It should one day connect the Netherlands, northern Germany and Poland. But long stretches of the A20 lead through moors and wetlands that are important for the climate. Several farmers are also suing against the plans.
Accompanied by protests from environmentalists, negotiations on the further construction of the so-called A20 coastal motorway in Lower Saxony began on Tuesday before the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.
About two dozen activists called for a fundamental turnaround in mobility in front of the courthouse in the morning. The banners said, among other things, “Meadows and forest instead of asphalt”.
The Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) and several farmers are suing against the planning approval decision for the first 13-kilometer construction section in north-western Lower Saxony from the A28 near Westerstede (Ammerland district) to the A29 near Jaderberg. The A20 will one day connect the Netherlands, northern Germany and Poland. However, the motorway coming from Stettin in Poland has long ended east of Bad Segeberg in Schleswig-Holstein.
According to the BUND, around 80 percent of the planned A20 will run through moors and wetlands. “These are the most valuable CO2 stores we have. With the construction of the Autobahn, they would be destroyed and drained,” said the federal chairman of BUND Olaf Bandt before the hearing.
