Environmentalists block coal power plants in Germany

A group of environmental activists from the German collective known as Ende Gelände blocked access to the Scholven coal-fired power plant in western Germany this Saturday, demanding the immediate abandonment of this energy source.

According to a statement from the collective, about 100 activists are taking part in the action against the power station, which is operated by energy company Uniper, to protest the impact of coal consumption on the environment and indigenous communities.

The police are at the scene, but have not yet intervened.

According to Ende Gelände spokesman Jule Fink, the Scholven plant emits about 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide per day, thereby making a “significant” contribution to global warming, which in turn is making many regions of the world uninhabitable.

The group highlights in particular the impact of coal mining on indigenous communities such as the Wayuu and Yupa in Colombia, and emphasizes that in the Latin American country, 60,000 people have been forced from their homes and 2,600 have been killed for this reason.

“For decades we have been fighting multinational companies that promise development and leave us with only inequality, injustice, displacement and environmental destruction,” said Maria Fernanda Becerra Muñoz of the Afro-Colombian collective Mujeres Guerreras.

“This is bloody coal that is causing irreparable damage to ecosystems and has destroyed the social structures of many communities,” he added.

In response to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the German government has decided to bring back online in 2022 14 coal-fired power plants that had been put on standby or were about to be taken offline, including Scholven. net.

This measure increased coal imports from Colombia, among other countries.

Germany has pledged to phase out the use of coal by 2038.