Germany’s green energy failure: Destroying a village to expand a coal mine

Essays by Eric Worrall

Mass protests broke out in the village of Luetzerath, as German authorities carried out plans to demolish the village to make way for more coal mining.

Police and climate activists clash outside German village of Luetzerath as Garzweiler mine prepares to expand

Posted Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 5:07 pm

Clashes have broken out outside a village in western Germany that is about to be razed to allow the expansion of a coal mine, a plan that has been met with opposition from climate activists.

Main attractions:

• Luetzerath activists are living in homes abandoned by former residents
• Officials have called for a nonviolent end to their profession
• The police have been ordered to clear the village since January 10

Activists threw fireworks, bottles and rocks at police outside the village of Luetzerath before the situation calmed down and officers withdrew, the German news agency dpa reported.

Protesters had previously set up a burning barricade and one person’s hand was glued to the entrance.

The village will be demolished to expand the Garzweiler lignite mine, despite objections from environmentalists, who fear millions more tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere.

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Lützerath is under attack.

The coal industry wants to destroy the village of Lützerath: they are trying to evacuate the brave, pacifist activists who are holding out to protect our future.

Follow @DanniPilger for live reporting.pic.twitter.com/caxgiY54lP

— (@JoanieLemercier) January 2, 2023

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Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/germany-luetzerath-garzweiler-mine-protest/101824846

What can I say – nothing says green energy success, like sending in riot police to force access to a coal mine expansion.