A climate lawsuit by Deutsche Umwelthilfe was dismissed in the first instance. But the plaintiffs are confident: they want to take their case to the Federal Court of Justice.
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) failed on Tuesday with a climate lawsuit against BMW in the first instance at the Munich I District Court. According to the plaintiffs, however, the last word has not yet been spoken. The association wants to take its concerns to the next instance – and if necessary even to the Federal Court of Justice.
The environmental aid had demanded that the Munich carmaker stop selling petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and drastically reduce the CO2 emissions of its vehicles by then. The group had rejected the claim as unfounded. The decision of the district court is not yet final.
Hoping for a timely appeal hearing
Despite the dismissal of the lawsuit, environmental aid sees its lawsuit confirmed by the verdict. The court expressly assessed the lawsuit as admissible and emphasized that the judgment was only made in the current context, said DUH federal manager Jürgen Resch. If the state does not meet its climate protection obligations in the coming years, the lawsuit could be more successful in the future. One hopes for an appeal hearing before the Munich Higher Regional Court in the near future and a fundamental decision by the Federal Court of Justice by 2024 at the latest.
BMW was also satisfied with the court’s decision on Tuesday. “We welcome the judgment of the Munich district court, with which the lawsuit of the DUH was dismissed as unfounded,” said a spokesman. “The discussion about how to achieve the climate goals must take place in the political process, through the democratically legitimized parliaments – but not in the courtroom”.
In the process, the plaintiffs from environmental aid had referred to an interference with their general personal rights through the CO2 emissions of car sales. The court did not rule out such an intervention on Tuesday, but ruled that there was no risk of illegal infringement at this point in time.
Federal Constitutional Court: State committed to climate protection
In its verdict, the chamber referred to a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court from 2021, which obliges the state to protect the climate. Both government and legislators must constantly review the effectiveness of their climate protection measures and adjust them if necessary. At the moment, however, the court does not see any special features that would lead to a different civil law assessment.
A similar lawsuit by environmental aid against Mercedes-Benz was also dismissed by the Stuttgart Regional Court in September, and the case is now before the Higher Regional Court in the second instance. The association is also going to court against the oil and natural gas company Wintershall Dea at the end of August.
Source: Stern
