NABU Says Fight Over Nord Stream 2 Construction 'Defused,' Will Now Focus On Compensation

Environmental group NABU deems the conflict over Nord Stream 2 construction in the springtime has been "defused" after its lawsuit put a German regulator permit on halt until late May, and will now focus on seeking compensation for "damage" to the environment, Dr. Kim Cornelius Detloff, head of NABU's Marine Conservation, told Sputnik

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2021) Environmental group NABU deems the conflict over Nord Stream 2 construction in the springtime has been "defused" after its lawsuit put a German regulator permit on halt until late May, and will now focus on seeking compensation for "damage" to the environment, Dr. Kim Cornelius Detloff, head of NABU's Marine Conservation, told Sputnik.

On Monday, Nabu took legal action against the Nord Stream 2 project, arguing that the gas link could damage the Baltic Sea's sensitive marine ecosystem. On Tuesday, Germany's Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency told Sputnik that the lawsuit halts the current work permit, but the construction will be allowed to resume in late May.

"NordStream 2 runs in the middle of natural reservations in German waters, which we consider to be incompatible with the objectives of the protected area. The current contradiction is about the changed construction time window from January to June in the bird sanctuary (note: salt marshes on the coast, where the terminal will be situated). Now that no work has been done in the German Baltic Sea, this conflict has defused. Presently, the issue is a matter of compensating for the damage to the seabed," Detloff said.

The activist also questioned the entire rationale behind the Russian-led pipeline, noting that "we disagree with the argument for an increased need for energy security.

"

"Our reports of the German Institute for Economic Research say that no additional gas infrastructure is required, but that additional gas pipelines, or LNG terminals, are a political bet against the success of the transition to renewable energies in Europe," he insisted.

According to Detloff, there are sufficient gas import infrastructures "in the form of pipelines and LNG ports in Europe and Germany."

"Due to the various redundancies in the European natural gas network, individual delivery bottlenecks or demand peaks are compensated. The Nord Stream 2 project is therefore not necessary from an energy management perspective," the activist stated.

He further argued that though "from a climate perspective, there may be a short-term advantage of natural gas deliveries via Nord Stream 2" over other sources, including American LNG, the project holds "the risk of a fossil 'lock-in' and delay in the implementation of the energy transition."

The state authorities in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, who set up a green foundation in January to protect the pipeline from US sanctions, deem the project to be a step toward green transition.