Lignite mine expansion in German village sparks protest in Dublin

Jessica Dunne, a climate activist from Dublin is leading a protest today outside the German Embassy in solidarity with activists in Lützerath.

RWE, a German multinational energy company is leading the destruction of Lützerath to access the coal reserves that lie beneath the village.

“Fossil fuel expansion is something that is only going to keep going if we sit down and say this time it’s okay,” says Dunne.

“We are hoping that with international pressure we can stop this devastating mine from being built.”

The company has argued that this action is needed for power generation in the current global energy crisis.

“The mine would not be functional for two years, so it would not help with the current energy crisis,” says Dunne.

RWE has acquired the legal licenses required and has made a deal with the Green Party which includes their approval of this operation.

The German Economics and Climate Protection Minister, Mona Neubaur has said, “Preservation [of the village] is neither responsible from an energy or water management point of view nor for reasons of long-term stability.”

“In terms of the green party it is very, very disappointing to see the Green Party agreeing to any deal like this when we should be investing in renewables instead,” says Dunne.

Dunne says that she hopes the protest will spread public awareness of what is happening in Germany and entice action from the Irish Green Party.

“We would love to put some pressure on the Green Party in Ireland to condemn the actions of the Green Party in Germany since they are all connected through the European Greens.”

All local residents of Lützerath left some years ago and activists have been occupying the area over the last two years.

“Activists have been living in the village to stop construction work happening,” says Dunne.

“Sadly the last activist has been evicted from the village now, but that does not mean that the fight is over at all.”