Activists place their bodies before a Bagger 288 digger, "the heaviest land vehicle in the world," halting operations and stopping over 700,000 tons of dirty lignite coal from being extracted.
(Photo: 350.org/cc/flickr)
In a stirring act of mass civil disobedience, roughly 1,000 protesters stormed the gates of RWE's coalfields in Rhineland, Germany, on Saturday. They successfully shut down operations for Europe's biggest carbon polluter.
Under the banner Ende Gelande, which means "here and no further," activists descended on the mine to tell officials that, given the encroaching climate crisis, such extraction will no longer be tolerated.
"This action very clearly sent the signal to governments and the fossil fuel industry around the world that people are fed up and that people want a future free of climate change and that if you're not going to solve it for us, we're going to solve it for you," said 350.org global managing director Payal Parekh.
According to reports early Saturday morning, an estimated 1,500 protesters faced off with police wielding batons before roughly two-thirds of the protesters broke through and entered the opencast lignite, or brown coal, mine. Due to its high moisture content, lignite is a filthy fossil fuel.
One activist said ignite is the number one climate killer worldwide. "What's emitted from the lignite here directly impacts the climate."
To evade security, the group approached in different "fingers." While police worked to remove much of the present media, a number of the protesters managed to climb atop the massive diggers, halting operations for the day. Others were rounded up and arrested by police and RWE security, who reportedly relied on pepper spray and excessive use of force.
While providing a rolling update on the action, 350.org noted the significance of these shutdowns. Known as the Bagger 288, these machines are "the heaviest land vehicle in the world, and it is built for no other purpose than ripping open the land to extract dirty coal," mining as much as 240,000 tons daily.
"By stopping three of these diggers for the day, the participants in this action have potentially prevented over 700,000 tons of dirty lignite coal from being extracted," the group wrote. "That is what we call keeping it in the ground!"
After breaking through the gates, one protester said she was happy to have entered the pit, adding, "But also, it's shocking." RWE operates four large opencast mines in the region, covering roughly 2,500km. Activists say the total amount of RWE's extractions makes it the continent's biggest polluter. Saturday's action took place at the Garzweiler facility.
"No matter the outcome of the climate negotiations in Paris this year, people are building power to accelerate the unstoppable energy transition and keep the fossil fuels we simply cannot burn in the ground," 350.org's Parekh told RTCC after the action.
The climate action group produced this video of the mass action and shared several dramatic images from the day.
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In a stirring act of mass civil disobedience, roughly 1,000 protesters stormed the gates of RWE's coalfields in Rhineland, Germany, on Saturday. They successfully shut down operations for Europe's biggest carbon polluter.
Under the banner Ende Gelande, which means "here and no further," activists descended on the mine to tell officials that, given the encroaching climate crisis, such extraction will no longer be tolerated.
"This action very clearly sent the signal to governments and the fossil fuel industry around the world that people are fed up and that people want a future free of climate change and that if you're not going to solve it for us, we're going to solve it for you," said 350.org global managing director Payal Parekh.
According to reports early Saturday morning, an estimated 1,500 protesters faced off with police wielding batons before roughly two-thirds of the protesters broke through and entered the opencast lignite, or brown coal, mine. Due to its high moisture content, lignite is a filthy fossil fuel.
One activist said ignite is the number one climate killer worldwide. "What's emitted from the lignite here directly impacts the climate."
To evade security, the group approached in different "fingers." While police worked to remove much of the present media, a number of the protesters managed to climb atop the massive diggers, halting operations for the day. Others were rounded up and arrested by police and RWE security, who reportedly relied on pepper spray and excessive use of force.
While providing a rolling update on the action, 350.org noted the significance of these shutdowns. Known as the Bagger 288, these machines are "the heaviest land vehicle in the world, and it is built for no other purpose than ripping open the land to extract dirty coal," mining as much as 240,000 tons daily.
"By stopping three of these diggers for the day, the participants in this action have potentially prevented over 700,000 tons of dirty lignite coal from being extracted," the group wrote. "That is what we call keeping it in the ground!"
After breaking through the gates, one protester said she was happy to have entered the pit, adding, "But also, it's shocking." RWE operates four large opencast mines in the region, covering roughly 2,500km. Activists say the total amount of RWE's extractions makes it the continent's biggest polluter. Saturday's action took place at the Garzweiler facility.
"No matter the outcome of the climate negotiations in Paris this year, people are building power to accelerate the unstoppable energy transition and keep the fossil fuels we simply cannot burn in the ground," 350.org's Parekh told RTCC after the action.
The climate action group produced this video of the mass action and shared several dramatic images from the day.
In a stirring act of mass civil disobedience, roughly 1,000 protesters stormed the gates of RWE's coalfields in Rhineland, Germany, on Saturday. They successfully shut down operations for Europe's biggest carbon polluter.
Under the banner Ende Gelande, which means "here and no further," activists descended on the mine to tell officials that, given the encroaching climate crisis, such extraction will no longer be tolerated.
"This action very clearly sent the signal to governments and the fossil fuel industry around the world that people are fed up and that people want a future free of climate change and that if you're not going to solve it for us, we're going to solve it for you," said 350.org global managing director Payal Parekh.
According to reports early Saturday morning, an estimated 1,500 protesters faced off with police wielding batons before roughly two-thirds of the protesters broke through and entered the opencast lignite, or brown coal, mine. Due to its high moisture content, lignite is a filthy fossil fuel.
One activist said ignite is the number one climate killer worldwide. "What's emitted from the lignite here directly impacts the climate."
To evade security, the group approached in different "fingers." While police worked to remove much of the present media, a number of the protesters managed to climb atop the massive diggers, halting operations for the day. Others were rounded up and arrested by police and RWE security, who reportedly relied on pepper spray and excessive use of force.
While providing a rolling update on the action, 350.org noted the significance of these shutdowns. Known as the Bagger 288, these machines are "the heaviest land vehicle in the world, and it is built for no other purpose than ripping open the land to extract dirty coal," mining as much as 240,000 tons daily.
"By stopping three of these diggers for the day, the participants in this action have potentially prevented over 700,000 tons of dirty lignite coal from being extracted," the group wrote. "That is what we call keeping it in the ground!"
After breaking through the gates, one protester said she was happy to have entered the pit, adding, "But also, it's shocking." RWE operates four large opencast mines in the region, covering roughly 2,500km. Activists say the total amount of RWE's extractions makes it the continent's biggest polluter. Saturday's action took place at the Garzweiler facility.
"No matter the outcome of the climate negotiations in Paris this year, people are building power to accelerate the unstoppable energy transition and keep the fossil fuels we simply cannot burn in the ground," 350.org's Parekh told RTCC after the action.
The climate action group produced this video of the mass action and shared several dramatic images from the day.