Thunberg joins march on German village in protest against coal mine expansion

LUTZERATH – Round 6,000 protesters – together with local weather activist Greta Thunberg – marched by way of mud and rain to the German village of Luetzerath on Saturday, in response to a police estimate, demonstrating towards the growth of an opencast lignite mine.

The clearing of the village within the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia was agreed between RWE and the federal government in a deal that allowed the vitality big to demolish Lutzerath in trade for its sooner exit from coal and saving 5 villages initially slated for destruction.

“It is a betrayal of current and fuure generations… Germany is among the greatest polluters on the planet and must be held accountable,” Thunberg stated on a podium, after she marched with a cardboard signal saying in German “Luetzi stays”, utilizing a shortened identify of the village.

Because the protesters neared the village, they have been confronted by police in riot gear, and a few used batons to push the protesters again.

Regional police stated on Twitter it had used pressure to cease folks from breaking by way of obstacles an nearing the hazard zone on the fringe of the excavation space.

Earlier this week, police cleared out protesters from buildings they've occupied for nearly two years in try to cease the close by mine’s growth.

On Saturday, solely few remained tenting out in treehouses and an underground tunnel, however hundreds turned as much as protest towards the mine, which activists say symbolises Berlin’s failing local weather coverage.

The president of North Rhine-Westphalia informed German radio Deutschlandfunk on Saturday that vitality politics was “not all the time fairly” however that the coal was wanted greater than ever in gentle of the vitality disaster confronting Europe’s greatest financial system.

Earlier Financial system Minister Robert Habeck informed Spiegel on Friday that Lutzerath was the “unsuitable image” to protest towards.

“It's the final place the place brown coal shall be mined – not a logo for more-of-the-same, however for the ultimate frontier.”

However activists have stated Germany shouldn't be mining any extra lignite and give attention to increasing renewable vitality as an alternative.