CNN
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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was released by German police on Tuesday evening after being detained the day before Opposition to expansion of coal mine In the western village of Lützerath, police confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.
Thunberg was only briefly detained. Once (Thunberg’s) identity was established, she was free to go,” Max Wilms, a police spokesman for the city of Aachen, told CNN.
“Because of the recognition of his name, police expedited the identification process,” Wilms said. She said she was then waiting for other protesters to be released.
Thunberg began campaigning swiftly on Wednesday, tweeting: “Climate protection is not a crime.”
“Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested against the expansion of coal mines in Germany”, said the activist, “We were kettled by the police and then detained but released later that evening.”
Police spokesman Christoph Huls told CNN on Tuesday that Thunberg was part of a large group of protesters who broke through a police barrier and occupied a coal pit that authorities have not been able to fully secure. He said this is the second time Thunberg has been detained at the site.
Since last Wednesday, German police have removed hundreds of activists from Lutzrath. some have been on the site for more than two years, CNN has previously reportedOccupied abandoned houses after being evicted by former residents, mostly as of 2017, to make way for a lignite coal mine.
The German government struck a deal with the mine’s owner, the energy company RWE, in 2022, allowing it to expand at Lützerath in exchange for phasing out coal use by 2030 instead of 2038.
Once the eviction is complete, RWE plans to build a 1.5-kilometre (0.93-mile) perimeter fence Around the village, its buildings, streets and sewers were sealed before demolition.
Thunberg tweeted on Friday She was in Lützerath to oppose the expansion. On Saturday, she joined thousands of people protesting against the demolition of the village.
Addressing activists at the protest, Thunberg said, “The carbon is still in the ground. And as long as there’s carbon in the ground, this struggle isn’t over.
Hulse said Thunberg protested “surprisingly” on Sunday, when she was first detained, and then again on Tuesday.
The expansion of the coal mine is important to climate activists. They argue that continuing to burn coal for energy will increase planet-warming emissions and violate the Paris Climate Agreement’s ambition to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The most polluting type of coal is lignite, which is itself the most polluting fossil fuel.
“We need to stop the current destruction of our planet and sacrifice people to benefit short-term economic growth and corporate greed,” Thunberg said.
Clashes between activists and police have continued this month, and photos from the protests show police wearing riot gear trying to clear protesters.
Over 1,000 police officers have been involved in the eviction drive. Most of the buildings in the village have now been cleared and replaced with digging machines.
RWE and Germany’s Green Party – a member of the country’s governing coalition – both reject claims that the mine’s expansion will increase overall emissions, saying the European cap could mean additional carbon emissions could be offset . But several climate reports have made clear the need to accelerate clean energy and transition away from fossil fuels. Recent studies also suggest that Germany may not even need additional coal. One august report Coal Transition, an international research forum, found that even though coal plants operate at much higher capacity by the end of the decade, they already have more coal than current supplies.