Police in eastern Germany on Monday evicted climate change protesters from the site of a coal-fired power plant.
Demonstrators targeted both the coal storage area of the power plant and the rail line used to transport fuel to the power plant in Jenschwalde near Cottbus.
A group named “Unfreiwillige Feuerwehr”, loosely translated as “unwilling firefighters”, said about 40 members were at the scene.
“Today we are taking the coal exit into our own hands here,” the group said.
The state interior minister spoke of sabotage, but police said the incident clearly involved criminal activity.
Some output drops, no power outages
According to Leag energy company spokesman Thoralf Schirmer, activists disrupted both the coal storage facility at the site and the railroad that supplies power to the power plant.
Schirmer called the activity an “attack on US security” [electricity] supply. ”
He said the disruption forced lignite (or lignite) power plants to temporarily run at about half capacity, but normal service resumed later on Monday. Even if the output decreased, it did not lead to a power outage.
Full text of the sign, partly in German, “Future without fossils: Waste coal, gas and nuclear power plants”
Police said it took time to clear the scene and that it was difficult to remove or separate protesters from the tracks and other equipment.
Police declined to comment on the number of people involved, but a spokesman told Deutsche News Agency dpa, “What is clear is that this is a criminal case.”
Ukraine questions Germany’s plan to shut down coal and nuclear power
Germany’s plans to move away from both nuclear power and coal were already set before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the conflict is putting pressure on plans to shut down its last reactor by the end of 2022 and its last coal plant by 2038.
For example, the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant could burn two more block units in a few days that until recently were kept as emergency stockpiles. The decision, pending approval from the state’s environmental agency, has been challenged by the site’s move to reopen Blocks E and F.
Two of the country’s last three remaining nuclear power plants are set to run at least a few months longer than previous plans, if the government and plant operators can agree on a new schedule. It seems that.
The issue is also linked to the environmentalist Green Party, the center-left Social Democrats (who have long opposed nuclear power but have historically close ties to miners’ unions), and business. It has also caused tensions in the coalition government, which includes the Liberal Party of importance. The Democratic Party (FDP) has called on two more senior partners to drop their concerns in the face of soaring Russian gas prices.
On Monday, FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Germany’s coal and nuclear power plant operators need “clear security for planning” until at least 2024.
“You have to get to the root of the problem,” Lindner said. “The European power mix needs these plants.”
Berlin activists block major roads
Meanwhile, in the capital Berlin, police were mobilized to stop another protest organized by the Extinction Rebellion group.
People congregated at three main chokepoints in the city center, with the main group building a pink simulated excavation platform outside the building of the Federal Ministry for the Environment on Potsdamer Platz.
They also met at two junctions off Unter den Lindenstrasse. One adjoins Charlottenstrasse and the other leads to Friedrichstrasse. According to organizers, 250 people showed up at the Charlotten Street intersection alone.
Berlin police said they had deployed about 450 police officers to deal with the demonstrators. This was difficult as some of them were stuck to the road or sidewalk.
Extinction Rebellion complained that police checks and searches thwarted them. He also said he was planning further activities in Berlin on Tuesday.
msh/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
