Thousands of climate protesters faced off with police on Monday in a tiny German hamlet due for demolition to make way for a coal mine.
The struggle for Luetzerath has become a rallying cry for activists who say the mine’s enlargement betrays Germany’s climate goals.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, including the Green party which once opposed the mine, says the coal is needed to plug gaps amid an energy crisis in Europe.
Police are bracing for a long stand-off as activists camp out in Luetzerath, in Germany’s western coal country, to stop it being cleared.
Campaigners have set up barricades, vigils and makeshift camps and occupied empty farm buildings in the village, after shuttling people to Luetzerath by bus.
Luisa Neubauer, the face of the Fridays for Future movement in Germany, said protesters would “use every means to protect the village, and thereby our climate goals”.
“The world is watching what we’re doing here, because we’re fighting for them too,” she told a crowd of supporters.
“If governments won’t do it, we will. They don’t have the courage, we do.”
Police said protests that had been mostly peaceful had turned violent after a march on Sunday.
Dirk Weinspach, the local police chief, said stones were thrown at officers and cars damaged amid the unrest.
Authorities fear that activists will glue themselves to the ground or set up booby traps in farm buildings.
“Police are facing a difficult, challenging operation with considerable risks,” Mr Weinspach told a press conference on Monday.
The demolition, expected to start on Wednesday or Thursday, is the final stage in a years-long struggle for the village, about 30km from the Dutch border.
Activists have campaigned under the slogan “every village stays” to block a new coal mine at a time when Germany is trying to phase out fossil fuels.
Energy company RWE counters that nobody really lives in Luetzerath, except people occupying the site.
It says Germany will only have enough coal to replace Russian gas if the open-cast mine is expanded.
Russia cut off imports to Germany and much of Europe in the fallout from the war in Ukraine, causing a surge in energy prices.
Mr Scholz's government ordered coal plants brought back on the grid, extended the lifetime of three nuclear reactors and had a new gas terminal built in the North Sea.
German ministers struck a deal with RWE last autumn to allow mining in Luetzerath to go ahead, in exchange for five other villages being spared.
The government insists that the target of ending coal power generation by 2030 is still on track.
But campaigners say the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C is in jeopardy.
Stefan Rahmstorf, a climatologist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said politicians should consider whose side they are on.
“Politicians should think carefully about how a massive police operation in favour of coal and against climate activists will be judged in four or five years, when damage to the climate has become greater and more obvious,” he said.
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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CREW
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
