Thousands of Berliners lost power for days after climate activists struck the city's power supply. The alleged left-wing arson attack, claimed by the activist group Vulkangruppe, or Volcano Group, left nearly 100,000 people without power for several days. The group cited the role that fossil fuels and AI play in accelerating the climate crisis as their reason for the attack.
The attack occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, when a fire broke out on a cable duct over the Teltow Canal, damaging several high-voltage cables near Berlin's Lichterfelde power plant. The outage affected up to 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses in Berlin's wealthy southwestern districts, lasting more than four days. This is believed to be the longest power outage in Berlin's postwar history.
The incident highlights the growing tensions between climate activists and the government, as well as the increasing use of radical tactics by some groups to draw attention to their cause. As the climate crisis continues to worsen, it is likely that we will see more extreme actions from activists, and governments will be forced to respond.