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BMW production in Dingolfing
Photo: Tom Kirkpatrick / BMW
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) has registered a defeat with its lawsuit against the car manufacturer BMW for insufficient climate protection.
The district court in Munich on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit brought by the DUH, according to which BMW should be obliged to stop selling cars with petrol or diesel engines from 2030 onwards.
The encroachment on the general right of personality asserted by the plaintiffs cannot be ruled out from the outset, but the claims are currently unfounded, the court explained.
The decision is not yet final, the DUH can appeal.
The environmental aid had demanded a cease-and-desist declaration from BMW, in which the company undertook, among other things, not to build any more cars with combustion engines from 2030.
She asserted that the emission of greenhouse gases interferes with the general right of personality.
BMW, on the other hand, refers to uniform European legal requirements for the emission of greenhouse gases, which the company says it follows comprehensively.
These took precedence over the injunctive relief.
In September, the DUH had already failed with a similar lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz.
A similar lawsuit against Volkswagen is still pending.
Following a groundbreaking judgment by the Federal Constitutional Court on climate protection in 2021, the DUH and the environmental association Greenpeace announced that they would sue the car manufacturers and Wintershall.
Specifically, with reference to the requirements of the Paris climate protection agreement, the associations are calling for car manufacturers to phase out the production of combustion engines by 2030. In order to implement the climate targets, no petrol or diesel cars should be permitted in the EU from 2035 onwards.
Based on this decision, no special features are evident that would lead to a reassessment, according to the Munich Regional Court.
"In the Chamber's opinion, the defendant's civil law obligations that go beyond the public law obligations, for example due to the lack of a legal regulation, do not exist at the moment." "although adjustments may need to be made."
ani/Reuters