AllVillagesRemain:LützerathandGermany’sStruggleforaJustTransition
ThedaythepolicecametoclearthevillageofLützerathwasmuddy.Thepeoplestoodarrayed acrossthefieldandthroughthestreetsoftheemptytownwiththeircheapplasticponchos flailinglikeflagsinthewind.Itwasastrongwind,andtherewasacoldrainborneonit,arain thatwouldturnthemudfrommerelythicktopositivelyviscous,thatwouldcatcheveryone’s bootslikemolassesandtrapthemwheretheystood.Upinthetown’smakeshifttreehouses,the activistswhohadbuiltthemwatchedandwaited.
MartinLejeune,anindependentjournalistwholivesinBerlin,capturedavideoonthefieldof Lutzerath,onethatwouldbringwideattentiontothelong-haulefforttosavethetownfrom destruction.Inthevideo,amanwithhisfacehiddenbyamassivebrowncloak,likeapriest, stridesuptoagroupofpoliceofficers.Hewaveshisarms,seemingtocastaspellonthem.The policestumbledandfellcomically,everyattempttobringthemselvestotheirfeetonlyseeming todigthemfurtherandfurtherintothemudofthefield.“Themudwizard,”astheinternetcalled him,seemedtohavesomekindofdivineormagicalforceonhisside.Hewas,Lejeuenesaid, emblematicofthecreativitythattheanti-coalactivistsbroughttothefightforLützerathagainst theencroachmentofaninternationalcoalcompanycalledRWE,Germany’slargestpower producer.Itwasthescheduledevictionday,andLejeuneborewitnessandtoldmethestory
AParadiseBuiltinaGhostTown
“Afewyearsago,theywereexpelled...theyhadtoleave.Iftheywantedtoornot,theyhadto leave,”LejeuenesaidofLützerath’soriginalinhabitants.Lützerath,onceathrivingrural community,becamealmostunoccupied,itsonce-bustlingmedievalstreetsgonequietandempty. Thelastfull-timeresidentfoughtforhisfamilyfarmincourtuntil2020andultimatelylost.He waspushedoutbythecoalindustryforasecondtime.
WhenLejeunewenttoLützerath,hewalkedtotheedgeofthestripmine.“Iwasshockedtosee howtheEarthisdestroyed,”Lejeunesaid.Toseeitwaslikelookingintoanalienplanet;thelush forestsandfieldsoutsideoftowndroppedsteeply,maybehundredsoffeet,intoabrown,sludgy pitwhereimpossiblylargemachinessteadilyminedandmined.Thesecoalexcavators,ownedby RWE,orRheinisch-WestfälischesElektrizitätswerkAktiengesellschaft,bayedatthedoorfor decades.BeforethefallofLützerath,theyextractedcoalrightbesideitfromabout30square milesofland,allthathadremainedofabout twentymorebulldozedtowns.Beneaththetownlay 110milliontonsoflignitecoal,“brown”coal,aparticularlydirtycoaltoburn.
Buttwoandahalfyearsago,somethingverystrangebegantohappen,Lejeunesaid.“That emptyvillagewasoccupiedorsquattedbyactiviststhatstartedtobuildacommunity.Theycame fromallaroundGermanyandevenEurope.PeoplefromGreece,Italy,France,UnitedKingdom. ...theylivedtogether,theycookedtogether,theysharedeverything.”
Photographsfromthevillageshowamakeshiftparadisecraftedinchaos,aramshackleoasis builtoutofcontradictions.Organizersbuilttreehousesandoccupiedthevillage’smedieval buildings,cookingcommunallyandholdinggatheringsandlivinglifetogether Theclassic signalsofaforestoccupation—collectiveliving,maskedinteractionswithpressandpolice,
occasionalcelebrityvisitors,andaday-to-daylifeofmostlythechoresthatneededtobedone forthecollectivetocontinueon.
AccordingtoLejeune,about500peopledefendedthevillageagainst3,900policeofficers.Over thetimetheyhadbeenthere,theyhadbuiltacityabovetheoldmedievaltown,acityof treehousesandpodsandconcretedoorsandplatformsintheoverstory,oftunnelsandlookouts, allthemoretomakeevictiondifficult.Overthecourseoftheweek,activistssaid35,000had cometotowntoshowtheirsupport.Thelasttwoheldoutintunnelsbeneaththevillage,butthey weretakenbyJanuary16.RWEbulldozedLützerathfortheirlateststripmine,thelatestina longlineage.InapatternthatmaybefamiliartoanyonewholivesnearadammedTennessee ValleyAuthoritylakeinTennessee,orhadagrandparentsignawaytheirmineralrights,entire communitiesinruralGermanyhavebeenrepeatedlyuprootedtomakewayformassivemining operations,alongsidetheverdantandancientforeststhatnourishedthem.
