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Press Release Feb 2, 2020; 6.15 pm
DATTELN. Today, ca 150 people from Ende Gelände and DeCOALonize Europe occupied the premises of the coal-fired power station Datteln 4 near Dortmund, Germany. For nine hours they blocked loading facilities and band-conveyors. Their action of civil disobedience was a protest against the new coal-law of the German goverment and the devastating consequences of hard-coal mining in Russia and Columbia. At the end of the day, the activists were evicted by the police. The activists declared today‘s action a full success.
Daniel Hofinger, spokesperson of the Ende Gelände alliance said: „We celebrate today‘s action as a huge success. This was only the beginning. We will fight against Datteln 4 the same way we fought to protect the Hambach Forest.“
Large parts of the environmental movement are shocked by the coal-law that the government agreed on in January. According to this law, coal will be phased out as late as 2038; utilities will be paid billions of Euros in recompensation, and the new power plant Datteln 4 is supposed to be connected to the grid later this year. Uniper claims that it will phase-out old dirtier power plants to make up for the Datteln‘s emissions. However, studies have shown that the absolute emissions would still increase.
Tara Cicchetti, a Fridays for Future activist who was part of the the action, said: „We don‘t believe Uniper‘s lies at all. Coal-exit means: shutting down coal-fired power stations. We took this into our own hands today.“
Daniel Hofinger said: „Short term vested interests cannot be more important than the lives and the land rights of indigenous people in the Sibiria or Columbia, who are affected by coal mining. People in the global North need to understand that our economic system is incompatible with climate justice, and that we have to overcome capitalism.“
Contact:
Kathrin Henneberger: 0049 152 045 608 00
Twitter: @Ende__Gelaende; @deCOALonize_eu
On our flickr account you find up photographs of our action. Some of them are free to use if you mention the name of the photographer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/184829975@N06/sets/72157712937422013