Greta Thunberg joins coal protesters in Luetzerath

STORY: "Germany is really embarrassing itself right now," said Thunberg, who said the expansion of the Garzweiler lignite coal mine run by energy firm RWE was absurd in 2023.

Thunberg said she plans to join a demonstration on Saturday that will "show what people power looks like, what democracy looks like - that when government and corporations act like this, destroying the environment ... the people step up."

For over two years demonstrators have occupied Luetzerath, a village in the brown-coal district of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, to stop the expansion of the mine.

Following a court decision allowing RWE to proceed with the expansion, hundreds of police in riot gear moved in on Wednesday morning, clearing barricades erected by the activists.