ThoughcoalmininghasalonghistoryinGermany,sodoesforestdefense.Thedeep,mysterious BlackForestisoftenthoughtofasthesettingforwell-knownfolktaleslike“Rapunzel”and “HanselandGretel,”butthesedays,it’salsothefrontlineofalongstrugglebetweenGerman forestdefendersandthecoalindustry,specificallyagainsttheinternationalcompanyRWE.Since the1970s,makeshiftforestencampmentsthroughoutthecountryhavechallengedextraction, drawnattentiontotheground-levelcostsofcoal,andenvisionedalternativewaysofliving.In 2018,ayearlongoccupationinthenearbyHambachForestwasevicted;anothernearthetownof Dresdenwastorndownonlyafewweeksago.
Butallthatseemedabouttochange,andforatime,itseemedasthoughclimateactivistsmight win.Foramomentinhistory,Germansseemedtobelookingtoacoal-freefuture.Thecountry, whichisrunbytheliberal-leaningGreenParty,hadpreviouslyannounceditsintentionstophase outallcoalplantsby2038.Butsomeoftheplanschanged.WhenAngelaMerkel,termedthe “climateprimeminister”bysome,ditchednuclearenergy,thecountryfilledthegapwithmore coal,despiteitsmanyinternationalcommitmentstoreducefossilfueluse.Anotherblowcame whenthewarinUkrainecurbedtheWest’saccesstocheapnaturalgas.Germanofficialshave usedthewarasanexcuseforincreasedcoalproductionoflate,butintruth,thecountrywas alreadyrampingupcoalproductionandhasreopenedthreecoal-firedpowerplantsinthepast fiveyears.
Lejeuneisskepticalofthatapproach,sayingthatinternationalcoalcompaniesdon’texactlyhave nationalenergysovereigntyatthefrontoftheirminds.“Ithinkit'snotagoodargumentforcoal miningandcouldbeanargumentfordoingmorerenewableenergies,”Lejeunesaid.Whenwar cutsoffthesupply,whynotinvestincapturingwindthatwillalwaysblowandsunthatwill alwaysshine?ButcoalisstronginGermany.
TornCommunitiesinTransition
Thecoalindustryhaslongmaintainedatight-fistedgriponruralcommunitiesinGermany.In ruralregionslikeUpperLusatiabythePolishborderandRhine-Westphalia,coalcompanies haverepeatedlyrazedentirevillagestotheground,uprootingfamiliesfrom500-plus-year-old homesandfarmsteads.
OnemightthinkthatcommunitieswouldharboranimositytowardsRWEonthisbasis.But,as everywhere,peopleneedtoeat,andcoalpaysbetterthanmostruraljobs.Inoneaccountofthe priorHambachForestoccupation,onearticlenotesacertaindissonance.Whilesomeofthe peoplewholivedinanearbycommunitycalledManheimwereupsettoleavetheirhomes,some defendedthecompanyevenastheypackedtheirbags.
Andtobefair,Germany’scoaltransitionhasn’tbeenexactlysmooth.Aspartofthetransition plan,Germanyallocatedbillionsofeurostotransformcoalminingregions,inwhatwestateside calla“justtransition,”atransitionthatallowsformercoalminingcommunitiesandworkersto thrive.Butmanysaythey’renotsurewhere,exactly,thatmoneywent.Ruralcoalcommunities certainlyhaven’tseenmuchofit.Onecan’thelpbutthinkofcertainwildproposalsfor Appalachia’sabandonedminelands—thelavenderfarmthatcouldsupposedlyemployhundreds butactuallyranoutofmoneyafteroneyearandendedupbeingovertakenbyweeds.
AsajusttransitionremainselusiveforGermansincoalcountry,coalcompaniesstillemploy around20,000peopleinthecountry,particularlyinruralareas,andtradeunionsremainstrong. It’sbeenawayoflifeforalongtime.Thoughtherearecomplexfeelingsaroundthelossofland andhome,manyareloathtobad-mouththecompany
“ThiscompanythatisexploitingLuetzeandHambach...it’sreallyoneofthebiggest corporationsofGermanyanddefinitelythebiggestemployerintheregion.Sothat'swhyalsoa lotoflocalsbackthecoalmine,becausetheymakethemoney,”Lejeuenesaid.
