HomeNewsState government wants to stop LNG plans on Rügen
The Bundestag votes on Friday on a possible LNG terminal in Mukran on Rügen. There is now a clear statement from the state government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
A platform for the preliminary work on the planned LNG terminal in the Mukran ferry port. Stefan Sauer/dpa
The government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is opposed to the federal government’s plans to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on the island of Rügen. Environment Minister Till Backhaus (SPD) said that the country lacked binding commitments from the federal government to promote the region. Under these circumstances, the project is rejected.
Despite numerous talks between the federal and state governments, the federal government has not yet responded sufficiently to the state government’s proposals, said Backhaus. „Above all, it is disappointing for us that no perspective as a hydrogen location could be shown.“ The state had sent a catalog of measures with proposals to the federal government, which should be used to promote more acceptance in the region.
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Western Pomerania State Secretary Heiko Miraß (SPD) also presented the state’s current position in the evening at a meeting of the municipal council of the Baltic Sea resort of Binz. Mayor Karsten Schneider welcomed the clarification in an initial reaction: „The state government has recognized that this project cannot be enforced against the population. It is to be hoped that the federal government will also come to this conclusion.”
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LNG terminal on Rügen: vote on Friday in the Bundestag
On Friday, the Bundestag and Bundesrat want to decide on the inclusion of the planned liquefied natural gas terminal in the port of Mukran in the LNG Acceleration Act. Opponents of the plans see primarily environmental protection and tourism affected.
„In all likelihood, the planned LNG infrastructure on Rügen will be unnecessary to secure the energy supply,“ said Jörg-Andreas Krüger, President of the Nabu Nature Conservation Union on Thursday. The infrastructure cements the use of the climate-damaging raw material for decades.
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The German Environmental Aid and the economists Christian von Hirschhausen and Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) recently took a similar position. The federal government justifies the need for protection against a gas shortage in the coming winter.
In the evening, Till Backhaus also made it clear that in the event of approval, an approval procedure based on the rule of law is guaranteed in the country: „This means that all arguments for or against approval of the terminal are carefully weighed by the responsible authority“.