CNN —
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was released by German police on Tuesday night after she was arrested earlier in the day at a protest against the expansion of a coal mine in the western village of Lützerath, police confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.
“Thunberg was arrested only briefly. As soon as (Thunberg’s) identity was established, she was free to leave,” Max Wilmes, police spokesman for the city of Aachen, told CNN.
“Because of the recognition of her name, the police have expedited the identification process,” Wilmes said. He said she then waited for other protesters to be released.
Thunberg quickly resumed campaigning on Wednesday, tweeting, “Climate action is not a crime.”
“Yesterday I was part of a group peacefully protesting against the expansion of a coal mine in Germany,” said the activist, adding, “We were surrounded by the police and then arrested but released later that evening.”
Thunberg was part of a large group of protesters who broke through a police cordon and entered a coal mine that authorities were unable to fully secure, police spokesman Christof Hüls told CNN on Tuesday. This is the second time Thunberg has been arrested at the scene, he said.
Since last Wednesday, the German police have removed hundreds of activists from Lützerath. Some have been on the site for more than two years, CNN previously reported, occupying the homes abandoned by former residents after they were evicted, mostly until 2017 to make way for the brown coal mine.
The German government struck an agreement in 2022 with energy company RWE, which owns the mine, allowing it to expand to Lützerath if coal use ceases by 2030 – rather than 2038.
Once the clearance is complete, RWE plans to erect a 1.5-kilometer fence around the village, sealing off its buildings, roads and sewers before they are demolished.
Thunberg tweeted on Friday that she was in Lützerath to protest against the expansion. On Saturday she joined thousands of people demonstrating against the destruction of the village.
Addressing the protest activists, Thunberg said: “The carbon is still in the ground. And as long as the carbon is in the ground, this fight is not over.”
Hüls said Thunberg “surprisingly” returned to protest on Sunday, when she was first arrested, and then again on Tuesday.
Climate strike week 230. We are in Lützerath, a German village that is threatened with demolition because of a colliery expansion. People have been resisting for years. Join us here at 12 or a local protest tomorrow to demand this #Lützerath stays !#climate strike pic.twitter.com/hGrCK6ZQew
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 13, 2023
The expansion of the coal mine is important for climate activists. They argue that continuing to burn coal for energy would increase emissions to warm the planet and violate the Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Lignite is the most polluting type of coal, which is itself the most polluting fossil fuel.
“We must stop the current destruction of our planet and human sacrifice to fuel near-term economic growth and corporate greed,” Thunberg said.
Clashes erupted between activists and police that month, and photos from the protests showed police officers in riot gear trying to remove the protesters.
More than 1,000 police officers were involved in the evacuation operation. In the meantime, most of the village buildings have been cleared and replaced by excavators.
RWE and Germany’s Greens – a member of the country’s governing coalition – both dismiss claims that mine expansion will increase overall emissions, saying European caps mean additional carbon emissions can be offset. However, several climate reports have highlighted the need to accelerate clean energy and the transition away from fossil fuels. Recent studies also suggest that Germany may not even need the extra coal. An August report by the international research platform Coal Transitions found that coal-fired power plants, even if operating at very high capacity by the end of this decade, already have more coal on hand than is needed from existing supplies.