“Proper climate protection signifies stopping the extraction and burning of dirty fossil resources. The climate negotiations seem like a travesty. They are shaped by the interests of industry and do not prevent that people lose their means of livelihood” says Janna Aljets, spokesperson of Ende Gelände. “German politicians want to shine internationally as climate pioneers. Without a clear commitment to the coal phase out, it is mendacious, however, to hold a climate conference at 50 km distance from Europe’s biggest source of CO_2.”

At yesterday’s action, Ende Gelände scandalized the government’s failure to act. Many international activists participated in the action. In course of a ceremony of the climate justice movement the Pacific Climate Warriors handed over four enormous petals on which was written: “STOP FOSSIL FUELS NOW!”. At the margins of the lignite mine they publicly declared their solidarity: “It hurts to see this massive coal mine because we know what it’s doing to us in the Pacific. This is exactly what we’re fighting against. It gives us hope that so many people are coming together here to put an end to the era of fossil fuels”, states Brianna Fruean, Climate Warrior from Samoa.

Simultaneously the alliance reaches out to local problems and to networking on site. Many residents participated in the opening demonstration. Others supported the action by offering sleeping places and premises in Bonn and the region.

“The actions demonstrate our determination to stand up for preserving the climate and against company interests. Civil disobedience allows us to head off the destruction with our own bodies. For us, this is the first step into another world. One which does not subject to a capitalist logic of utilization but is oriented towards people’s needs”, explains Ende Gelände’s spokesperson Dorothee Häußermann.

At the beginning of the actions the police initially acted in a de-escalative manner. The activists succeeded in flowing through the police lines and to descend into the pit. The alliance strongly criticizes police activities inside the mine. “The police used pepper spray and batons against singing activists, a cavalry division rode into groups of people, whereby persons were injured by hooves. These activities were absolutely inadequate and resulted in many, partly heavy injuries”, criticizes spokesperson Dorothee Häußermann.

In the run op of the climate summit Ende Gelände demonstrates how climate protection works in practice. After the action climate protectors all over the world will continue the protest in various ways.

Further Information and Contacts

Janna Aljets: 0049-152-1394 8921
Dorothee Häußermann: 0049-152-163 812 94
E-Mail: presse@ende-gelaende.org
Homepage: https://2017.ende-gelaende.org

Images:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133937251@N05/albums

Drone-Recordings:

Password on demand:
https://cloud.ende-gelaende.org/s/Ubza2BrNqsMwAsv

“We are part of an international grassroots movement demanding a global energy transition from below. Fossil fuels must stay in the ground. We are here at the scene of destruction to send out a clear signal for climate justice. Together we are many, together we are determined and strong,” said Janna Aljets, spokesperson of Ende Gelände.

“It is unacceptable that it is ‘legal’ to sacrifice villages and forests for the extraction of coal and to fuel climate change by burning coal. If laws safeguard the destruction of livelihoods, then we have to override them. In our eyes, our actions are legitimate”, said Dorothee Häussermann, spokesperson of Ende Gelände. “With our action today we show again that we proceed calmly and level-headedly. Our civil disobedience does not endanger people. In view of the urgency of the climate crisis, civil disobedience is more than necessary.”

This morning, around 4.500 people participated in an authorized rally for climate justice, starting in the Rhenish town Buir. In due time, activists from the alliance “Ende Gelände” left the demonstration and set out to block the infrastructure of the Hambach open-pit mine. They are supported in solidarity by a number of national and international climate activists, including the Pacific Climate Warriors, a group of climate protection advocates from various Pacific Island States.

Yesterday, Saturday the 4th, 25.000 people took to the streets of Bonn, demonstrating under the slogan “Protect the climate – stop coal”, demanding climate justice and an exit from coal. These activities take place in the run-up to the United Nations Climate Conference (COP23) in Bonn, a few miles from the Hambach open-pit mine. Its presidency is held by the island state of Fiji, which has been hit hard by the impacts of runaway climate change.

