Not enough climate protection: court condemns German government

Environment - Not enough climate protection: court condemns German government

This climate ruling could affect almost everyone in the country - if it is implemented. Following a complaint by environmental associations, the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court has ordered the German government to implement immediate programs for the transport and building sectors in order to ensure that climate protection targets are met by 2030.

Possible measures include a speed limit, the abolition of tax benefits for diesel or company cars or a new wave of building refurbishment. These are all contentious issues for the traffic light party, which is getting into even deeper trouble shortly after the Karlsruhe budget ruling.

After the Berlin climate ruling, it still has the option of appealing to the next instance before the Federal Administrative Court. That would bring a delay for the time being. However, it was unclear on Thursday whether the SPD, Greens and FDP would agree to appeal the Berlin ruling. The Greens in particular want faster climate protection. The office of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) explained in a complex manner: "The court has expressly allowed the appeal. The Federal Government will evaluate the judgments and their justifications in detail as soon as they are available in writing and examine the next steps." In contrast, the ARD-Hauptstadtstudio reported, citing Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), that the government would appeal.

Climate targets for transport and buildings have been broken

The current Climate Protection Act stipulates annual targets for each sector to reduce harmful greenhouse gases. If these targets are missed in individual sectors, Section 8 of the Act stipulates that the responsible ministry must take countermeasures with an immediate action program. The targets for transport and buildings were missed in 2021 and 2022. That is the consensus.

The Higher Administrative Court has now determined that the Federal Government must take additional measures to counteract this in order to safely achieve the climate targets for the years 2024 to 2030. The presiding judge, Ariane Holle, explained in the oral argument that the government had amended its climate protection program in October 2023 in response to the excessively high emission levels. However: "The immediate action program and the climate protection program are two different instruments," said Holle.

The immediate action program is intended as a concrete reaction to a failure to meet targets in order to ensure that the targets are met in the following years, said the presiding judge. The court rejected the Federal Government's argument that the action was not admissible.

The reform of the controversial clause has already been agreed

The situation is complicated because the traffic light government agreed in the spring to change the very clauses that are now being disputed in court. In future, annual targets will no longer be mandatory for each sector. If targets are missed in the transport sector, for example, immediate programs will no longer be due in the following year. Instead, only compliance with the overall climate protection targets will count. The target is to reduce greenhouse gases by 65% below the 1990 level by 2030. A good 40 percent reduction was achieved last year.

The reform of the Climate Protection Act has not yet been decided and is controversial. Politicians from the SPD and the Greens had already raised objections at the first reading. Now the amendment could be shaky. Green Party climate politician Lisa Badum said on Thursday: "A new Climate Protection Act can only be passed if it passes a thorough legal test." Green transport politician Stefan Gelbhaar urged Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) to submit the required immediate programs immediately after the ruling.

Plaintiffs see climate protection strengthened

The plaintiffs also saw the government under pressure following the ruling. Jürgen Resch, Managing Director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, told the German Press Agency that the ruling came just in time for the start of the World Climate Conference in Dubai. "This is a very clear call not to get around measures with further sleight of hand," said Resch. He expects that the reform of the Climate Protection Act will not happen and that the German government will not go into revision. "No, Germany must set an example now."

The environmental association BUND, which had also filed a lawsuit, expressed a similar view. "The court has backed climate protection," said the association's managing director Antje von Broock. Plaintiff's lawyer Remo Klinger conceded that an appeal would postpone the effect of the Berlin ruling. "I expect the appeal to be lodged by the federal government first," said Klinger. However, he also expects success before the Federal Administrative Court.

Two requirements from Karlsruhe

Even if the Federal Government complies with the ruling without appeal, it will be difficult. Only recently, the Federal Constitutional Court declared the reallocation of 60 billion euros in credit authorizations for corona aid to the Climate and Transformation Fund null and void. There are now billion-euro gaps in the financial planning, important projects are on the brink and the traffic light is looking for ways out.

However, there are also requirements from Karlsruhe for climate protection. In 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court essentially stated that politicians must do significantly more to achieve climate targets - and must not postpone steps to reduce emissions at the expense of the younger generation. This is precisely why the then coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD had tightened up the Climate Protection Act.

Statements by Green Party leader Katharina Dröge show how the climate ruling is linked to the budget ruling: she brought up the idea of a new special climate protection fund to speed up climate protection, particularly in the transport and building sectors.