Skip to main content
Updated Jan 15, 2023 - Energy & Environment

German police remove Greta Thunberg, other activists from coal protest site

headshot
North Rhine-Westphalia, Erkelenz: Climate activist Greta Thunberg (r) stands between Keyenberg and Lützerath under police guard on the edge of the open pit mine and dances.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg leads protesters in an impromptu dance on the edge of the open pit mine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Erkelenz, Germany, on Jan. 15. Photo: Federico Gambarini/picture alliance via Getty Images

Climate activist Greta Thunberg and other protesters were physically removed by police in western Germany while protesting a coal mine expansion Sunday, per Politico.

The big picture: Officers carried a smiling and laughing Thunberg away from the site near the mine in the village of Lützerath that's been the scene of clashes between police and climate change protesters after they said she didn't comply with a request to leave, German outlet Bild reports.

  • Thunberg accused police of "violence" as officers began to clear the massive protest site Wednesday, per the BBC.

By the numbers: Police said Sunday they had evicted the remaining 300 activists from the protest site Sunday, according to the BBC.

  • Police said 70 officers were wounded and a medical worker with climate protesters said 20 activists were hospitalized with injuries during clashes with police Saturday night, DW reports.

Context: Activists are trying to stop plans to demolish Lützerath to make way for the coal mine's expansion.

  • Germany's government and utility company RWE argue the coal is necessary for the country's energy security, AP notes.

In photos: Police clear coal protest site

Police, fire department and RWE specialists stand in front of the entrance to a building at a mine site in western Germany Jan. 15.
Police, fire department and specialists from German energy company RWE on Jan. 15 standing in front of the entrance to a building where two activists have entrenched themselves in a tunnel. Photo: Thomas Banneyer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Police officers lead a climate activist off the site in Lützerath, Germany, Jan. 15.
Police officers lead a climate activist off the site in Lützerath. Photo: Federico Gambarini/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
A climate activist leaves a tree house in Lützerath after it was opened by German police Jan. 15.
A climate activist leaves a treehouse in Lützerath after police accessed the structure on Jan. 15. Photo: Federico Gambarini/picture alliance via Getty Images
Two of the remaining climate activists stand on a monopod in Lützerath, Germany, Jan. 15.
Two climate activists stand on a pole at Lützerath. Photo: Federico Gambarini/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
North Rhine-Westphalia, Erkelenz: Police officers push a climate activist with a wheelbarrow from the site in Lützerath.
Police officers push a climate activist in a wheelbarrow from the site in Lützerath on Jan. 15. Photo: Federico Gambarini/picture alliance via Getty Images

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more photos and further details on the protest and the mining plans.

Go deeper