Contact and more Information

Ende Gelände

Janna Aljets: 0049-0152-1394 8921
Dorothee Häussermann: 0049-0152-16381294
E-Mail: presse@ende-gelaende.org
Homepage: /en/index.html

Photographs:

Here you will find a selection of pictures in our flickr-files. In the files „freie Lizenz“ you will find pictures that are free for both commercial and non-commercial purposes (about 10 per action day). In the files “kostenpflichtige Lizenz” you will find pictures that are not free to use and require permission from the photographer. An overview of all pictures, you will find here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/133937251@N05/albums

At about 9 a.m. in Buir near Cologne, around 4.500 people set out to take climate justice into their own hands. The registered demonstration is heading towards Morschenich, a village to be demolished to make way for the open-cast coal mine Hambach. Masses of Ende Gelände activists set out to block Hambach’s open pit infrastructure to put their call for an immediate coal phase-out into practice. In solidarity, they are supported by a number of national and international climate activists, including the Pacific Climate Warriors, a group of activists from various Pacific island states. In the early morning, they already held a traditional ceremony in Manheim, another doomed village.

The Pacific Climate Warriors are fighting against the destruction of their livelihoods because of climate change impacts such as a rising sea level. They demand the end of fossil fuels and the immediate German coal exit. “Germany’s lignite mines are among the biggest coal mines in the world. If we don’t shut them down, we have no chance as Pacific Islanders. We’re here to protect our land, our culture and our identities as Pacific people,” said Zane Sikulu, Climate Warrior from Tonga.

One day before the start of the 23rd World Climate Conference (COP23), Ende Gelände is leading the way for climate justice and for an immediate withdrawal from fossil fuels with a mass action of civil disobedience. “At the UN climate summit the fossil lobby sits at the negotiating table. By contrast, the voices of those who are already suffering massively from the consequences of climate change have too little weight. We have to push for real solutions ourselves. This it what we aim for today, when we are going to block coal infrastructure in the Rhenish coal field”, said Dorothee Häussermann, spokesperson of Ende Gelände.

“On the international stage, politicians and corporations present themselves as climate saviors, while a few miles away, the climate is literally being burned. We do not want to be world champions in extracting and burning lignite anymore. We want to fulfill our historic responsibility. That’s why we go to the coal mines, to protect the climate there”, says Janna Aljets, spokesperson of Ende Gelände.

The Rhineland coal fields, have become a hot spot of the climate movement in the last years. The mining operations include three open-cast lignite mines and four power plants that belong to Europe’s most polluting. Together they emit 80 million tons of CO₂ per year. Thus far, the utility giant RWE and the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia want to continue lignite mining until 2045. Lignite is one of the most polluting fossil fuels.

Contact and more Information

Ende Gelände:

Janna Aljets: 0049-0152-1394 8921
Dorothee Häussermann: 0049-0152-16381294
E-Mail: presse@ende-gelaende.org
Homepage: /en/index.html

Photographs:

Soon you will find a selection of pictures in our flickr-files. In the files „freie Lizenz“ you will find pictures that are free for both commercial and non-commercial purposes (about 10 per action day). In the files “kostenpflichtige Lizenz” you will find pictures that are not free to use and require permission from the photographer. An overview of all pictures, you will find: https://www.flickr.com/photos/133937251@N05/albums

Pacific Climate Warriors:

https://de.haveyoursei.org
https://350.org/de/press-release/pacific-climate-warriors-fordern-deutschen-kohleausstieg/

Climate Justice Demonstration:
Judith Zimmermann: 0049-152-16798212

The grassroots alliance Ende Gelände calls for a mass action of civil disobedience in the Rhineland coalfields on Sunday, November 5. More than 1000 people are expected to block the mining infrastructure, a day before the start of the official UN-climate negotiations. The alliance stands up for an immediate coal-phase out in order to realize a more equitable world.

You are welcome to report about the action.

Schedule for the action weekend:

Saturday, 4.11. 2017

On Saturday, 9am, we organize a public action training in Bonn. You are welcome to film and/or take pictures of how activists prepare for the blockades.

Meeting point: at „Bahnhöfchen“, Rheinaustraße 116, 53225 Bonn

Afterwards (ca 10 – 10.15 am) there will be an press action briefing. You are especially invited to attend if you are planning to accompany the action. Our international media team will be around and happy to give interviews.

Sunday, 5.11. 2017

7.30 am: The Pacific Climate Warriors will hold a traditional ceremony in solidarity with Ende Gelände activists. The ceremony will take place in the deserted village of Manheim (Kerpen), close to the open-cast mine Hambach. The inhabitants of the Pacific island demand an immediate coal-phase out, too. More Info.

