CLIMATE activists protested in their thousands on Saturday against the clearance and demolition of a village in western Germany to make way for the expansion of the coal mine Garzweiler.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined the demonstrators as they protested against the clearance of the village of Lutzerath, walking through the nearby village of Keyenberg chanting “Every village stays” and “You are not alone.”

Activists from climate action groups including Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion and Last Generation came from across the country to join the protest.

Ms Thunberg slammed Germany’s Green Party for supporting the demolition of the village of Lutzerath.

She said the Greens, who form part of Germany’s coalition government, were showing “where their priorities are.”

Leading Green politicians such as Economy Minister Robert Habeck have defended the demolition of Lutzerath, arguing that the coal below is needed to maintain energy security in the current crisis.

“The coal that is in the ground here will not lower prices immediately. Anyone who thinks like that is simply out of touch with reality,” Ms Thunberg said.

The Greens are also in power in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the village of Lutzerath has become the latest flashpoint for activists opposed to the government’s continued use of coal.

Sara Ayech, Global Campaign Lead for Climate at Greenpeace International, said: “We’re in 2023, in the middle of a climate crisis, and while destroying a village to expand one of the biggest carbon bombs in Europe should be considered criminal, it is still legal. 

“Fossil fuel companies’ influence is so powerful that the ones considered criminals now are the ones fighting for climate justice. It is time to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.”

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the Garzweiler mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.