

German Police To Clear Protesters To Expand Lignite Mine
The 200 activists currently occupying the village of Lützerath are not expected to leave calmly.
The 200 activists currently occupying the village of Lützerath are not expected to leave calmly.
Germany and Poland are the countries facing the greatest likelihood of suffering from a coal shortfall.
Poland’s importation of coal from overseas reserves is an economic and environmental debacle, one that only makes sense in light of the EU’s environmental policies, which smothered coal mining for ‘green’ reasons.
Germany’s largest gas importer, Uniper, has now asked for financial aid from the state, but a nationalization might bear political risks for the Greens due to ongoing lawsuits against the closure of coal plants.
Kukies said that weaning from European reliance on the 158 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year of gas that Russia supplies is the block’s biggest energy challenge.
With German gas reserves at a precariously low level for winter, Germany has decided to continue shunning nuclear energy, and has opted to reactivate coal plants.
The Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Poland, Germany, and Ukraine have bought coal from South Africa so far this year.