Climate activist Greta Thunberg released after being detained by German police at coal mine protest

CNN
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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was freed by German police on Tuesday night after being detained earlier in the day at a oppose the expansion of coal mines in the western village of Lützerath, police confirmed to CNN Wednesday.

“Thunberg was only detained for a short time. Max Wilmes, a police spokesman in the city of Aachen, told CNN: “Once (Thunberg)’s identity is established, she is free to go.

Wilmes said: “Having recognized her name, police accelerated the identification process. He said she then waited for the other protesters to be released.

Thunberg quickly resumed the campaign on Wednesday, tweeting: “Climate protection is not a crime.”

“Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested the expansion of a coal mine in Germany,” the activist said, adding: “We were arrested by the police and then detained but released that night.”

Thunberg was part of a large group of protesters who broke through police barriers and encroached on a coal pit that authorities could not fully control, police spokesman Christof Hüls told CNN on Tuesday. This is the second time Thunberg has been detained at this location, he said.

Since last Wednesday, German police have expelled hundreds of activists from Lützerath. Some have been at this location for more than two years, CNN previously reportedoccupied homes abandoned by former residents after they were evicted, most in 2017, to make way for a lignite mine.

The German government reached an agreement with energy company RWE, the mine’s owner, in 2022, allowing it to expand into Lützerath in exchange for ending coal use by 2030 – instead of five. 2038.

Once the eviction is complete, RWE plans to build a Perimeter fence 1.5 km (0.93 miles) around the village, sealing buildings, streets and sewers before they are destroyed.

Thunberg tweeted on Friday that she was in Lützerath to protest the expansion. On Saturday, she joined thousands of protesters against the razing of the village.

Speaking to activists at the rally, Thunberg said, “The carbon is still in the ground. And as long as the carbon remains in the ground, this struggle is not over.”

Hüls said Thunberg was “surprised” to return to protest on Sunday, when she was first detained, and then again on Tuesday.

Coal mine expansion has important implications for climate activists. They argue that continuing to burn coal for energy will increase global warming emissions and violate the ambition of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. C relative to pre-industrial levels. Lignite is the most polluting coal, itself the most polluting fossil fuel.

“We need to stop the current devastation to our planet and sacrifice people to the benefit of short-term economic growth and corporate greed,” Thunberg said.

Clashes between activists and police have raged this month, and photos from the protests show police wearing riot gear to disperse protesters.

More than 1,000 policemen participated in the deportation operation. Most of the village’s buildings have now been removed and replaced with diggers.

RWE and Germany’s Green party – a member of the country’s ruling coalition – both rejected claims that the mine expansion would increase overall emissions, saying the European limit means Additional carbon emissions can be offset. But several climate reports have made clear the need to accelerate clean energy and transition away from fossil fuels. Recent studies also suggest that Germany may not even need more coal. One August report by the international research platform Coal Transitions has found that even if coal plants operate at very high capacity through the end of the decade, they will already have more coal available than needed from sources. existing level.