'This is a betrayal of present and future generations,' the climate activist told protesters. 'Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world.' Police in riot gear confronted the demonstrators - saying they had to use force to prevent some people nearing the area's danger zone.
In the first three days of the operation, police said about 470 people had left the site, 320 of them voluntarily. On Friday afternoon they said there were no longer any activists in the remaining buildings or on their roofs.German news agency dpa reported on Saturday that there were 15"structures" such as tree houses that were yet to be tackled, as well a tunnel in which two people were believed to still be holed up.
The area around the village in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia is rich with lignite coal, a low-grade version of the fuel which is especially polluting because more of it has to be burned to produce units of power. Lignite is responsible for around a fifth of Germany's carbon emissions. Luetzerath has become a thorn in the side of the climate efforts of the German government, which includes the Greens as a coalition partner. Activists say expanding the mine will cause higher greenhouse gas emissions, while the government stresses the need to ensure Germany's energy security, especially in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Watch the Daily Climate Show at 3.30pm Monday to Friday, and The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm and 7.30pm. All on Sky News, on the Sky News website and app, on YouTube and Twitter. The show investigates how global warming is changing our landscape and highlights solutions to the crisis.
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