8 am: Rally in solidarity with Ende Gelände, S-train station Buir (Kerpen)

9 am: Start of solidarity demonstration

11 am: Closing rally in Morschenich, with international speakers

We will let you know about the precise location and timing of the mass action of civil disobedience on short notice. Please get in touch with us if you would like to be informed, and leave your phone number with us. It will be possible to travel to the action on Sunday morning from Bonn.

Moreover:

Friday, 3.11., 11 am: International press conference of the organisation „Don’t nuke the climate“ about the risks of nuclear and fossile extractivism – also an Ende Gelände speaker will be on the panel to answer your question.

Place: Gustav-Stresemann-Institut, Langer Grabenweg 68, 53175, Bonn

Infos:

2017.ende-gelaende.org

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133937251@N05/albums

Contact:

E-Mail: presse@ende-gelaende.org

Press spokes person:

• Dorothee Häussermann: 0049-0152-16381294
• Janna Aljets: 0049-0152 1394 8921

„Germany pretends to be climate model country, yet her industry is in fact gorging on coal“, comments Insa Vries, spokes person of Ende Gelände. „In the run-up to the UN-talks, we point to this sore spot: the moonscapes and smoking chimneys of the Rhineland Coalfields. All talk about mitigation is hypocrisy – unless you keep fossil fuels in the ground – now!“

Alongside the action, a group of Pacific Islanders calling themselves the ‘Pacific Climate Warriors’ will hold a traditional ceremony in solidarity with the action on November 5. Under the banner ‘we’re not drowning, we’re fighting’, the Pacific Climate Warriors demand an end to the age of fossil fuels to keep their islands above water.

„Our politicians are failing us, so we are going to shut down those dirty mines ourselves“, says Janna Aljets, press spokes of Ende Gelände. „We stand in solidarity with people in the Pacific – and all over the world – whose livelihoods are destroyed by the fossil industry.“

For Small Islands States in the Pacific keeping global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees is a matter of survival. The people of the Pacific already live with devastating impacts of climate change – from more intense extreme weather events and increased sea level rise to severe droughts.

The grassroots alliance Ende Gelände organized successful mass actions of civil disobedience before, such as in August, when thousands of activists blocked the supply tracks of Germany’s biggest coal power plant Neurath in the Rhineland coalfields. The mining operations in West Germany include three open-cast lignite mines and three power plants that belong to Europe’s most polluting. Together they emit 80 million tons of CO₂ per year [2016]. Lignite (brown coal) is one of the most polluting fossil fuels. The utility giant RWE plans to continue lignite mining until 2045, and the German government has not set a date for lignite phase-out in other regions at all. 41 percent of Germany’s electricity is still generated from coal (23 % of the electricty mix comes from lignite, 18 % from hard-coal).

Information for editors, not for publication

Come and meet us in the Rhineland! Media representatives are welcome to accompany activists into the mine and report directly from the action. We will have both German and people from your country available for interviews. If you are interested, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.

If you are interested, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.

More information about meeting places and action briefings will follow soon.

Contact:

Phone: 0049-15216381294

/en/index.htmlpress/

presse@ende-gelaende.org

]]> /en/index.htmlpress-release/press-release-august-30-2017/ Wed, 30 Aug 2017 13:10:42 +0000 https://2017.ende-gelaende.org/?post_type=press-release&p=4268 Erkelenz.

Today the climate camp near Erkelenz is taking down its tents. In the last six days, it was the main base for a series of diverse protests against lignite mining in the Rhineland Coalfields. Thousands of people joined the „Ende Gelände“ mass action of civil disobedience and blocked coal trains. A human chain of 3000 people drew a „Red Line“ against lignite mining the edge of the Hambach forest. Countless smaller groups occupied train tracks and road accesses to power-plant Neurath, or sat singing on a bucket-wheel excavator in the open-cast mine Inden. Three climate camps hosted workshops, public debates, action support groups, emphasizing its outreach to the neighbouring villages and dialogue with worker’s unions. Altogether, 6000 people took part in the protests, demanding climate justice and an immediate coal phase-out.

