Hambach forest, Germany threatened. Ecosia offers to save him

Ecosia, the world's largest nonprofit search engine, is proposing to buy the rest of Hambach Forest from energy giant RWE, which plans to slaughter it largely to continue its extraction activities of lignite.

On October 9, Ecosia submitted an unsolicited bid of one million euros for the remaining 200 remaining hectares of the old forest. The next day, October 10, RWE officially rejected the offer of Ecosia. Ecosia writes on his blog:

"Our offer to buy the Hambach Forest to make it a nature reserve remains active until the end of October. In addition to that, we are currently considering a second offer. "

The German energy giant, RWE, bought the land in the Hambach Forest in the 1970s. In the last six years, protesters have occupied the area, some of them living in houses in the trees. And while RWE is preparing to demolish the remaining 200 hectares, which account for only 10% of the original forest since RWE began mining in 1978, the forest demonstrations in Hambach are are intensified.

On October 5, a German court ordered the suspension of the clearance of the Hambach Forest. The suspension of the court was put in place following a lawsuit filed by the environmental group BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany. In its legal action against forest deforestation, BUND argued that the area was subject to the EU Habitats Directive because of the bat population of Bechstein.

Ecosia, a Berlin-based search engine, uses the benefits generated by this research to support various conservation initiatives. To date, he has planted more than 40 million trees in the world. Ecosia CEO Christian Kroll said the users had been speaking on the subject of looking for a way to definitely save the Hambach forest. Kroll added:

"We are offering RWE one million euros to get out of this limbo the fate of this 12,000-year-old forest. Thanks to their ability to exploit the lignite beneath the last stretch of the forest in question, we ask RWE to take this offer into account. "

Pieter van Midwoud, tree planting manager at Ecosia, said:

"Some trees are over 350 years old and the forest is still home to 13 trees. the threatened species. Our plan would be to safeguard and promote the biodiversity of the Hambach Forest for future generations, ensuring that the public always has access to old-growth forests. "

Environmentalists urged to rethink the country's energy strategy The Guardian "Emphasizing that energy companies are making huge profits – with an estimated turnover of 1.8 billion euros – by exporting about 80 terawatts of energy to neighboring countries." In Ecosia's press release, Kroll added:

"Last year, for the first time, Germany produced more renewable energy than lignite energy, and this is the direction in which we must continue to work. If we lose the Hambach forest and RWE continues to expand its lignite mining activities, Germany will struggle to achieve the goals of the Paris climate agreement and an inestimable natural wonder will have been lost. "

And while the fate of the Hambach Forest is still part of the scale, in order to show support for the old forested area, Kroll encourages the Germans to switch to one of the certified green energy providers.

Baiba Šustere

Baiba Šustere is editor-in-chief and wellness expert for My Good Planet. Specializing in mindfulness, health and well-being, Baiba's work has inspired and touched many of our readers during his stay with us. His time studying to become a yoga teacher in India gave him a unique perspective on life. a que she generously shares with us regularly.