Police in the city of Aachen report that a man who fell from a bridge suspended between two tree houses in the occupied Hambach Forest on Wednesday has died from his injuries. It is believed the man in question was a journalist. He is said to have sustained serious injuries after falling some 14 meters (45 feet) and died after being flown out of the area by helicopter.

Read more: Hambach Forest: Battleground for climate action

Aachen's police force has spent the past seven days removing activists from the hotly contested primal forest. As of Wednesday, they reported having cleared 39 of the 50 tree houses that activists built and have been living in for the last six years.

The police said that no operations were in progress in the area when the man fell; and that other efforts to clear protesters' encampments were halted.

Later on Wednesday evening North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul confirmed the temporary suspension of police activities in the area.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal The dirtiest fossil fuel Huge excavators extract brown coal - also called lignite - from the earth. This is the first step in getting energy from lignite, among the fossil fuels that emits the most carbon dioxide when burned. This fossil fuel still amounts to almost about a quarter of the German energy mix.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Labyrinth with a crucial role The raw material is then transported to the nearby power stations. Kilometers of conveyors across the mine enable the transformation of raw lignite into coal ready for burning. From some spots, the mine seems to be a labyrinth of giant structures.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Staying put Garzweiler is home to some of the largest machinery in the world. This conveyor, out of operation, gives a sense of the scale. When these machines need to be repaired, the maintenance service comes to them. Would you dare driving it to a shop?

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Stark contrast The energy company RWE also runs several wind parks, one of them visible from the mine itself. Although the company is preparing to adapt to renewable energies, for now its main goal is to extract the remaining lignite from the soil.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Fifty shades of brown Brown tones dominate the landscape at the Garzweiler mine. The machines above this varied palette are fixed to a rail that enables them to stably move back and forward. At the lowest level, conveyors cross from one end to the other.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Future recreation area The view from any point in the open-cast Garzweiler mine is desolate. However, RWE says once the mine is depleted, it will be filled with water to one day become a recreation area. But for that, coal mining first has to be phased out completely.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Protecting the forest Meanwhile, activists have been living for more than two years in what remains of the Hambach Forest. They oppose RWE's plans to extend the Hambach mine - close to Garzweiler - which would see the remnants of the ancient forest go.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Raising awareness Jus is one of the activists who has made the forest their home. They welcome interested visitors, providing them with information about their efforts. Support is constantly growing, Jus said.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Sustainable lifestyle Living in the forest is not only a way to stop the mining activity, it is also the perfect way to demonstrate a more sustainable lifestyle, activists believe. They say they build with sustainable materials, in harmony with nature and respecting wildlife.

Green Germany: Home to brown coal Future prospects Climate and energy experts believe the 2017 elections and the formation of a new government will be the turning points in reaching a final phase-out of coal mining. And if the Hambach mine invades the forest, activists fear the next generations will face a desolate panorama. Author: Irene Banos Ruiz



The standoff has been long coming but escalated last week when police moved in. Authorities say the tree houses represent a fire hazard. German energy company RWE, which owns the property, is set to begin clear cutting the forest in October so that it can expand its adjacent lignite mine — the largest open-pit mine in Europe and one of the biggest single sources of carbon on the continent.

Read more: Opinion: Hambach Forest — just because it's legal doesn't make it right

Opponents of the plan have been highly critical of the company's intentions, accusing it of putting profits over people and the environment. They have also demanded the end of coal energy production in the country. On Thursday, activists and environmentalists plan to present North Rhine-Westphalia's state premier, Armin Laschet, with petitions signed by 500,000 citizens calling for the state government to step in and save the forest.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Primal forest At the heart of Europe, in western Germany, near the border to France and Belgium, a scrap of ancient forest holds thousand-year-old trees along with abundant wildlife. But there's another species living there in the forest as well — our own.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Life among the treetops About 150 people currently live in what's left of Hambach forest, many in makeshift tree houses. Although living in a tree house may appear idyllic, many of the environmental activists have uprooted their lives for the better part of six years — living without electricity and running water — to protect the forest, and take a stance against the power of the fossil fuel industry.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Evictions begin Several hundred police officers accompanied RWE workers for protection as they visited the forest on Wednesday, September 5, to expel the protesters in preparation for clearing. Although the operation was mostly peaceful, one activist was arrested after resisting police.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Nonviolent resistance Activists joke about their "dangerous weapons," such as an empty fire extinguisher. Just days before the police action on September 5, Herbert Reul, the interior minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, warned that police and RWE staff in the Hambach forest were dealing with "extremely violent left-wing extremists." Members of the protest group have denied Reul's description.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Not the first forest confrontation Over the years, police have clashed with protesters in the Hambach forest. In 2017, police employed pepper spray to disperse protesters in advance of planned logging. The looming eviction is likely to result in the largest confrontation there yet.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Trees for coal Here is the result of a recent RWE clearing campaign, which ran from October 2016 to March 2017. In the background, the smokestacks of the Niederaussem power station can be seen. With a CO2 output of more than 29 million tons yearly, this is Europe's third-dirtiest power plant. Due to massive toxic emissions such as mercury and sulfur, it is also considered Germany's second-most-toxic power plant.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? 'Critical turning point' for climate policy "Clumsy" has lived among the treetops in the Hambach forest since the resistance against the RWE coalmine project began in 2012. He believes the battle over the forest is a critical turning point for German climate policy, and the government's decision is one between "giving in to the lignite hardliners, [or] protecting our life support basis on this planet."

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Small forest with big stakes Only about 10 percent of the once sprawling Hambach forest has survived the mine's onslaught. What's left appears miniscule in comparison to the vast expanse of the mine, which already covers about 85 square kilometers (33 square miles). But environmentalists say the forest holds enormous ecological value, and is home to abundant and biodiverse ecology, including endangered animal species.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Ever-hungry coal industry The Hambach mine, located between Aachen and Cologne, is Germany's largest open-cast mine. Here, RWE uses enormous excavators to extract brown coal, also known as lignite, from the earth. Lignite is among the fossil fuels that emit the most carbon dioxide when burned. What remains of Hambach forest is the last bastion in a long battle against the expansion of the mine.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Save the forest, save the world Environmental activists have undertaken nonviolent resistance against the RWE coal mine expansion for more than six years. Through their actions, they claim to not only want to save the Hambach forest from destruction, but also send a message to the world about the dangerous consequences of prioritizing fossil fuel extraction over important ecological sites.

6 years of coal protest coming to an end at Germany's Hambach forest? Global support Activists from all over the world have supported the action by staying for days or weeks at a time. Over the past six years, activists have literally built up an alternative community within the forest. Although it is still unclear what exactly will happen in the struggle between the protesters and the fossil fuel giant, potential eviction is an ever-present possibility for the forest dwellers. Author: Charli Shield



js/msh (AFP, Reuters)