CNN
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Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested by German police during a protest against the expansion of a coal mine in the western German village of Lützerath.
This is the second time Thunberg has been detained at the facility, police spokesman Christof Hüls told CNN on Tuesday. He was part of a large group of protesters who broke through the police barricade and entered the coal pit, which the authorities were unable to fully protect, Hüls said.
When the group went to the coal pit, the police were worried that “masses of protestors” could cause chaos after the rains softened in the past few days. Police intervened, removing people from “dangerous places” and locking them up, one of whom was Thunberg, according to police.
“We knew who he was, but he didn’t get VIP treatment,” Hüls said. “He didn’t refuse,” he added.
Thunberg was the keynote speaker at the event on Saturday and “amazingly” returned to the show on Sunday when she was first arrested and on Tuesday, he said.
Police said the group arrested on Tuesday would be released later in the day, Reuters reported.
Thunberg joined thousands of other activists and demonstrations over the weekend against the demolition of a German village that would make way for the expansion of the Garzweiler lignite coal mine, owned by European energy giant RWE. After the eviction ends, RWE plans to build a 1.5 kilometer fence around the village, closing off the village’s houses, roads and sewers before it collapses.
Coal mine growth is a big deal for climate activists. They say continuing to burn coal for energy will increase global warming and violate the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Lignite is the most polluting type of coal, which is also the most polluting fuel.
Thunberg wrote on Twitter on Friday that he was in Lützerath to oppose the expansion, and asked others to join him. On Saturday, Thunberg spoke to activists. “Carbon is still in the ground,” he said. “And as long as the air is down, the war is not over.”
“We need to stop the destruction of our planet and sacrifice people for the benefit of temporary economic growth and corporate greed,” he said.
Clashes between activists and police have continued this month, and footage of the protests has shown police wearing riot gear to disperse the protesters. Some of the protesters have been in Lützerath for more than two years, CNN previously reported, occupying buildings left behind by former residents who were evicted to make way for the mine.
More than 1,000 police officers have taken part in the evacuation of the building. Most of the houses in the village have now been cleared and replaced by excavators.
RWE and Germany’s Green party both reject claims that mining expansion will increase emissions, saying that in Europe it means more emissions can be eliminated. But several climate reports have made clear the need to accelerate clean energy and transition away from fossil fuels. Recent studies also show that Germany may not even need more coal. An August report by the international research platform Coal Transitions found that although coal plants are operating at full capacity until the end of the decade, they already have more coal than they need from existing resources.
This article has been updated with information.
