Last autumn, three climate experts were invited by Romero Initiative (CIR) to Europe. During their two-week tour with us, they were able to experience live on-site that Germany continues to rely on dirty coal - and that the village of Lützerath in West Germany is to make way for it! A frightening picture, because especially countries in Central America are suffering from the consequences of the climate crisis, for which the Global North is primarily responsible.

For more than two years, citizens' initiatives and activists have been defending the area around Lützerath, which has become a symbol for the 1.5 degree limit. Last weekend, 35,000 people (including several NGOs, families, and public figures) were mobilized to demonstrate at a village nearby. Eventually, the last activists were violently evicted by the police. The conflict went viral and discussions about whether the 280 million tons of coal are actually needed are flaring up again. The energy supplier that wants to burn it, RWE, says yes – an independent study from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) says no.

So maybe, the battle for coal is not over after all?

Read more about the context and see pictures from the site here, and follow @luetzibleibt on Instagram or visit the movement’s website.