From April 24th to 26th, about 100 young activists from BUNDjugend/YFoE Germany and other (youth) organisations gathered in the area of the Garzweiler open-pit coal mine in West Germany. The weekend at the anti-coal-camp was full of discussions on climate and energy issues, a preview of the movie “La Buena Vida“, preparing action materials for the human chain and time for networking and exchanging plans and strategies to fight for climate justice. Everyone enjoyed the delicious vegan food prepared by a dedicated cooking team from the Netherlands and the great atmosphere in the camp.

Human Chain

The 7.5 kilometre long human chain, formed by 6000 people from all over Germany, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg and other countries, was the highlight of the weekend. They demand that the federal government immediately shut down the dirtiest coal power plants as well as develop a roadmap for the complete phasing out of coal-based power by 2040. With their loud voices and a lot of fun BUNDjugend/YFoE Germany activists were an important and awareness rising part of the anti-coal-chain.

Background information

Burning brown coal for power generation is not only climate killer number one but also has a lot of local and regional consequences. Electricity companies destroy huge parts of our nature and landscapes. Moreover, small villages have to give way to the coal mining bulldozers.
In the run up to the UN climate summit at the end of this year in Paris, it is necessary to build a strong movement and long-term mobilisation for climate justice and the transformation of our energy systems. We demand governments divest from fossil fuels and expand renewable energies. According to reports, 80% of the current fossil fuel reserves must stay underground if we are to limit the catastrophic effects of global warming.

YFoEE Summer Camp 2015

If you want to learn more about dirty energy, extraction, false solutions like “clean coal”, fracking or nuclear energy, you can sign up for the YFoEE summer camp in France. From July 20th to 26th, young Europeans will gather for networking, skill-sharing and mobilisation in Britanny, France. Registrations will be open from Mid-May.

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