RWEpayswellandenjoysthesupportfromthelocalmineworkers’unions,whicharestillfairly strong.Recognizably,thefightforenergytransitionsplitsocialmovementsalongthelinesof laborandenvironment,despitethefactthatjusttransitionisatitsheartalaborquestion. Though ofcourse,asintheUScoalfields,manylocalpeoplearedeeplyopposedtoresourceextraction despiteandbecauseoftheircommunity’sdeeptiestoit.Occupationshaveenjoyedbroad supportfromyoungpeopleinparticular.
“Sometimesthereareconflictswithinafamily,”Lejeunesaid.“Maybethefatherworksatthe coalmineforRWE.Andmaybethedaughterisoneoftheprotesterswhoprotectedtheclimate. AndIsawthesecases....They’restrugglingevenwithinthefamilies,betweenthegenerations.”
AFightagainstOblivion
ActivistswhodefendedLützerath,invariouscommunicationsonline,emphasizedthatthe strugglewasbiggerthanthetownalone,thatitwasastandagainstatideofdeath,afightforthe continuedexistenceoflife,toleaveeverylastbitofcoalintheground.Thateveryinchofforest savedisavictory,everylastholdoutforeverylastminuteprotectingusagainstanapocalyptic future.Andnotjustintheabstractsensethatclimatechangewillcomebacktohauntusall eventually,becauseit’snolongerabstract—itishappening.Germanyhasbeenimpactedby severefloodingnotunlikethefloodingthatrepeatedlywreakshavocacrosscentralAppalachia andtheRustBelt.InJuly2021,severefloodingtook220livesinthecountry’sAhrValley.Most
ofthosedeathswereinthestateofNorthernRhine-Westphalia,whereLützerathis.Morethan 2,000peoplelefttheAhrValleyafterthat.Inbetweenthefloods,summersofdroughtbake centralEuropeuntilriversfallandancientstonescanbeseenabovethesurface.These“hunger stones”aresignsoffamineleftbymedievalvillagers.
“NobodyhasforgottentheAhrValley,”saidthepresidentoftheneighboringstate,asgovernors likeAndyBeshearandothersinsistthateasternKentucky,WestVirginia,Appalachiawillnotbe leftbehindagain,thatabettertimeiscoming.Buttheforestdefendersrefute:abettertimeisnot coming,andwillnevercome,notifwecontinuebusinessasusual,notunlesswerealizethatwe needoneanother,andneedthelandandwater,morethanweneedcoal.Astheconstantcrisisof war,hunger,disease,andwildweatherdestabilizesthesupplychain,coaldemandjumpsacross theworld,kickingoffincreasedclimatechangeandevenmorecrises.Ascountriesforgetto honortheircommitmentstoprotectingtheirmostvulnerablefromtheravagesofclimatechange, theforestdefendersremindthem.
ButonJanuary10,2023,theevictionofLützerathwascarriedout,andRWEbegantominethe lignitecoalinearnest.Supposedly,Lützerathisthelasttownthatwillbeeateninthisway.Ina sense,it’sabargainingchip,andinexchangeRWEsaysitwillsavefiveothervillagesinthe mine’spathandceasecoalproductionby2030.Butmanyenvironmentalactivistssaytheywill believeitwhentheyseeit.
Untilthen,theprotestscontinueonintowhatisleftofthecountry’sforests,carriedforwardby slogansfrompastoccupations.“EndeGalende”—Hereandnofurther.“AlleDörfer BLEIBEN!”—allvillagesremain.“LütziBleibt”—Lützerath lives.Thecollectivestillpoststo itsInstagramurgingalliestokeepmoving,thatthere’snotimetowaste:
Wemissoursmallvillage,butweareveryhappyaboutthemanypeoplewewere allowedtomeetandclosetoourhearts—withwhomwearenowcontinuingtomake plans.WearesureyoudothisinyourcitiesandLütziconnectionstoo,butalsogive yourselvesabreak&takecareofyourselves:Wearetheresistance!
Asinthestates,forestprotectorsareoftenothered,presentedas,atbest,strangebirdsand,at worst,joblesstroublemakerswhostandinthewayofprogress,withpressoftenfavoringreleases andstatementsbythecorporationandthegovernment.ButLejeunesaidhewastouchedbythe communitythatthenewpeopleofLützerathbuiltinthefaceofdestruction.“Theseactivistswho werelivingintheirtreehouses,”hesaid,“Ithinkit'sworthittolistentothem.”