Youth for Climate Justice backs anti-coal activists in Germany's Lützerath

Ljubljana, 13 January - The Youth for Climate Justice organised a protest rally in front of the German Embassy in Ljubljana on Friday in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Rally by Youth for Climate Justice in front of the German Embassy in support of activists in the village of Lützerath, Germany, who are campaigning for an end to coal mining and against the village being swallowed up by the nearby open coal mine.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Several dozen protesters at the rally organised by the Slovenian NGO expressed solidarity with the German activists and labelled Lützerath as a symbol of resistance against fossil fuel and climate change.

They condemned the actions of the German government and energy giant RWE, which has received a permit to expand the nearby coal mine. In line with the agreement, five villages in the area would be spared, while Lützerath would be torn down.

"Coal is the raw material that harms the climate the most. If RWE's plan were to go ahead, it would mean Germany failing in the effort to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius," said the rally organisers.

In the light of this, they called on the German government to halt the RWE's plans and accused police who started removing the activists in Lützerath on Wednesday of excessive violence.

The protesters added that they expected Germany, and equally so Slovenia, to phase out coal by 2030 and to tackle the climate crisis in a determined fashion.

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