The court of the German region of Brandenburg allowed to cut down the forest, which was fought by local environmentalists, for the sake of the first European Tesla plant reports Bloomberg citing judgment of a German court.
The American manufacturer of electric cars earlier received permission from the German authorities for additional cutting of almost 83 hectares of forest for the construction of storage facilities and sewerage lines for his 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 relocated, but ecologists considered it 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. According to the agency, 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 problem that Tesla faced in Germany during the construction of the plant. Previously, local residents have already tried to stop deforestation, and have also expressed concerns about the reduction of water resources and pollution due to the enterprise. In addition, an American manufacturer entered into conflict with local trade unions by refusing to sign a collective agreement on the salary, which is standard for the FRG. The document regulates the terms of employment of trade union members.