NRW’s state government pushes forward on coal mining in Hambach Forest

The government of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), has affirmed its intention to continue felling the Hambach Forest to make way for a highly controversial lignite mine in the west German region, Christian Wernicke reports for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “Lignite mining in the Rhine area continues to be necessary,” NRW’s economy minister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) said. During a debate in the state parliament, the Green Party called on conservative premier Armin Laschet to arbitrate between anti-coal mining protesters who have been occupying the forest for several years, and the mining company RWE, which also operates the region’s lignite-fuelled power plants. Earlier this week, a court ordered that the clearing of trees in the forest must be stopped until a pending lawsuit had been decided. The current CDU-FDP government, as well as the formerly governing SPD, are in favour of continuing mining activities in the region, Wernicke writes.

Read the article in German here.

See the CLEW factsheet Coal in Germany for more information.