„Our powerful protests have put climate justice on the political agenda“, says Janna Aljets, spokes person of Ende Gelände. „Coal has no public acceptance any longer. Governments who block an immediate coal phase-out lose legitimacy and credibility.“

The Rhineland coalfields near Cologne, West Germany, have become a hot spot of the climate movement in the last years. The mining operations include three open-cast lignite mines and four power plants that belong to Europe’s most polluting. Together they emit 80 million tons of CO2 per year. The utility giant RWE and the German government plan to continue lignite mining until 2045. Lignite (brown coal) is one of the most polluting fossil fuels.

„The time period in which we can prevent the worst impacts of climate change is closing rapidly“. Says Insa Vries, spokes person of Ende Gelände. „We need to phase out fossil fuels immediately. Our actions of civil disobedience emphasizes the urgency of this demand.“

On Friday and Saturday, thousands of „Ende Gelände“ activists blocked the train tracks which supply Germany’ s dirtiest coal-fired power plant Neurath with coal. On Friday the tracks were occupied for nine hours. On Saturday the blockades were held for six hours. RWE had to reduce the capacities of the power plant for 20 hours. One group of activists also managed to enter the open-cast coal mine Garzweiler. The different „fingers“ of the mass action highlighted various aspects of the climate justice issue, such as workers’ struggles, mobility, agriculture and feminism.

The activists acted in a determined but peaceful way. About 800 people were temporarily detained by the police. The police forces used pepper spray and batons to clear the blockades, some activists were dragged away by their heads. Activists reported they were kicked or hit in the face; many suffered from twisted joints; about five people were treated in hospital because of fractures. Ende Gelände spokes people strongly criticize the brutal police operations.

Nonetheless, Ende Gelände calls for more mass actions of civil disobedience on November 4-5. While the U.N. climate negotiations will take place in Bonn, the activists are going to block infrastructure in the Rhineland coalfield only 50 km away.

„In November, the images of demolished villages and moonscaped mining regions will go around the world“, says Janna Aljets. „We will point our finger to this sore spot and reveal the hypocrisy of the Germany’s climate policy. It’s not possible to protect the climate without leaving coal in the ground!“

Contact:

Janna Aljets: 0163 4434034

Insa Vries: 01520 4560800

presse@ende-gelaende.org

2017.ende-gelaende.org/presse

Photographs:

In our flickr-files you will find a selection of pictures. In the files „freie Nutzung“ you will find pictures that are free for both commercial and non-commercial purposes (about 10 per action day).Charities etc. are free to use all the pictures if they give credits to the photographers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133937251@N05/albums

Lignite (soft coal) is even more damaging to the climate than other types of fossil fuels. The lignite operations in the Rhineland include three open-cast coal mines and four power plants that belong to Europe’s most polluting. The energy corporation RWE and the German government plan to continue lignite mining until 2045. Despite the expansion of renewable energies, 40 percent of Germany’s electricty mix is still generated from coal.

„The German government is famous for its rhetoric about energy efficiency and mitigation“, says Insa Vries, spokes person of Ende Gelände. „However, it is impossible to protect the climate without phasing out coal. As long as politicians ignore the elephant in the room, the energy transition remains a hoax.“

„ The time period in which we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change is closing fast“, continues Insa Vries., „Since neither corporations nor the government take solutions forward, it’s up to ourselves to take coal-phase into our own hands.“

Ende Gelände is a grass-roots alliance for climate justice. Last May 4000 activists blocked mining infrastructure in the Lusatia coalfields in East Germany. This year, „Ende Gelände“ is part of large-scale protests against lignite mining in the Rhineland coalfields, such as the human chain demonstration „Red Lines“ (26 August), and small group actions.

Contact:
Janna Aljets: 0049-163 4434034
Insa Vries: 0049-1520 4560800

presse@ende-gelaende.org

See photos about the actions in our flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133937251@N05/albums/72157688054440285

The lignite operations in the Rhineland include three open-cast coal mines and four power plants that belong to Europe’s most polluting. The energy corporation RWE and the German government plan to continue lignite mining until 2045.

Therefore Ende Gelände encourages all responsible people to take coal-phase out into their own hands. „The time period in which we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change is closing fast“, says Insa Vries, spokes person of Ende Gelände. „Since neither corporations nor the government take solutions forward, it’s up to ourselves to act.“

Forty-seven environmental and human rights organizations signed a declaration of solidarity for Ende Gelände, among them Oxfam Germany, Walhi (Friends of the Earth Indonesia), Friends of the Earth Germany and several peasant organizations from the Philippines, India and Nepal.

