Negative environmental prize goes to "Planning acceleration" project

Nature Conservation Association - Negative environmental prize goes to "Planning acceleration" project

The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (Nabu) has awarded the "Dinosaur of the Year" negative prize to the package of measures to speed up planning anchored in the Germany Pact. The guidelines developed in a rush by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the state premiers also threatened to accelerate the nature crisis, the association announced in Berlin. The negative prize was awarded on behalf of the rotating chairman of the Conference of Minister Presidents, Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU).

It is important to speed up planning procedures, explained Nabu President Jörg-Andreas Krüger. "But what we are currently experiencing in terms of political performance when it comes to speeding up planning is a race to destroy landscapes." It is not consideration for nature that is preventing faster planning, Krüger emphasized. "It's people, inefficient processes and excessive bureaucracy combined with a lack of staff."

The loss of natural diversity is one of the greatest threats to humanity. Nevertheless, climate-damaging infrastructure, freeways, commercial and residential areas should now be built more quickly, criticized Nabu. Krüger also accused the federal states of a lack of willingness to agree on uniform standards. "Minister presidents and chancellors are imagining a building boom on greenfield sites like in the 1970s, with no consideration for flora and fauna."

Since 1993, Nabu has been awarding the "Dinosaur of the Year", a replica of a giant lizard, to public figures who have distinguished themselves through particularly regressive commitment to nature and environmental protection. Since 2020, the negative prize has been awarded to specific projects rather than individuals.

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1. The Germany Pact, initiated by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the state premiers, includes a package of measures aimed at accelerating planning processes.
2. The Nature Conservation Association Germany (NABU) criticized this plan, arguing that it could exacerbate the nature crisis.
3. At their annual event in Wiesbaden, the NABU awarded the "Dinosaur of the Year" negative prize to this planning acceleration project.
4. Boris Rhein, the Minister President of Hesse and the rotating chairman of the Conference of Minister Presidents, presented the award.
5. The SPD and CDU, major political parties in Germany, were both part of the Germany Pact and the plan to speed up planning procedures.
6. Jörg-Andreas Krüger, the president of NABU, expressed concern about the accelerated construction of climate-damaging infrastructure and residential areas, which he argued disregards the protection of flora and fauna.
7. The negative award highlights the need for more consideration for nature and more efficient planning processes in Germany.
8. Despite the criticism, there are calls for further planning acceleration measures, and it remains to be seen how the German government will respond to the NABU's concerns.

Source: www.stern.de