New mass protests at Hambach Forest as clearing of activist camp nears end

About 10,000 people gathered at the Hambach Forest over the past weekend to again protest against the forest’s clearing to make way for a nearby coal mine, the Rheinische Post reports. At a protest event on Sunday, environment expert Peter Wohlleben told an audience that the ancient forest is one of Germany’s last remaining primeval forests, stressing its importance in absorbing carbon emissions and cooling the local climate during heat waves like the one central Europe experienced this summer. Wohlleben said cutting down the forest would be “a catastrophic signal for climate action”. Meanwhile, police have cleared almost 80 tree houses with activists who have held out for years in the ancient forest, saying that it is hard to gauge if more houses are hidden somewhere in the forest.

Read 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.