While EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) plans to approve dividends totaling 551 million euros at its Annual General Meeting, to be held online tomorrow, May 7, the indigenous Wayúu people in La Guajira are suffering from the consequences of coal mining in Colombia, which has made these profits possible. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) is therefore calling on the energy company to finally take responsibility for human rights violations at the Cerrejón open-pit mine: “EnBW is privatizing the profits and leaving the social and ecological costs to the people in the Global South. This behavior is a disgrace, especially for the Green-governed state of Baden-Württemberg and its designated Minister-President Cem Özdemir,” explains Jan Königshausen, STP’s Advisor on Indigenous Peoples. “As the largest shareholder, the state will benefit handsomely from the profit distribution and thus bears supply chain responsibility. With the announcement to eventually phase out coal-fired power generation, neither EnBW nor Özdemir can shirk this responsibility. There can never be a credible energy transition this way.”
The Cerrejón open-pit mine is one of the largest and most controversial coal mines in the world and is operated by the Swiss commodities group Glencore. For years, human rights organizations and Colombian courts have documented systematic violations: “The destruction of the water supply for thousands of people, the forced relocation of numerous communities without adequate compensation, but with consequences for the local population. Wayúu children are dying from malnutrition and contaminated water. Furthermore, murders of human rights defenders, intimidation, and the disregard of indigenous consultation rights have been documented,” summarizes Königshausen. “As the largest shareholder, the state of Baden-Württemberg bears direct responsibility for these business practices.”
STP urgently calls on EnBW AG and its shareholders to actively participate in compensation and restoration measures in La Guajira, to ensure full transparency regarding past and current supply chains, and to implement clear human rights due diligence obligations. In 2024, Germany was the third-largest importer of Colombian hard coal, with 2.9 million tons; in total, over 110 million tons of hard coal have been imported from Colombia since 2004. As one of Germany’s largest energy suppliers, EnBW has burned hard coal from Cerrejón for years—and thus directly profited from human rights violations. Despite the announced phase-out of coal by 2030, the company has not provided any compensation to those affected. The issue is not even scheduled to be addressed at this year’s annual general meeting.
This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at 65]G378o6DD6CA.
Contact: Jan Königshausen, Advisor on Indigenous Peoples – 65]G378o?6DF29D8:?6@<];