Several hundred environmentalists converged on Sunday (January 8th) in a village in western Germany to denounce the planned extension of an open-pit coal mine, which has become the symbol of opposition to fossil fuels, noted the AFP.
The protesters found themselves in the village of Lützerath, in North Rhine-Westphalia, abandoned by its inhabitants, expropriated, but where environmental activists have already been living for several months, including in makeshift camps and in trees. surrounding. The local police spoke of “2000 people” on the site, the organizers of “several thousandsof demonstrators.
Probable evacuation of the area
This weekend’s mobilization comes as an evacuation by the police of this area seems to be looming for next week, in order to allow the German energy group RWE, owner of the place, to destroy what remains of the village and start excavation work to expand the lignite mine. RWE obtained permission as part of a compromise with the German government. The group has agreed to put an end to coal mining to produce electricity in this Rhine region in 2030, eight years earlier than originally planned.
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But in the meantime, he can enlarge the Garzweiler mine and destroy the village of Lützerath for it. Other surrounding villages will be spared. The energy company and the authorities believe that they need this coal today, in a transitional phase, to supply power plants and cover the country’s needs in the context of the Russian war in Ukraine, which has led to an outbreak prices and a halt in supplies from Russia.
The protesters argue that the intensification of coal mining in Germany goes against its targets for reducing CO2 emissions, and which will therefore be exceeded. They have already been in 2022. They also believe that RWE could extract additional coal elsewhere and does not need to destroy a village for this. According to the weekly Der Spiegel, the regional authorities intend to deploy several hundred police officers to the site next week, with a view to a possible evacuation of the area.
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