• Greta Thunberg was temporarily held by police at a rally.
• She had been released after an ID check.
• Police clarified that Ms. Thunberg had not been arrested.

Greta Thunberg, a climate activist, was temporarily held by police at a rally in western Germany.

She was demonstrating with campaigners to prevent the demolition of the abandoned community of Lützerath for the construction of a coal mine.

Police clarified that Ms. Thunberg had not been arrested, and later said she had been released after an ID check.

According to police, the Swedish activist was apprehended as a group “rushed towards the ledge” of the Garzweiler 2 mine.

Activists claim that coal combustion hampers Germany’s efforts to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

The administration has promised to move the phase-out of coal in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state where the mine is located, to 2030. The national goal is 2038.

The dirtiest type of coal is lignite, and the area around Lützerath produces 25 million tonnes of it each year.

The government claims that expanding the mine is necessary to meet German energy demand while dealing with the disruption of Russian gas.

Protest organizers estimated that 35,000 people showed up on Saturday, while police estimated that the number was closer to 15,000 people.

Over the weekend, police reported they were able to remove all activists from the town.

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