Fehmarn Belt Link: Do the benefits of the world's longest underwater tunnel outweigh the damage?
The Fehmarn Belt Link tunnel is expected to be completed in Europe by 2029. But detractors say it will severely impact the environment.
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00:00The world's longest emir's tunnel aims to connect Scandinavia with the rest of Europe.
00:06The Femen Belt Fixed Link will cut down the current rail trip between Hamburg and Copenhagen
00:10from 4.5 hours to 2.5 hours.
00:13The EU granted over 1.1 billion euros towards its construction.
00:17The mega project is set to cost over 7 billion euros in total.
00:21It's part of the Scandinavia-Mediterranean Corridor, which runs all the way from the
00:25Finnish-Russian border to Valletta in Malta.
00:28The EU hopes these new links will contribute strongly to European cohesion and strengthen
00:33the internal market.
00:34The 18-kilometer tunnel will connect Hulby in Denmark to Puttgarden on the German island
00:38of Femen.
00:39The project is due to be completed by 2029, and its supporters say it will offer faster
00:45and greener transport and create jobs.
00:47However, it's been repeatedly delayed amid objections from local ferry companies and
00:51environmental campaigners.
00:53Conservationists believe this area in the Baltic Sea is particularly important to preserve.
00:57You have a 20-kilometer-long tunnel project.
01:01It has an immense impact on the environment.
01:05You have reefs, you have sand dunes, what you actually destroy.
01:09The island of Femen is for marine mammals, for harbour porpoises, marine mammals, and
01:15it's especially the underwater sand dunes which are protected in the middle of the Femen
01:21belt, there where this project takes place.
01:24To build this immersed tunnel, approximately 50 million cubic meters of sand and soil will
01:28need to be excavated from the seabed.
01:31Environmentalists say simpler alternatives should be considered.
01:33They suggest strengthening the existing 160-kilometer rail link between Hamburg and Copenhagen,
01:38known as the Jotterund route.
01:40But supporters of the new tunnel say it creates a clear shortcut that will save energy and
01:44slash CO2 emissions from traffic.
01:46FemenAS, the Danish company building it, says the impacts of the construction are only temporary.
01:53Its CEO said in an email,
01:54We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously.
01:58Denmark has very high standards in environmental protection and a proven track record for building
02:03megaprojects in an environmentally friendly way.
02:06The company also says the more direct route will make rail a more attractive alternative.
02:10However, critics note that the tunnel will feature four lanes for cars and trucks.
02:14They say the project, which Germany and Denmark agreed on back in 2008, should be reconsidered
02:19with sustainability in mind.
02:21It's not fulfilling the idea of the European Union anymore to really get especially cargo
02:27traffic from road to rail.
02:29Well, this might be a project which has been planned like 20 years ago, but it was before
02:35the Paris Agreement.
02:36It was before the time when we thought about climate change that much as we do today.
02:42And I think we have to assess projects which have not been built yet, but which have been
02:48in the pipeline for 15 or 20 years.