Environmental protesters break into German coal mine

Activists are surrounded by police on the Garzweiler power plant grounds in Grevenbroich, western Germany, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.
Activists are surrounded by police on the Garzweiler power plant grounds in Grevenbroich, western Germany, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Copyright David Young/DPA
By AP
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button
Copy/paste the article video embed link below:Copy to clipboardCopied

The demonstrators say the government's commitment to abandon fossil fuels by 2038 is not serious enough.

ADVERTISEMENT

Hundreds of anti-coal protesters entered a mine in western Germany on Saturday to protest the continued extraction and use of fossil fuels.

Environmentalists object to the German government's decision to allow the mining and burning of coal in the country until 2038, a deadline the activists say is too late to effectively tackle climate change.

Activists are also protesting the planned destruction of several villages to make way for the expansion of the Garzweiler strip mine, west of Cologne.

Police and utility company RWE said some protesters broke into the mine and coal storage facilities early Saturday.

The Garzweiler mine and nearby power plants have been a focus of protests for several years. Environmentalists say they are among the biggest sources of harmful pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in Europe.

Share this articleComments

You might also like

'We have to be more pragmatic and less bureaucratic,' says Germany's Robert Habeck

German officials break ground for major electric car battery factory

German politician takes to TikTok to compete with far-right AfD