17 hectares are to be cleared: environmentalists protest against the Red Bull factory near Berlin

Red Bull wants to build a new can factory in Baruth, Brandenburg. To do this, around 17 hectares of forest must be cleared, which brings environmentalists to the scene.

After the forest clearing began for a new can factory for Red Bull, a group of environmentalists protested against the project in Baruth/Mark, south of Berlin. “Red Bull is probably creating facts out of fear of protests and upcoming legal proceedings,” said a statement from the Baruth Resource Alliance initiative. "After the approval and publication by the municipal administration at the end of October, Red Bull did not allow any time to pass before the clearing was carried out."

A total of around 17 hectares of pine forest will make way for the can factory. According to a company spokeswoman, the work began on Monday. The area is cordoned off. There are also protests about water consumption. The beverage manufacturers Rauch and Red Bull want to expand their location around 50 kilometers south of Berlin.

By starting work so quickly, Red Bull has shown how the company is dealing with concerns from the public and nature conservation associations, said Petra Liesenfeld from the citizens' initiative. Around 30 people gathered on the cleared area to protest. A factory that processes aluminum and chemical substances should not be built in the water protection area, said Liesenfeld.

“The development plan that has come into force creates planning security for the further development of the production campus,” said project coordinator Björn Hofbauer. “The future building area will be offset by new forest and green areas six times as large. 98 percent of these areas are in the immediate area surrounding Baruth,” it said.

The court has not yet made a final decision on an urgent application by the environmental association Green League against the city's already approved development plan. However, the Higher Administrative Court had previously rejected the application for an interim order with which the Green League wanted to stop the start of forest clearing for the time being. At Tesla in Grünheide, Brandenburg, environmental activists occupied a forest for months to protest against deforestation.