Coal mine protesters face off with police in Germany

Climate protesters are refusing to move on from an abandoned village in Germany which is set to be demolished to make way for an extended coal mine.

Villagers have now left the area in Luetzerath which will soon become part of the nearby Garzweiler mine which produces about 25 million tonnes of coal a year.

Police have now descended on the site and begun to move protestors on, with reports of rocks, bottles and even petrol bombs being thrown at them.

Protesters say the plans for coal mine expansion should be scrapped, as the development is not in line with Germany’s climate goals and continued fossil fuel use could push the world past its tipping point.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has advised that no new coal projects should take place if the world is to limit global heating to 1.5°C.

Germany has resolved to produce more coal in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which has sparked a global energy crisis and has left countries pursuing energy independence after cutting their reliance on Russian gas.

Plans to demolish five other villages have already been abandoned and aims to phase-out coal in the state where the village lies have been brought forward to 2030.

Around 200 climate protesters are thought to be occupying the village, while police and local officials have been encouraging them to move on from the site. Environmental activist Greta Thunberg is also expected to join the camp on Saturday.

‘If we want to save lives, if we don’t want this to keep happening, we need to save every bit of coal, every bit of fossil fuel in the ground,’ protester Dina Hamid told the BBC.

Photo by Bence Balla-Schottner