Riot police have entered a condemned village in Germany to remove protesters attempting to stop it from being demolished to make way for the expansion of a coal mine.
Environmental activists are holed-up in Luetzerath trying to stop bulldozers from moving in to clear the way for miners to remove deposits of lignite found under the area.
The tiny hamlet, which is owned by utility firm RWE and has been abandoned, has become the frontline for the country’s climate debate.
The German government has given the green light for the village to be demolished to allow for the expansion of the nearby Garzweiler coal mine.
Ministers and RWE say the lignite – regarded by activists as the most health-harming form of coal – will ensure Germany‘s energy security in the short term.
The government, which is a three-way coalition including the country’s Green party, has had to adapt its attitude to the use of coal following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The country has in the past been heavily reliant on Russian gas for its energy, but supplies to Europe have been reduced in response to European sanctions.
The government insists, however, it is still committed to eliminating the use of coal in the long term.
It has pledged to bring forward plans to phase out coal by eight years to 2030 in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state in which Garzweiler lies.
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Environmental activists want Germany to take immediate action on fossil fuels and are opposing the expansion of the coal mine.
They say bulldozing the village to make way for the mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.
The protesters moved into the abandoned homes of former residents two years ago.
The group LuetziBleibt – which translates as Luetzi is Staying – claimed last week that there were “around a couple of hundred people” hunkered down in the village.
They have built tree houses in a bid to thwart efforts to remove them.
Johanna Inkermann, a spokesperson for the group, insisted earlier this week: “We will definitely not be moved.
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“We will keep standing in the way of the destruction that is happening here… we will defend this village and we will defend climate justice.”
The Heinsberg county administration on Tuesday gave the police the go-ahead to evict the occupiers.
Police moved into the village and began removing protesters, with images showing some being carried out by their arms and legs.
