Activists fail to glue themselves to road when freezing temperatures stop adhesive from working

The orders were simple: Run out onto the road, glue yourself to the tarmac and stop drivers from getting through. 

But for two climate activists in Germany, that plan didn’t work out quite as they’d hoped because sub-zero temperatures stopped the glue from working properly in an embarrassing lack of foresight.

The ‘Last Generation’ activists, who were protesting against global warming, desperately poured a bucket of glue over each other before sitting stone-faced in the middle of the road in Munich this morning.

But the freezing temperature scuppered their plans and instead of being stuck to the road, the pair of protesters sat glumly amongst a pool of glue mixed with snow.

Police officers at the scene – realising that the pair were not going to be sticking around for long – dragged the protesters off the road. 

‘The gluing didn’t work due to the weather,’ the police told Bild newspaper. 

Appearing to realise that their efforts had been in vain, one protester was seen looking down at his hands in apparent frustration while a pool of glue lay next to him.

The two activists, who were protesting for a speed limit on highways as well as for affordable public transport, had defied an order that banned climate protesters from blocking key roads and other areas in Munich.

The general order was imposed on Friday, a day after some activists glued themselves to the tarmac of Munich’s airport and disrupted flights. 

The ban, which lasts until January 8, is aimed at ensuring ‘that the main routes for emergency and rescue vehicles in the city area are kept clear at all times and to avert possible harm… that could arise due to delays in emergency travel,’ the city said in a statement.

But the ‘Last Generation’ activists today defied that ban and tried to glue themselves onto the road. 

‘We bathe in glue! In neoprene suits, we are back on the streets of Munich,’ the eco group said in a tweet, alongside pictures of the two activists. 

But in an embarrassing turn of events, the activists were dragged away by police after the freezing temperatures stopped the glue from working properly.

Over the weekend, a German eco-activist who glued himself to a road in Mainz had to have the tarmac around his hand removed after emergency workers were unable to free him.

The member of Last Generation reportedly stuck his hand to the road using superglue mixed with sand, meaning the authorities could not dissolve the glue.

Power tools had to be brought out to cut the area around his hand, while a video of the event also shows several failed attempts at dissolving and filing away the glue.

After the block of tarmac was cut away, the man was able to stand up and walk around with the chunk of road still glued to his hand.

The man did not appear to be detained by police after the protest and a photo posted by Last Generation showed him sat inside a building still with the block of tarmac glued to his hand.

Last week, climate activists from the group briefly disrupted traffic at Munich airport in a protest against the environmental impact of air travel. 

Some of the protesters glued themselves to the tarmac in Munich, while others entered the grounds of Berlin airport on Thursday. 

Henner Euting, a spokesperson for Munich airport, confirmed that the northern runway was briefly closed. Planes had to be routed over the southern runway, causing short delays, he said.

A similar protest last month at Berlin airport drew widespread condemnation from government officials and calls for tougher policing to stop activists interfering with air traffic.

Meanwhile, German prosecutors said today police carried out searches across seven states on Tuesday in their investigation of climate activists from the Last Generation group, suspecting possible criminal acts and the formation of a ‘criminal organisation’.

The investigation was connected to possible criminal acts in connection to activities around the Schwedt oil refinery, a statement said. A spokesperson for Last Generation had dismissed the searches on Tuesday as an attempt at intimidation.

Climate activists in Germany and elsewhere in Europe have drawn the scrutiny of authorities with increasingly bold stunts, from blockading airport runways to hurling paint at paintings in museums.

Police in the capital are threatening members of the group who have already glued themselves to the streets with fines of 2,000 euros (£1,720) if they repeat offend, newspaper Die Welt said.