Published January 16. 2023 10:46AM
BERLIN (AP) - Climate activists have occupied a giant digger at a coal mine in western Germany to protest the destruction of a nearby village for the expansion of a separate mine.
Energy company RWE told German news agency dpa that four people climbed onto the digger early Monday and operations at the Hambach lignite mine have been paused. Police have been informed of the incident, the company said.
Anti-coal group Ende Gelaende wrote on Mastodon that a second group of activists had climbed onto a bridge to block access to the village of Luetzerath, which has become a flashpoint of protests in the past week.
Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday against the razing of the village by RWE for the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine, which is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Hambach.
Police and RWE began evicting activists Wednesday from Luetzerath, removing roadblocks, chopping down treehouses and bulldozing buildings. By Sunday, they said the operation had almost finished.
The government and RWE say the coal beneath Luetzerath is needed to ensure Germany’s energy supply in the coming years. Environmental campaigners and scientists dispute this and warn that burning tens of millions of tons of coal would undermine Germany’s climate goals.
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Police officers lead a climate activist off the site in the village Luetzerath in Erkelenz, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. The energy company RWE wants to excavate the coal lying under Luetzerath, for this purpose, the hamlet on the territory of the city of Erkelenz at the opencast lignite mine Garzweiler II is to be demolished. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
Police officers push a climate activist with a wheelbarrow off the site in the village Luetzerath in Erkelenz, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. The energy company RWE wants to excavate the coal lying under Luetzerath, for this purpose, the hamlet on the territory of the city of Erkelenz at the opencast lignite mine Garzweiler II is to be demolished. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
Police officers examine a climate activist's tree house in the village Luetzerath in Erkelenz, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. The energy company RWE wants to excavate the coal lying under Luetzerath, for this purpose, the hamlet on the territory of the city of Erkelenz at the opencast lignite mine Garzweiler II is to be demolished. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands between Keyenberg and Lützerath under police guard on the edge of the open pit mine and dances in Erkelenz, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. The energy company RWE wants to excavate the coal lying under Luetzerath, for this purpose, the hamlet on the territory of the city of Erkelenz at the opencast lignite mine Garzweiler II is to be demolished. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)