A court in the German region of Brandenburg authorized the clearing of the forest, which was fought by local environmentalists, for the sake of the first European Tesla plant. Bloomberg writes about it.
The American electric car manufacturer previously received permission from the German authorities to additionally cut down nearly 83 hectares of forest to build storage facilities and lay sewers for its plant near Berlin. This was opposed by ecologists from the Union for the Conservation of Nature and Biodiversity (NABU) and the Green League, who tried to challenge the felling through the administrative court of Frankfurt an der Oder. They stated that the destruction of trees will lead to the elimination of populations of copperhead snakes and nimble lizards. Tesla replied to this that before the start of work, all the animals were caught and resettled, but environmentalists found this impossible.
Now the Brandenburg court has ruled that the bulk of copperheads and nimble lizards live outside the Tesla construction site. In the opinion of the instance, the company has taken sufficient measures in order not to harm the animals. As the agency notes, the court decision in favor of the electric car manufacturer is a boon for Tesla, which has set itself the ambitious goal of launching the plant by mid-2021.
This is not the first challenge Tesla has faced in Germany while building a plant. Previously, local residents have already tried to stop deforestation, and also expressed concerns about the reduction of water resources and pollution due to the enterprise. In addition, the American manufacturer came into conflict with local trade unions, refusing to sign the collective wage agreement, which is standard for Germany. The document regulates the terms of employment of union members.
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