05 February 2018

Sacrificing culture and communities for coal

Opened in 1891 and known locally as the Immerather Dom, the grand Romanesque building was the heart of Immerath village, and has become a symbol of the lost heritage and community destruction that has accompanied the expansion of Germany’s vast Rhineland coal mines.

Two of the dirtiest plants in Germany are fed by Garzweiler,the open pit lignite mine set to swallow Immerath and, if business as usual continues, the homes and communities of more than 1,600 people in nearby towns like Keyenberg. While German politicians and members of its coal commission continue to wring their hands about the future of coal, it is very clear that the industry has no future beyond 2030. Two thirds of lignite workers will have retired by then, and if Germany is to have any hope of living up to its commitment to the Paris Agreement its last plant will need also need to be closed by then.

The simple truth is: coal has maybe no future, and destroying communities and heritage for a mine that will not be needed in 11 years time is both pointless and tragic. It’s time for Germany to be a proper leader, to speed up its Energiewende, and make the decisions it needs to make now to ensure it is beyond coal by 2030.

Watch also
BLOG
REPORT
BRIEFING
PRESS RELEASE
INFOGRAPHIC

28 January 2022

People of the village of İkizköy, located in the Muğla province of Turkey, are resisting the expansion of a nearby coal mine that would bring the destruction of the region’s Akbelen Forest, by maintaining 27/7 watch camps among the trees.

BLOG
REPORT
BRIEFING
PRESS RELEASE
INFOGRAPHIC

25 November 2019

Since the start of 2016, 69 coal plants have closed or announced to close in Europe, and a net 31 planned projects have been cancelled.

BLOG
REPORT
BRIEFING
PRESS RELEASE
INFOGRAPHIC

27 March 2024

The Gas Power Plant Tracker provides the definitive overview of all of Europe’s gas power plants and units and their statuses: announced, pre-construction, construction, shelved, operating, mothballed, retired, cancelled.

BLOG
REPORT
BRIEFING
PRESS RELEASE
INFOGRAPHIC

13 November 2017

Kathrin Gutmann and Bruce Nilles from the campaigns talk in Bonn during the COP23 climate negotiations.