A26 Ost highway planning faces criticism over climate assessment

Environmental organizations BUND and NABU Hamburg have submitted a joint statement criticizing the revised planning for the A26 Ost highway. The organizations argue that the Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau GmbH (DEGES) has failed to conduct a sufficiently objective climate assessment following a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court.

The court had previously declared the original plans unlawful because the climate impacts were not adequately considered during route selection. While DEGES has submitted supplementary documentation, environmental groups claim the agency is merely providing more text to justify the same original decision rather than conducting a genuine, results-oriented review.

A major point of contention is the impact on peatlands. The groups state that the preferred 'Süd 1' route passes through approximately 66 hectares of continuous peat body, whereas DEGES calculations only account for about 21.1 hectares. Furthermore, the organizations highlight that three alternative routes were identified as having better climate protection profiles than the currently preferred 'Süd 1' option, yet the planning authority continues to favor the original route.