Greta Thunberg removed from site of Norwegian wind farm protest

Police removed Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and 9 other people from a protest against Norwegian wind farms on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Oslo police district confirmed to CNN.

Thunberg and dozens of demonstrators blocked access to several Norwegian government buildings in Oslo to protest against two wind farms that were built on land used by the indigenous Sámi people to graze reindeer. Thunberg was among a group removed from the entrance of the ministry of finance in Oslo on Wednesday morning, the spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

“Indigenous rights, human rights, must go hand-in-hand with climate protection and climate action,” Thunberg told Reuters on Monday. “That can’t happen at the expense of some people. Then it is not climate justice.”

The Sámi people are the only recognized Indigenous group in the European Union, and they say that their reindeer herding tradition is threatened by the construction of the wind farms, CNN reported. The Supreme Court in Norway ruled in 2021 that the two wind farms’ permits were invalid for violating the rights of the Sámi people, but the turbines are still in operation.

Thunberg was detained during protests twice while in Germany in January after demonstrating at a coal mine in the country. On one of the occasions, police carried Thunberg away from the area after a group of protesters, including her, allegedly “stormed” the coal mine.