Work on Tesla Gigafactory 4, aka Giga Berlin, in the state of Brandenburg in Germany has been halted after a ruling by the higher administrative court of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg.
The ruling prohibits Tesla from cutting down any more trees on the 92 hectare (277 acre) site where it intends to build its first European factory until a final determination is made on the matter.
The court action was initiated by the Green League of Brandenburg (Grüne Liga Brandenburg), which is opposed to cutting down trees for a factory, despite assurances by Tesla that it will plant many more trees than it removes to make up for the loss of them at the Brandenburg site.
The court noted the process of clearing the land was moving ahead quickly and was only three days away from completion.
In a statement following its ruling, it said if work was not halted, the clearing would be finished before it could consider the petition from the environmental group. In case you are not up to speed on this legal matter, once a tree is cut, even a court cannot order it to be uncut.
The state of Brandenburg has fewer industrial factories than other areas of the country, which is why its state officials have been so supportive of Tesla’s plan to locate its first European factory there.
It should be noted that the final planning approval for the Brandenburg factory has not yet been given, which means Tesla is preparing the work site at its own risk.
Reference- The Guardian, Reuters, Clean Technica