New Key Decision on Lignite in North Rhine-Westphalia Raises Concerns for Climate Protection and Citizen Participation

• Despite preserving the villages: New key decision is a heavy burden for climate protection
• Criticism of further expropriation and destruction of valuable agricultural land and the potential extension of opencast mining and power plant operating times until 2033
• Opportunities missed: “questionable citizen participation” and lack of transparency in decision-making

The black-green state government in North Rhine-Westphalia has presented its new key decision on lignite. Despite the rescue of five remaining villages from the Garzweiler opencast mine, the BUND sees serious deficiencies.

Thomas Krämerkemper, deputy state chairman: “It is commendable that the villages should be protected and a new biotope network system should be created. But despite these positive approaches, an exit in 2033 is still far too late from a climate policy perspective. The planned mining of a further 280 million tons of lignite to date is far too high and poses a heavy burden for climate protection in North Rhine-Westphalia.”

In addition, the shortening of opencast mining operations with extended power plant operating times and new gas power plants as a parting gift from the state government to RWE was bought at a high price, instead of being legally enforced against and at the expense of RWE due to the obvious needs. This completely ignores the fact that the RWE Group is one of the main causes of the climate crisis globally and has emitted more greenhouse gases than entire countries. Nevertheless, and despite its immoral record profits, the RWE Group is and has been treated with kid gloves by all state governments.

The state government will predictably not stick to this policy and this key decision on lignite will not be the last. Because of this key decision, the problems of climate and water protection remain largely unsolved. The state government must therefore plan for a future tightening of climate policy in lignite planning and take this into account in the key decision now.

The planned use of additional areas for overburden extraction at the Hambach opencast mine is also clearly rejected: “The planned Manheim Bay lake expansion is further evidence of the state government’s misguided priorities. It is downright absurd that ancient cultural landscapes, including the agricultural land there, should be sacrificed in order to recultivate areas that have already been damaged.”said Thomas Krämerkämper. “Digging new holes to fill old ones is not a sustainable policy.” The planned excavation of Manheim Bay to a depth of up to 60 meters would be a major setback for the desired reconnection of the remaining forests in the region. It is incomprehensible why the state government does not follow the suggestion of its own experts not to completely fill the old opencast mine near Garzweiler, but rather to leave it to natural development (“arch solution”). With this and other ideas, the soil that is now to be excavated in Hambach and Garzweiler could be saved.

In addition, the BUND once again criticizes the decision-making process. It is regrettable that the voices of civil society and affected citizens have once again been largely ignored. It seems as if citizen participation was only carried out pro forma. Ultimately, the key decision essentially only contains what the state and RWE agreed on last year among themselves and without the citizens.

“We call on the state government to minimize land use and give priority to protecting the soil that is still intact. In any case, BUND will not give up its area in Manheim Bay without a fight and will defend the property it owns against RWE in court.”so Krämerkämper.