Police in Germany have arrested 30 demonstrators to try and break up protests against the clearing of the ancient Hambach forest to make way for new lignite mines. The mines would feed fuel to coal-fired power plants owned by German utilities company RWE, which insists the mines are necessary to ensure fuel supplies for Germany’s coal power plants. Meanwhile the country’s coal commission has shot down a proposal by its own co-chair for Germany to make a coal exit by 2035-2038, terming the proposal “reckless” and certainly not borne out of consensus within the commission.
