Consideration for small, endangered animals has put billions of kroner worth of construction projects on hold. This is reported by Jyllands-Posten.
Recently, the establishment of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, which is to bring gas from the North Sea to Poland and thus reduce the country's dependence on Russia, was put on hold. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency granted permission for the project in 2019, but the Environmental Appeals Board rejected the permit in May, citing that it was not sufficiently explained how the dormouse, the wood mouse and the bat would be affected by the project.
The connection with the high-voltage line from Holstebro to the Danish-German border will be delayed as a consequence of the Baltic Pipe decision, and a major housing development on Amager Fælled in Copenhagen as well as a number of wind turbine projects will be temporarily halted out of consideration for birds, mice and newts.
Venstre's supply spokesman, Carsten Kissmeyer, criticizes that consideration for some small animals is allowed to put significant investments on hold. The suspension of Baltic Pipe alone is estimated to result in an additional bill of DKK 600 million.
- I don't see the point in putting everything on hold because you haven't looked at how to remedy some mouse work. If only half of the 600 million kroner had been taken, a lot could have been done for those mice, he tells Jyllands-Posten.
The animals, which have delayed and increased the cost of establishing the Baltic Pipe and the West Jutland high-voltage line and the construction at Amager Fælled, are on the EU's list of Annex IV species that are subject to strict protection. Annex IV species may not be killed, and it is prohibited to disturb or destroy their breeding and resting areas.
The fact that the planned projects are now being postponed is the project developers' own responsibility - because they should have protected the animals better from the beginning, believes Morten Elmeros, senior advisor at Aarhus University.
- They could have just prepared properly, he tells Jyllands-Posten.
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