German Environmentalists Threaten to Take Nord Stream-2 to Court
German environmentalists have decided to prevent the construction of Nord Stream-2 in the territorial waters of Germany. The move was announced by representatives of the environmental association NABU, a German non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to conservation at home and abroad, including the protection of rivers, forests and individual species of animals.
The NGO plans to go to court because they see danger in the pipeline passing through marine nature protection zones, “threatening the safe existence of marine animals,” writes Spiegel magazine.
According to Nabu expert Kim Detloff, gas supplies via the new gas pipeline will lead “only to the fact that there will be competition for renewable energy sources for decades but to the detrimant of achieving agreed climate goals.”
German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel had previously stated that Germany supported the project and did not consider it a political one. On February 16, she reiterated support for the construction of the gas pipeline, stating that Nord Stream-2 “does not threaten the energy security of Europe.”
On February 28, Chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz spoke about his own country’s support of the project following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The Nord Stream-2 project, which concerns not only Austria, but also Germany and other states, is also supported by the Austrian Federal Government,” he said.
The Russian leader said that the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project is depoliticized, “this is not an alternative to even the Ukrainian route: this is an economic and, moreover, a commercial project. The participants of this project have considered their profits and economic gains from its implementation, and have come to the conclusion that implementation is expedient,” President Putin said.
“If Ukraine presents economically justified parameters for the use of its gas transportation system, we have nothing against continuing cooperation with Ukraine. The question is only the volume to pump,” Putin added.
At the same time, Kyiv continued to be vocal about the “danger of the project for the energy security of the EU.”
On February 23, Ukrainian expert Andrei Chubik invited the authorities of the country to demand compensation from the EU for the construction of the gas pipeline.
Earlier, Raiffeisenbank's analyst for the oil and gas sector, Andrei Polishchuk, said in a commentary to Ridus that the project is moving forward mainly thanks to Germany, which supports it as its main consumer.
“I think Gazprom will manage to get all the permits necessary for the construction of Nord Stream-2, and most likely the project will be implemented,” the expert said, going on to note that political risks always exist in the implementation of such large and significant projects.
Dimitri Dolaberidze