“European climate protesters take on German coal”

Around 6,000 European climate change activists aiming to "block coal infrastructure, to call for an immediate phase-out" of lignite mining,  have gathered in Germany's coal districts, writes Chase Winter in an article for Deutsche Welle. The gathering is taking place from 18 to 29 August, he writes. Over the weekend, protesters blocked rail tracks and formed a human chain at a controversial open cast mine in western Germany. In addition to Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and regular citizens, politicians from Germany's Green Party also joined the chain, as did members of Greenpeace and the German Environmental Alliance (Umwelt-Allianz Deutschland), writes Winter.
In a separate article in the Neue Westfälische newspaper, Florian Pfitzner writes that the protests were peaceful. Ahead of the protests, police had voiced concerns that they could turn violent.

Read the DW article in English here and the NW article in German here.

See the CLEW factsheet When will Germany finally ditch coal? for more information.