Even as the West shoves its green climate agenda down the throat of the developing world, it itself keeps on exhibiting sheer hypocrisy as it seeks to widen its dependence on fossil fuels. In the latest instance, Germany is witnessing the dismantling of a large wind farm; only to expand a nearby open-pit lignite coal mine.
German energy giant RWE is undertaking the dismantling work in the western region of North Rhine Westphalia, where one wind turbine has already been dismantled. The company plans to weed out seven more to pave the way for an additional 15m to 20m tonnes of so-called ‘brown’ coal to be excavated.
Brown coal, by the way, is considered one of the most polluting energy sources in the world.
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Expansion of coal field blamed on Ukraine crisis
RWE and the German government justify the move by saying that it was necessary to steer clear of a massive energy crisis.
It said how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jeopardised Germany’s energy security and the expansion of the so-called Garzweiler coal fields was required to meet the country’s energy demands.
Germany’s minister for economy and climate action Robert Habeck defended the expansion as the “right decision.” According to RWE, the expansion is necessary “due to the energy crisis.”
Expansion of coal field part of a wider deal
The expansion of the coalfield is being done under a deal brokered last year between RWE and the German government. In return, RWE had promised to completely phase out coal in 2030, eight years before the previous deadline. “It’s a good day for climate protection,” Habeck said at the time.
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Move invites sharp criticism
The move to demolish wind farms to make way for more coal excavation has triggered massive criticism by activists.
“The current climate emergency requires urgent and concerted efforts to accelerate the deployment of every single wind turbine, solar panel and heat pump that we can muster,” said Fabian Hübner, a senior campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels, a German-based coalition of climate activists.
“Anything that diverts from this critical endeavour, especially the dismantling of renewable energy sources to extract more fossil fuels, must be unequivocally prohibited,” he added.
NOTE – This article was originally published in wionews and can be viewed here
Tags: #climate, #climateaction, #climatehange, #coal, #environment, #farm, #Garzweiler, #germany, #getgreengetgrowing, #gngagritech, #greenstories, #RWE, #Ukrainecrisis
