For decades, the Atlas Network has used its reach and influence to spread conservative philosophy—and criminalize climate protest.
It’s a lot easier to justify ripping an activist off the road by their hair, or punching them, when a prominent politician is comparing them to violent terrorists and a major media outlet is repeating that frame. Frank Schäffler, of the Free Democratic Party, or FDP, is a member of the German Parliament who’s well known for hard-right positions; he once described himself as a “climate skeptic.” He’s been the primary block to a national green building policy that would shift the country away from gas heating in new buildings. Schäffler has used a lot of the same anti-regulatory rhetorical tactics in Germany that the fossil fuel industry has employed to fight gas bans in the United States, including accusing the government of taking away citizens’ freedom of choice and spreading fear that the bill amounts to a “heating ban.”
Almost as soon as Last Generation began staging protests, in early 2022, Schäffler began describing them as terrorists, calling the group a “criminal organization” and publicly demanding it be investigated for organized crime. Media outlets, including conservative publisher Welt and the more mainstream Der Spiegel, soon echoed Schäffler’s framing. Just six months later, in May 2023, German police conducted nationwide raids on Last Generation activists; police said the group was “a criminal organization that was fundraising for the purpose of committing further criminal action.” It was almost exactly the response to Last Generation that Schäffler had recommended.
Given his relatively short time in office, Schäffler’s outsize influence may seem surprising. But something important happened in recent years that lent him a large amount of reach when it comes to the treatment of climate protesters: Schäffler started a think tank and joined the little-known but enormously powerful Atlas Network, a global network of more than 500 member think tanks advocating for “free market” policies.
By Amy Westervelt, Geoff Dembicki for NewRepublic