Inhalt
Open-pit lignite mining in the Rhineland is a stark example of environmental destruction and a major contribution to the climate crisis. The Rhenish lignite mining area is the number one carbon polluting region in
Europe. In 2016, RWE, a major German electricity producer, extracted 90 million tons of lignite, about 40 million tons in the Hambach open-pit mine alone. Since 1978, lignite – or brown coal – mining in Hambach has been destroying the environment and the climate.