Ellison Barber (00:03):
[inaudible 00:00:01]. Climate activist, Greta Thunberg detained while protesting in a western German village that’s set to be demolished to make way for the expansion of a coal mine. The 20-year-old smiling as she was carried out by officers in riot gear, a police spokesperson saying she and others were moved due to their proximity to the edge of a mine, but clarifying, this was not in arrest.
(00:27)
Though saying high profile people don’t get “carte blanche.” Those detained have since been released, but Thunberg’s detention now bringing even more global attention to the town of Lutzerather, where a standoff between activists and police has played out over several days. Last year, local and regional governments reached a deal with the German energy company, RWE. The company would be allowed to destroy Lutzerather and expand a nearby coal mine if they agreed to stop using coal by 2030. The country’s Green Party helped strike the deal, claiming it would save other villages, but activists call the deal unacceptable.
Greta Thunberg (01:10):
Carbon is still in the ground. We are still here. [inaudible 00:01:15] is still there. And as long as the carbon is in the ground, this struggle is not over.
Ellison Barber (01:20):
Despite a court order, they refused to leave the town. Now all eyes are on the police. After violent scuffles broke out, authorities defended their actions, saying those who continue to break through police lines are the ones seeking confrontations. One thing noticeably absent from the site in January, snow.
(01:43)
Police even getting stuck in the mud at the protest sites. Temperatures soaring earlier this month in one of the hottest winters for Europe on record with climate change largely to blame. It’s been a big topic in Davos, Switzerland as the town hosts global Leaders of the World Economic Forum this week. But there are protests there too. Activists physically blocked a runway to criticize attendees use of private jets.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
It’s really important that we hold this top 1% of the richest people of the world accountable.
Ellison Barber (02:13):
Climate change on the agenda at this year’s exclusive summit, and also increasingly across the globe. Ellison Barber, NBC News.