(CNN) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested on Tuesday by German police. It happened as the activist was taking part in a protest against the expansion of a coal mine in the western town of Lützerath, CNN affiliate N-TV reported.
Thunberg joined thousands of other activists and protesters who took part in protests over the weekend against the demolition of the German village that will make way for an expansion of the Garzweiler lignite coal mine, owned by European energy giant RWE.
Once the eviction is complete, RWE plans to build a 1.5 kilometer perimeter fence around the village, blocking building entrances, streets and sewers to the village for demolition.
An image of the police taking Greta Thunberg into custody.
The coal mine expansion is significant for climate activists. According to them, continuing to burn coal for energy will increase emissions that cause global warming and go against the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Brown coal is the most polluting type of coal, which in turn is the most polluting fossil fuel.
Thunberg tweeted on Friday that she was in Lützerath to protest the mine expansion and called on others to join.
Climate strike week 230. We are currently in Lützerath, a German village threatened to be demolished for an expansion of a coal mine. People have been resisting for years. Join us here at 12 or a local protest tomorrow to demand that #Lützerath stays !#ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/hGrCK6ZQew
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 13, 2023
Throughout this month, there have been clashes between activists and police, while photos from the protests show police using riot gear to clear out protesters. Some of the protesters have been in Lützerath for more than two years, CNN previously reported, occupying houses abandoned by former residents who were evicted to make way for the mine.
More than 1,000 police officers participated this Tuesday in the eviction operation. Most of the buildings in the village have already been emptied and replaced by bulldozers.
RWE and the Green Party of Germany reject the claim that the mine expansion will increase overall emissions, arguing that European limits on additional carbon emissions could be offset. But several climate reports have made clear the need to accelerate clean energy development and the transition away from fossil fuels. Recent studies also suggest that Germany may not even need the power from those additional coal mines. an august report of the international research platform Coal Transitions found that even if coal plants operate at very high capacity until the end of this decade, they already have more coal available than necessary from existing supplies.
This story was updated with more information.