The village of Lützerath is to be dredged to extract coal. According to the energy company RWE, this is necessary in order to secure the supply of the power plants in the energy crisis. However, opponents consider the reasoning to be advanced.
Climate activists have positioned themselves behind a burning barricade on the access road to the brown coal village of Lützerath. "The police announced today that they will clear the barricades that we have set up to protect the village," said Julia Riedel, spokeswoman for the "Lützerath Lives" initiative. An activist from the "Last Generation" alliance had his left hand taped to the access road. Another activist sat on a tripod stand.
A police spokesman said that the evacuation of Lützerath was by no means planned for Monday. If necessary, however, access roads would have to be cleared so that the energy company RWE could get through with its construction machines. As RWE announced, three country roads near Lützerath were permanently closed on Monday.
Lützerath, 40 kilometers southwest of Düsseldorf, is to be excavated for coal extraction. However, activists who want to fight for the place live in the houses whose former residents have moved away. They see no need to dig up and burn the coal.
Land and houses belong to the energy company RWE. He announced that the use of Lützerath this winter was necessary in order to ensure a secure supply of the power plants in the midst of the energy crisis.
However, Dirk Jansen, Managing Director BUND NRW, is critical of the project: "Anyone who allows the production of a further 280 million tons of the climate killer lignite in the Garzweiler opencast mine says goodbye to the climate protection goals and only fills the coffers of RWE."
The state executive of the left in North Rhine-Westphalia also spoke out against the eviction. They want to increase the presence and support of the protests in Lützerath and call on members to take part, it said. "The decision of the black-green state government to allow RWE to excavate huge additional lignite deposits in the Rhenish mining area torpedoes compliance with the climate targets," said state spokesman Sascha Wagner.
An evacuation of Lützerath is expected in January. The district of Heinsberg has published a general decree that prohibits people from staying in the place. If this eviction is not followed, the order provides the basis "for taking evacuation measures from January 10," according to the district.
