Protest organisers expect 20,000 people for demonstration at Hambach Forest

Environmental organisations that are trying to set up a large-scale protest against the clearing of the Hambach Forest say up to 20,000 people could find their way to the small forest near Cologne, the Rheinische Post reports. Protest organiser Uwe Hiksch of NGO Naturfreunde Deutschland says the anti-coal rally could become one of the largest events of this kind the region has ever seen, adding, “We hope that from toddlers in their pushchairs to grandmothers with their walking frames, everyone will join our protest.” The organisers, including NGOs Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), want to put pressure on energy company RWE to abstain from expanding its nearby coal mine.

Find the article in German here.

For background, read the CLEW article Germany’s coal commission insists no decision yet on exit date and the coal commission watch.