HOCHNEUKIRCH, Germany (AP) — Thousands have joined climate protests in the western German village of Hochneukirch near one of the country's biggest lignite coal mines.

Saturday's rally comes two days after European Union leaders failed to agree upon a plan to make the bloc's economy carbon neutral by 2050.

German police have mobilized hundreds of officers to prevent the vast, open-cast mine and adjacent power plants from being blocked by protesters.

Protester Selma Schubert said, "It's important to increase the pressure on the government."

Following months of protests by students and a sharp rise in the polls for Germany's Green party, Chancellor Angela Merkel recently threw her weight behind the idea of making the entire German economy climate neutral by 2050 — meaning no more man-made greenhouse gases would be added to the atmosphere.