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Press Release
Fran Leitner, spokesperson for Ende Gelände, says:
“Fossil gas is fueling the climate crisis. It warms the atmosphere 80 times more than CO2. We are all feeling the impact of increasing floods, storms, and scorching summers. Especially in the Global South, more and more areas are being devastated and rendered uninhabitable. Nevertheless, gas lobby minister Katherina Reiche wants to build about 20 new gas-fired power plants starting this summer. Reiche is the fossil fuel companies’ puppet in the government. With her power plant strategy, she is gifting her old friends at E.ON, EnBW, and RWE billions in profits from electricity generated by climate-damaging gas, while deliberately blocking renewable energy. This climate crime escalates the lethal reality of the climate catastrophe for the global majority. We are resisting the fossil fuel rollback. We remain the investment risk for all climate-killing corporations and their lobby in politics.”
Experts criticize the federal government’s power plant strategy for its one-sided focus on fossil gas. The responsible Minister of Economic Affairs, Katherina Reiche—who, until her appointment, was CEO of E.ON subsidiary Westenergie AG—reportedly specifically requested arguments against renewable energy and battery storage from RWE and EnBW while intentionally ignoring other positions. The expansion of gas-fired power plants is to focus on industrial regions in southern Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Hamm Climate Camp, which is taking place in Lippepark in Hamm until June 2, 2026, is also protesting the federal government’s power plant strategy. Resistance to the gas industry has a long tradition in the region. Jürgen Blümer of the Warendorf District Climate Alliance and one of the co-organizers of the Climate Camp shares his perspective from a local standpoint:
“People here in Hamm have repeatedly seen how the short-term interests of fossil fuel corporations have been prioritized over their everyday reality. As local initiatives, we successfully prevented gas drilling 10 years ago, demonstrating that we stand for a different energy future. We are continuing this diverse and vibrant protest now and, as a broad coalition, will thwart Katherina Reich’s plans!”
The civil disobedience campaign by the Ende Gelände action alliance is part of a diverse and creative range of protest expressions. Under the slogan “Waffles Instead of Weapons,” activists greeted employees of Friedrich-Wilhelms-Hütte—a subsidiary of the defense contractor KNDS—with fresh waffles at the blocked factory gate early this morning. Currently, they are letting a solar-powered inflatable figure bearing the likeness of Economics Minister Reiche flutter in the wind in front of the Scholven fossil fuel power plant. The protests will continue. A large demonstration has been registered for Saturday, May 30. Ende Gelände is already planning a press conference for the afternoon.
Contact
Tomke Jansen +49 179 1560556 | Spokesperson for Ende Gelände
Fran Leitner: +49 1521 4512220 | Spokesperson for Ende Gelände
Email: presse@ende-gelaende.org
You can find the latest information on our Telegram channel: http://shortlink.uk/EGTG26
Ende Gelände website: www.ende-gelaende.org
You can find photos of past actions on the Ende Gelände Flickr account. If you are interested in using them, please contact the photographers linked there: