Hundreds of climate protesters stage blockade in German coal mine

AKIPRESS.COM - Hundreds of climate change protesters broke into a huge open cast mine in western Germany Saturday to protest against the country's ongoing dependence on fossil fuels, CNN reports.
The activists, many dressed in white overalls, evaded police officers as they crossed fields and roads, before descending into the vast Garzweiler lignite mine, located south-west of Düsseldorf.
The mine, which covers 48 square kilometers, is operated by German electricity giant RWE (Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG) and produces raw materials used in coal-fired power stations.
Organized by the Ende Gelände (EG) alliance, a German environmental protest movement, the activists staged a blockade against the police, sitting down in the center of the mine, covered with reflective blankets to protect themselves from the sun.
The protesters were quickly surrounded by police and many were forcibly removed. Kathrin Henneberger, an EG representative, reported that the final protesters were removed from the mine Sunday morning.
Saturday's blockade was not the first time that the EG alliance has staged large-scale protests; in October 2018, approximately 6,000 activists blocked the tracks leading to a coal mine near the Hambach forest for 24 hours.
As many as 8,000 protesters also took to the streets Saturday in the town of Keyenberg, located next to the Garzweiler mine, which is threatened with destruction by plans to expand the mine.
The government committed in January 2019 to close all of Germany's coal-fired power plants by 2038, but coal still accounted for around 40% of the country's electricity in 2018.