Traffic jam on the motorway surrounding Berlin, the A100, during rush hour, in a file image. FILIP SINGER (EFE)
A new legal setback for the German government on issues that have to do with climate protection. A court has ruled in favour of two environmental associations by ruling that Olaf Scholz's government is obliged to present emergency climate action programmes, with short-term measures, to reduce emissions in two of the most important sectors to limit harmful greenhouse gases: transport and buildings. The organizations filed lawsuits because Berlin has repeatedly failed to meet its emissions reduction targets.
The higher administrative court of Berlin-Brandenburg ruled on Thursday that the government has failed to comply with the Climate Action Act, which stipulates that if a sector does not meet its annual emission reduction targets, the responsible ministry has to submit plans with immediate measures, which must then be approved by the full council of ministers. The German standard sets annual targets for all sectors. They have to be measures that ensure that the targets will be achieved in the following years, in this case from 2024 to 2030. The Council of Experts on Climate Change, which advises the government, had previously confirmed that proposals the government presented in July 2022 are insufficient to achieve those future targets.
This is not the first time that the courts have forced Germany to get its act together on environmental issues. In 2021 it was the Constitutional Court that issued a ruling forcing the government, then led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, to substantially modify the climate law approved two years earlier. On that occasion, the government welcomed the decision, to the point that Merkel's spokesman assured that the chancellor was "happy" about the ruling. The law was amended shortly afterwards to include the requirements of the Constitutional Court.
With Thursday's ruling, which can be appealed, the Ministry of Economy and Climate has reacted very differently. The minister, the Green Robert Habeck, has assured that he will "evaluate" it and decide whether to appeal it or not, according to statements collected by the regional channel RBB. The ruling comes in the middle of the Dubai climate summit, where Berlin has announced that it will make one of the most ambitious contributions to the new loss and damage fund approved at the opening session of the event, with 100 million dollars.
The court has determined that the program that the government presented a few months ago to try to redirect the excessive emissions of both sectors is not enough and that it does not meet the obligations set out in the Climate Action Act. That is why it calls for new plans with clear measures and immediate implementation.
The ruling comes after another far-reaching court decision that has called into question how Scholz's government planned to finance climate protection measures and the decarbonisation of the German economy. The ruling of the Constitutional Court a few days ago has provoked a budget crisis that has led to a deep political crisis with still unforeseeable consequences.
"This ruling is a double judicial setback for climate protection and a resounding slap in the face to the German government for its disastrous climate policy," said Jürgen Resch, president of DUH (Deutsche Umwelthilfe), one of the organisations, along with Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), that filed the lawsuit. The association is calling on the government to immediately adopt emergency measures such as the imposition of speed limits. Germany is one of the few countries in the world where there is still no limitation on motorways.
Antje von Broock, Director General of BUND, was very pleased: "The court has strengthened support for climate protection. The failure of the federal government's climate policy is illegal." His organization, he said in a statement, expects more ambition from federal ministries. In addition to the speed limit, they are calling for an end to tax breaks for diesel and the implementation of clear guidelines for the energy retrofit of buildings. It was planned to finance some of these measures from extrabudgetary funds, which are now frozen following the devastating ruling of the Constitutional Court a few days ago.
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