The conflict with the police continues. Activists want to save a German village from destruction

The municipality of Lützerath in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has become a battleground between the coal industry and the climate movement. This week, police began evacuating the village, which had to be completely destroyed by coal mining, and dragged away the activists who occupied the village that was abandoned a year ago. How does the German government explain the need to mine the land under Lützerath?

The small village of Lützerath will be the last municipality in Germany to disappear due to coal mining. His fate was determined last year when an agreement was reached between the German government and energy company RWE. The company has pledged to stop coal mining by 2030 in exchange for expanding the mine in the west of the country and expanding the operation of some coal-fired power plants.

The paradox is that Robert Habeck, Minister of Economy and Climate Protection, representing the German Green Party, is behind the deal with RWE.

Activists soon moved to the endangered settlement, which gradually became a symbol of the fight against the climate crisis. Dozens of protesters decided to defend him to his last breath. “There is no one today, there are empty houses. The whole village was basically occupied by[activists],” he says. Jan Brož, editor of Hospodářské noviny.

The journalist also spoke to one of the Czech activists who went there and was in contact with the people demonstrating there. “He told me that the police had double-fenced the village and it was basically impossible to get inside,” Brož explains. It is also unclear how many people were in the settlement, according to him. “It may also be their tactic not to make it easy for the police,” he adds.

The demonstrators retreated to the nearby forest, where they built a house among the trees. At the same time, a campsite was set up nearby where others landed. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg also announced her arrival.

The German government explains the need for lignite coal with the energy crisis caused by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. But according to protesters, the geopolitical situation only serves as an excuse for concessions to the coal industry.

According to Brož, however, such an argument from the Olaf Scholz cabinet is appropriate at the moment. “The question is how long will it take,” says the journalist. “I assume that Germany will also need coal-fired electricity this year, because in March it will shut down its last three nuclear power plants, which still supply about seven percent of electricity generation,” he explains.

How quickly the Germans will manage to build terminals for liquefied gas to be transported from countries like the United States or Qatar will also be decisive in the coming years.

According to Brož, however, the current crisis will hardly change the long-term direction of German policy, which envisions a coal-free and nuclear-free future. “I see it as a time-limited pun. But in the longer run, say in ten years, Germany will go even further.”

On the 5:59 podcast, you’ll also learn what a similar buyout of municipalities due to mining in Germany has looked like in the past, or how the energy crisis could affect the general debate about renewable energies in Europe. Listen to the audio at the beginning of the article.