Environmentalists should get over Hambach Forest and focus on coal exit commission – opinion

The apparent preparation of clearing operations in the Hambach Forest is a sad event for many environmentalists who have hoped to preserve the old trees for years, but they should keep their focus on making progress in Germany’s coal exit commission, Stefan Schultz writes in an opinion piece on Spiegel Online. “Even if Germany decides on a quick end of coal-fired power production, this will still take years to be implemented,” he says. The coal provided in the Hambach lignite mine cannot easily be substituted and would merely lead to environmental damage elsewhere, Schultz argues. The fight of NGOs like Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and Greenpeace might seem “likeable,” but it “threatens a much more important mission: their work in the coal commission.” If the environmentalists want to tackle coal on a much broader level, “they need all their diplomatic skills” in the commission to make a coal exit happen faster. 

Read the opinion piece in German here.

See CLEW's Coal exit commission watch and the factsheet on the Coal commission for background.