Greta Thunberg has condemned the forced removal of protesters from a small West German village that is to be demolished to make way for an open pit coal mine expansion.
Speaking in Lutzerth in North Rhine-Westphalia, the climate activist said: “Germany is really embarrassing itself at the moment.
“The science is clear: we need to keep carbon in the ground.”
He claimed that “police violence” was used to remove the protesters.
Ms Thunberg plans to join a demonstration on Saturday to show “what people power looks like, what democracy looks like – when governments and corporations act like this, destroying the environment.” There are… people move on.”
Thunberg with fellow protesters
After a court ruling allowed energy company RWE to go ahead with an expansion of the Garzweiler mine, hundreds of police in riot gear moved in on Wednesday, removing barricades erected by workers.
Police have said it could take weeks to resolve a dispute over a coal mine expansion, which workers have called a
A sign of Berlin’s failed climate policy amid an energy crisis in Europe’s biggest economy.
Some rocks, fireworks and other objects have been thrown at officers, but police say the protests have been largely peaceful.
Protesters have occupied the trees around the village.
Police personnel entered the village on Wednesday to clear the area of protesters.
Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the Garzweiler mine would cause huge greenhouse gas emissions.
RWE argues that coal is needed to ensure Germany’s energy security.
Police stand guard outside houses, once abandoned, now occupied by protesters
Regional and national governments, including both the environmentalist Green Party, struck a deal with RWE last year allowing it to raze the abandoned village in exchange for phasing out coal use by 2030 instead of 2038. was given.
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