Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Climate activists occupy giant digger at German coal mine

Climate activists have occupied a giant digger at a coal mine in western Germany to protest the destruction of a nearby village for the expansion of a separate mine

Via AP news wire
Monday 16 January 2023 07:57 GMT

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Climate activists have occupied a giant digger at a coal mine in western Germany to protest the destruction of a nearby village for the expansion of a separate mine.

Energy company RWE told German news agency dpa that four people climbed onto the digger early Monday and operations at the Hambach lignite mine have been paused. Police have been informed of the incident, the company said.

Anti-coal group Ende Gelaende wrote on Mastodon that a second group of activists had climbed onto a bridge to block access to the village of Luetzerath, which has become a flashpoint of protests in the past week.

Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday against the razing of the village by RWE for the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine, which is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Hambach.

Police and RWE began evicting activists Wednesday from Luetzerath, removing roadblocks, chopping down treehouses and bulldozing buildings. By Sunday, they said the operation had almost finished.

The government and RWE say the coal beneath Luetzerath is needed to ensure Germany's energy supply in the coming years. Environmental campaigners and scientists dispute this and warn that burning tens of millions of tons of coal would undermine Germany's climate goals.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the climate and environment at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in