Climate activist Nakate visits huge German coal mine
Source: AP
LUETZERATH, Germany (AP) — Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate on Saturday visited a vast German open-pit coal mine and a village that is to be bulldozed for its expansion, saying the destruction is “really disturbing” and has implications far beyond Germany.
The visit by Nakate and other young climate activists comes a few weeks before U.N. climate talks open in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 31.
The Garzweiler lignite mine, operated by utility giant RWE, has become a focus of protests by people who want Germany to stop extracting and burning coal as soon as possible. Activists and local residents say expanding the mine runs counter to Germany’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris climate accord’s target of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).
They also oppose the destruction of villages such as Luetzerath and nearby woods to make way for the mine. Coal mining is due to end in Germany by 2038, but environmentalists say it needs to stop much earlier.
Climate activist Vanessa Nakate from Uganda gives an interview to the Associated Press during her visit to the Garzweiler open-cast coal mine in Luetzerath, western Germany, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Garzweiler, operated by utility giant RWE, has become a focus of protests by people who want Germany to stop extracting and burning coal as soon as possible. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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