Since 2016, five villages in the Rhineland—Keyenberg, Kuckum, Oberwestrich, Unterwestrich, and Berverath, near Erkelenz—were evacuated to make way for a mine that ultimately did not come to fruition. By the time an agreement was reached on October 4, 2022, approximately 85 percent of the residents had already left. This agreement accelerated Germany's coal phase-out by eight years, moving the target date from 2038 to 2030. The decision preserved the five villages and left 560 million tons of lignite, a type of brown coal, underground. These villages now retain 85 percent of their former residents, with many homes nearly empty, though some former owners may be able to repurchase their properties. The open-pit mine Garzweiler spans 114 square kilometers, with 66 square kilometers designated for Garzweiler I and 48 square kilometers for Garzweiler II. This area is slightly larger than the city of Paris within its walls, which covers approximately 105 square kilometers. Garzweiler II affected seven villages, requiring the relocation of 7,600 residents. The five villages in question formed the third and last wave of relocation, which began in 2016. A new village, "Keyenberg (neu)," emerged a few kilometers from the original Keyenberg, and social life began to shift there. The first Schützenfest, a festival of shooting guilds, was scheduled for 2020. Before the residents left, Keyenberg had more than 800 residents. Initially, it was expected that mining would reach the village by 2027, and a 2021 decision still planned for the demolition of the five communities. By the end of 2022, Keyenberg (neu) had 446 residents. On October 4, 2022, the federal ministry of economy and climate, the economy ministry of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and RWE, a major energy company, presented a joint agreement in Berlin. This agreement advanced RWE's coal phase-out by eight years, to 2030. As a result, lignite production at Garzweiler is nearly halved, and the relocation of the five villages and the farms of Holzweiler will not proceed. According to an analysis by Coal Transitions, full exploitation of the five villages would have allowed the extraction of 560 million tons of lignite, but the new limit is 280 million tons. The agreement links these 280 million tons left underground to an equivalent amount of CO2 not emitted. In contrast, Lützerath, another village, was demolished in January 2023. The 85 percent figure refers to the situation at the time of the agreement, not a final state. Keyenberg, for example, had only about sixty residents remaining, according to a report by GreenFaith. Though almost empty, the villages are not completely abandoned. The government has decided to retain houses whose owners had already sold them to RWE, sometimes years ago, with compensation planned for former residents who may repurchase their properties. The city of Erkelenz is exploring ways to revitalize these villages, though their future remains uncertain. The church Heilig Kreuz in Keyenberg highlights the timeline's complexity: it was desacralized in 2021 and its demolition was scheduled after 2026, but it still stands. The halt of extraction in 2030, confirmed by the end of 2024, gives the reprieve of the five villages a clear deadline.