Nord Stream 2 considers route through nature reserve optimal

CCB • April 12, 2017

The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology has provided its European counterparts with the report on Environmental Impact Assessment of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The document favours the option for routeing the gas pipeline through the unique Kurgalsky natural reserve.

The  main route of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is named as preferred one in the documents being officially submitted by the Ministry, violates the requirements of Russian legislation on Nature Protected Areas. Its provisions prohibit any construction within territory of the natural reserve. Additionally, Kurgalsky natural reserve is also a wetland of international importance and is protected under the Ramsar Convention. Environmental NGOs state that other, less harmful to natural environment options for pipe-laying are available.

“The routeing of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that is proposed by the Ministry is not only violating the requirements of the Russian legislation, but also does not take into account the view point by a wide range of Russian stakeholders. In March 2017, representatives of a dozen of various environmental and scientific organizations expressed their explicit and unanimous view against the pipe-laying across the Kurgalsky natural reserve” – comments Alexey Knizhnikov, Head of Oil&Gas Environmental Policy Programme of the WWF Russia.

The Nord Stream 2 proposed route also cuts straight through a newly designated Natura 2000 site for the critically endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise which is also thought to be the most important breeding site for this population. This raises concerns about acoustic disturbance of porpoises during the pipe-laying phase.

Nord Stream 2 AG has recently launched the international consultation process, and the consultation documents are available in all Baltic Sea languages here. To present a consolidated view from Baltic Sea environmental grassroot organisations, we encourage CCB member organisations and other eNGOs to provide their feedback through this webform.

CCB is looking for a Network Officer to join our team at the CCB International Secretariat

By CCB • April 9, 2025
Coalition Clean Baltic – CCB is a politically independent network, uniting 27 environmental non-profit organizations, as well as partners and experts from 11 countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the environment and natural resources of the Baltic Sea region by encouraging new and constructive approaches and engaging people to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. CCB Secretariat is based in Uppsala, Sweden.

Attacks on NGOs: 570+ Organisations Join Forces to Defend Civil Society

By CCB • April 7, 2025
European civil society organisations (CSOs) are currently facing an attack coming from certain Members of the European Parliament. Spearheaded by some MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) and by far-right groups, this attack resorts to misleading arguments to fabricate a scandal. This portrayal has been amplified through the media, with notable exceptions of articles that attempted to clarify this misleading narrative. European CSOs are crucial to ensure the voices of citizens from different parts of Europe are heard in the EU institutions. Attacks against civil society are unfortunately not new and are exacerbated by this harmful idea. Furthermore, for-profit corporate lobbying is through the roof when compared to non-profit advocacy. In 2024, the 50 corporations with the largest lobbying budgets collectively spent nearly €200 million on lobbying the EU alone (66% more than in 2015). Comparing this to the funding environmental NGOs receive under the LIFE programme - €15.6 million annually of a €700 million yearly budget - truly shows the weakness of this ‘scandal’. This is why over 570 civil society organisations from 40 countries, including all EU Member States, have joined forces to call on those in power to act now and ensure that civil society is adequately funded and enabled to share our crucial perspectives . In this statement, we address: The source of this false narrative; Inaccurate claims made about how CSOs obtain and use funding; Why it’s paramount that CSOs receive sufficient funding; The need for civil dialogue to enable CSOs participation. Democracy is about the right of citizens to be collectively heard for building an inclusive society and a shared European future; properly funded independent CSOs are a crucial tool for that. We call on decision-makers to ensure civil society organisations can thrive and play their role in interacting with policy-makers in order to have a more fully informed decision-making process. Read the full statement here . -END Civil Society Europe (CSE) is the coordination of civil society organisations at EU level. Through its membership, CSE unites EU-level membership-based organisations that reach out to millions of people active in or supported by not-for-profits and civil society organisations across the EU. CSE was created by several civil society organisations as a follow-up to the European Year of Citizens and was established as an international not-for-profit under Belgian law in 2016. Since then, it has become the point of reference for EU institutions on transversal issues concerning civil dialogue and civic space.