Greta Thunberg decries eviction of German coal camp
January 13, 2023
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Friday denounced the court-approved, police clearance of an anti-coal protest camp in western Germany as "outrageous."
Officers moved in this week to evict hundreds of demonstrators from the abandoned village of Lützerath, which sits next door to a vast lignite mine due for expansion.
The camp has taken center stage in a longstanding row between climate activists and the government over the country's heavy reliance on coal for electricity.
What did Thunberg say?
During a visit to Lützerath, in the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia, the 20-year-old Thunberg said it was "horrible to see what's happening here."
"We expect to show what people power looks like, what democracy looks like. When governments and corporations are acting like this, destroying the environment, putting countless people at risk, the people step up," she added.
The climate activist also referred to "outrageous ... police violence" occurring at the site.
Thunberg met with protesters and also toured the mine's crater, holding up a sign that read, "Keep it in the ground."
Thunberg is expected to join a protest on Saturday in Lützerath's neighboring town of Keyenberg, alongside German climate activist Luisa Neubauer.
Police said they expect 6,000 to 7,000 participants.
On Friday, a court said the planned protest could proceed, but without the use of 10 tractors that the activists had organized.
What happened during the eviction?
After a court order, police began clearing village buildings of protesters on Wednesday and Thursday.
More than 1,000 officers moved in with bulldozers and ordered many activists, perched on roofs and walls, to come down.
Some activists threw stones, bottles and firecrackers, though the demonstrations were largely peaceful.
By Friday evening, police said they had cleared occupying protesters from the last building in the village, which is now the property of energy giant and Garzweiler coal mine operator RWE.
Some protesters have complained of undue force by police, as officers were brought in from across the country and water cannons were placed on standby. Similarly, police and politicians had complained of isolated incidents of violence against law enforcement at the site, particularly last Sunday.
By Friday, two climate activists were holding out in a tunnel about 4 meters (13 feet) under the village and would chain themselves up if any attempt was made to evict them, the spokesperson for Lützerath Lebt (Lützerath Lives) activist group said.
Regional police chief Dirk Weinspach said he would bring in specialized teams to remove them.
Several tree houses still needed to be cleared, officials said.
Also on Friday, activists protested in front of the RWE headquarters in the western city of Essen, with some chaining themselves to the entry gate.
What are the plans for Lützerath?
The government last year agreed on a compromise to bring forward a planned coal power phase-out in the nearby mine by eight years, to 2030.
As part of the deal, RWE is allowed to expand its vast Garzweiler II open-cast mine into Lützerath, which will give it access to about 280 million tons of coal.
The need to retain coal mining for electricity production has become a priority during the energy crisis.
As Germany has cut its reliance on Russian gas due to the Ukraine war, it has temporarily extended the life of some coal and nuclear power plants to steer itself through the crisis.
Germany still generates about 30% of its electricity from coal under normal circumstances and in the third quarter of 2022 (the most recent available figures), when gas prices were at their highest and as Germany was also trying to compensate for the nuclear plants it had shut down at the end of 2021, that figure rose to 36.3%.
But environmentalists say the move will increase Germany's greenhouse gas emissions.
The dilemma is not lost on most Germans, 59% of whom are against the expansion of lignite mining areas, while 60% also think the temporary use of coal-fired power plants is the right thing to do.
mm/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)