In the west of the German village of Lützerath, Greta Thunberg, a climate activist has been detained by German police over a protest of the coal mine expansion. She joined thousands of other activists and protesters who were taking part on Wednesday. This is the second time that Thunberg has been detained by police, as she was part through a police barrier and… “encroached on a coal pit, which authorities have not been able to secure entirely, Hüls said “The police were concerned, after the group advanced on the coal pit, that the passes of protesters could set the ground in motion after it softened by the rainfall during the last few days. The police intervened, removing them from the dangerous area, and yes, Thunberg was one of them. According to Hüls, “We knew who she was, but she did not get VIP treatment,” this as well “She did not resist,”

The group was arrested and detained on Tuesday and would be released later on. Since last Wednesday, German police had to remove hundreds of activists from Lützerath, some even have been on site for two years, occupying the homes that have been abandoned due to being evicted, mostly in 2017 to make way for the lignite coal mine. Like Thunberg, thousands joined in on the protest that was taking part in this weekend’s demonstrations against the razing of the German Village that would make way for the expansion of the Garzweiler lignite coal mine which is owned by European energy giant RWE. They would demolish the village, houses, fences, streets, and sewers as well.
This expansion of these coal mines has caused some significant climate activists as they argue that burning more coal for energy will cause an increase in global warming and violate the Paris Climate Agreement. Thunberg tweeted on Friday saying this, addressing this to other activists “The carbon is still in the ground,” she said. “And as long as the carbon is in the ground, this struggle is not over.”

Lignite is the most polluting type of coal which causes the most pollution to itself. Clashes between activists and police have been going on this month and photos of protesters showed police wearing riot gear outfits to remove them; some have even been in prison for more than two years. And 1,000 police have been involved with evicting residents from their homes to make way for new mining, the RWE and Germany’s Tea Party governing the coalition both rejected the claim of mining examining saying “European caps mean extra carbon emissions can be offset.”
But climate reports have made clear the need to accelerate clean meaning clean energy transition away from fossil fuel. Some studies even say that Germany may not need fossil extra coal.