment the Federal Government issued a declaration in line with these aspirations. In press release from 3 June 2024, the group said that it would simplify its demands, including dropping its demand regarding recognition by Chancellor Scholz of particular CO2 values, instead asking for an acknowledgement that there was no remaining carbon budget.
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