In Germany, one of the largest environmental organizations for the Conservation of Nature and Biodiversity (NABU) has joined the conservation organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe and challenged in court the issuance of a permit for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline by the German Federal Office for Shipping, as was reported by the NABU website.
The claim concerns an unfinished section of the pipeline in the exclusive economic zone of Germany. NABU recalled that it has opposed the construction of the gas pipeline since 2018 and considers the lawsuit "the only way to limit damage to the Baltic Sea."
The subject of the lawsuit was that the Russian gas pipeline passes through the territory of four protected areas in the Baltic Sea and harms the sensitive marine environment. The permit for the laying at the beginning of this year was issued by the Federal Office for Shipping and Hydrography of Germany (BSH). A few days later, environmental organizations challenged the decision, but on April 1, the environmentalists' demand to cancel the permit was rejected by BSH. The permit is valid until the end of May on a 16.5 km branch in the German economic zone of the Baltic Sea but was suspended pending consideration of an environmental complaint.
"In addition, the question of whether we need this pipeline at all is becoming increasingly urgent," the NABU message reads.
It's worth noting that as of April 1, the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was 95% complete. Gazprom is completing it on its own, as its Swiss contractor stopped the work due to US sanctions