"Climate history backs bold actions now to keep fossil fuels in the ground", 1 September 2017

Thousands of protesters have occupied a coal mine near Cologne - the single largest emitter of C02 in Europe... Germany is a pretty good place to stop coal extraction right at the source – which is the goal of the Ende Gëlande action. Historically, only 5 countries have emitted more greenhouse gasses per capita than Germany, all of them Western countries... This historic emissions balance is no longer translated into differentiated responsibilities. The neglect and indifference to history has happened despite many voices crying for a fair agreement that takes the “climate debt” of developed countries seriously. The climate justice movement, the developing countries, many philosophers and political theorists and even the Pope have emphasized that “a true ecological debt exists”... Actions like Ende Gëlande answer to both the acute need to keep fossil fuels in the ground as well as an historic responsibility for Germany... When people in the West occupy fossil fuel extraction sites they may need to confront the police, but they’ll find earth scientists and history on their side.