Dispute at the Hambacher opencast mine: Police and activists escalate conflict!

Dispute at the Hambacher opencast mine: Police and activists escalate conflict!

On January 16, 2025, the conflict between environmental activists, the police and the energy group RWE escalated at the Hambacher opencast mine. The Situation has worsened after several protests took place in the Manheimer Sinsewäldchen near Kerpen at the weekend, where RWE plans to intervene deeply into nature. The campaigns are primarily aimed at the impending clearings organized by local environmental protection associations, including "Hambi remains" and the Nature Conservation Association Mönchengladbach. This vigil has been dissolved by the police in the meantime, but the resistance is unbroken.

The police reported several missions due to property damage and theft, which RWE suspects to be connected to the environmental guards of the environmentalists. According to the reporting of T-online.de Had signs from RWE and partially lit.

dunning marches and their meaning

The vigil, which extends over an eight hectare piece of forest, has the goal of preventing the upcoming clearing of the area. RWE is criticized because the clearing for the expansion of the embankments of the planned Hambacher Lake are considered "mining necessary". At the same time, RWE argues that the location of the vigil's guard is disabled. WDR reports that the police could not find any evidence of the connection between the dunning guards and the crimes.

The planned Hambacher See, which is to be filled with water from the Rhine from 2030 and could become up to 380 meters deep, is sought as one of the largest lakes in Germany. However, the clearing in the Sinswäldchen, which plays an important role in forest networking around the Hambacher opencast mine, could significantly endanger the ecosystem.

legal disputes

The arguments also have legal dimensions. The BUND for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) submitted a lawsuit against RWE's current operating plan. The Higher Administrative Court of Münster will have to decide on the lawsuit by the end of January. In the meantime, RWE's statement is to be removed from clearing the clearing work until the end of the month in order to take a decision of the 21st Senate of the OVG Münster.

The resistance of the environmental movement has historical roots and is part of a long tradition of environmental struggle in Germany. Originally anchored in romance, the movement developed enormously in the 1970s. Many citizens' initiatives have emerged and organizations such as Greenpeace and the federal government still shape environmental protection. The challenges in today's world that are visible in the region around the Hambacher opencast mine show that activism is still of great importance.

Forest teacher Michael Zobel has the decision of the police to ban the vigil as "baseless" and plans to continue the campaign. In addition, activists before the Cologne Administrative Court submitted an urgent request against the evacuation of the vigil. The tension remains high: the environmentalists stand together to stop the intervention in nature and to raise the voice for the protection of the forest and the climate.