„This support is also a warning“, says Janna Aljets, spokes person of Ende Gelände. „If we do not stop burning coal immediately, we risk the livelihoods of millions of people in the Global South.“

Ende Gelände is a grass-roots alliance for climate justice. Last May 4000 activists blocked mining infrastrucutre in the Lusatia coalfields in East Germany. This year, the campaing „Ende Gelände is part of large-scale protests against lignite mining, such as the human chain demosnstration „Red Lines“, and small group actions.

Contact:
Janna Aljets: 0049-163 4434034
Insa Vries: 0049-1520 4560800

presse@ende-gelaende.org

„Those in power do no act. Therefore its up to us to realise the 1.5 degree target that was decided in Paris. Together we will put an immediate coal-phase into practice“, explains Josefine Klinger, speaker of Ende Gelände. „We say No to coal, yes for climate justice.“

The Ende Gelände actions are part of many-fold protests against lignite-mining this year. This Sunday (19/2/2017) local initiatives call for a „Red Lines“ actions at the Hambach mine near Cologne. Hundreds of people from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium will draw a red line along the edge of Hambach Forest, to mark a colourful limit against the further destruction of the forest for lignite mining.

„The red line shows: thus far and no further!“, comments Insa Vries from Ende Gelände. „Be it the edge of Hambach Forest or looking at the 1.5 degree target – we will not tolerate the destruction of landscape and climate by coal mining any longer.“

At the Ende Gelände action last spring, 4000 people blocked a power plant in the Lusatia coal field, and in August 2015, about 1500 people occupied an open-cast pit mine in the Rhineland. And last October, 1000 climate activists dressed in red protested for saving the Hambach Forest.
Pressekontakt Ende Gelände: presse@ende-gelaende.org

„Be the Red Line“-Action:

February 19, 2017; 12 pm (noon)

Meeting point: parking place Manheimer Bürge, Kerpen-Buir, close to train station „Buir“

The Swedish state-owned company Vattenfall handed over its Lusatian lignite branch to Czech investment group EPH on the 30th of September 2016. EPH’s advisory board met in Cottbus for the first time in order to elect a new board of directors. Ende Gelände activists took this opportunity to draw attention to the devastating consequences of lignite mining.  Activists entered the pit in the early morning and left a banner stating “Our Climate, not your business”.  Another group sat at a table close to the edge of the mine representing the message “the climate is negotiated here” and thus drew attention to Germany’s obligations according to the UN climate goals. In the early afternoon demonstrators will gather in front of Vattenfall’s headquarters to protest against the new investor.

“To us it’s perfectly clear: EPH’s only goal is short-term and is to make profits out of the lignite mining business. And the money will disappear into dubious offshore company constructions instead of reserve funds and renaturation.” states Insa Vries of Ende Gelände. “The ecological consequences for the global climate are catastrophic, as the rising CO₂  emissions fuel climate change and millions of people in the global South lose their livelihood.”

Ende Gelände is also criticising former owner Vattenfall which made profits in the region for decades and is now evading its responsibility. Numerous villages were devastated and more are to follow with the new investment. “Anyone who invests in lignite mining is continuing a profit-oriented and hence socially and ecologically destructive economic system. We have to end coal now and develop fair and sustainable alternatives!” says Josefine Schulz of the Ende Gelände alliance.

The protests against the climate-destroyer lignite follow on from the Ende Gelände action which took place over a weekend in May 2016. From 13^th to 15^th May nearly 4000 people from all over Europe

blocked the Welzow opencast mine and the Schwarze Pumpe power plant in a mass action of civil disobedience. Ende Gelände calls for a move away from an economy based on fossil fuels and growth at the expense of people and the environment and to end coal now. The current protests are part of the global action week Reclaim Power targeting fossil fuels and calling for everyone in the world to have a right to energy.

Press contact:

Hannah Eichberger

presse@ende-gelaende.org

twitter.com/ende__gelaende

on-site:

Insa Vries: +49 15204560800

Photos:

Further information

http://reclaimpower.net/

/en/index.html

Press release 11th October 2016