Day: January 8, 2023

Climate activists pledged Sunday to defend a tiny village in western Germany from being bulldozed for the expansion of a nearby coal mine that has become a battleground between the government and environmental campaigners.

Hundreds of people from across Germany gathered for protest training and a subsequent demonstration in the hamlet of Luetzerath, which lies west of Cologne next to the vast Garzweiler coal mine.

The open-cast mine, which provides a large share of the lignite — a soft, brownish coal — burned at nearby power plants, is scheduled to close by 2030 under a deal agreed last year between the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and utility company RWE.

The company says it needs the coal to ensure Germany’s energy security, which has come under strain following the cut in gas supplies from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

But environmental groups have blasted the agreement, saying it will still result in hundreds of millions of tons of coal being extracted and burned. They argue that this would release vast amounts of greenhouse gas and make it impossible for Germany to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate accord.

“[We] will fight for every tree, for every house, for every meter in this village,” said Luka Scott, a spokesperson for the alliance of groups organizing protests. “Because whoever attacks Luetzerath, attacks our future.”

Prominent campaigners have rallied support to defend the village from destruction, citing the impact that climate change is already having on Germany and beyond.

German news agency dpa reported that some activists have erected barricades and other defensive measures to prevent Luetzerath from being razed. Last week, protesters briefly clashed with police at the site.

The village and surrounding areas belong to RWE and the last farmer residing there sold his property to the company in 2022 after losing a court case against his eviction. Since then, only a handful of activists have remained, some living in self-built tree houses or caravans.

Police have said no clearance will take place before Jan. 10.

Source: Voice of America

Military helicopters airlifted hundreds of people from communities cut off by “once in a century” floods in Australia’s northwest, an official leading relief efforts said on Sunday, noting water covered some places “as far as the eye could see.”

The crisis in the Kimberley — a sparsely populated area in Western Australia state about the size of California — was sparked last week by severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone that brought heavy rain.

“The water is everywhere,” Western Australia Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson told reporters in Perth.

“People in the Kimberley are experiencing a one-in-100-year flood event, the worst flooding Western Australia has had in its history.”

In some parts, he said floodwaters stretched for 50 kilometers.

The emergency comes after frequent flooding in Australia’s east over the last two years due to a multiyear La Nina weather event.

Some eastern regions have endured four major flood crises since last year caused by the La Nina system, which is typically associated with increased rainfall.

The town of Fitzroy Crossing, a community of around 1,300 people, has been among the worst hit, with supplies having to be airlifted in due to flooded roads.

Across the Kimberley, where around 50% of residents are Aboriginal, 233 people had so far been evacuated due to flooding, authorities said.

The Bureau of Meteorology said Sunday that rain had eased as the storm shifted eastwards to the Northern Territory, but warned that “record-breaking major flooding” continued in the Kimberley.

“Many roads are impassable and many communities are now isolated,” the forecaster said on its website.

The Fitzroy River hit 15.81 meters at Fitzroy Crossing on Wednesday, breaking its 2002 record of 13.95 meters, a bureau spokesperson said.

State emergency authorities have warned residents in other small communities of rising water in the region, which includes the resort town of Broome, about 2,000 kilometers north of Perth.

While the extent of flood damage was difficult to assess, authorities expected the recovery effort to take months.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday described the flooding as “devastating” and pledged federal assistance.

Australian Defense Force aircraft were being used to assist flood-hit communities, and Chinook helicopters were en route to help relocate residents, according to authorities Saturday.

Five ADF helicopters will start operations in the Kimberley by Thursday, a defense spokesperson said.

Source: Voice of America