The government is obliged to ensure clean air – every year almost 70,000 people die prematurely from fine dust. Now a court has ruled that the federal government is not doing enough.
The federal government must tighten up parts of its national air pollution control program. The program does not comply with EU requirements. This was the decision of the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court. The measures listed so far are not sufficient in all respects to achieve the European goals for reducing emissions of air pollutants, according to the judges.
German Environmental Aid sued the German government
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) has thus once again successfully sued the federal government – at least in part. Only in mid-May had the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) ruled that the federal government must tighten up its climate protection program.
The current case concerned the program adopted in 2019 and updated in May 2024 with numerous measures with which Germany wants to achieve the European goals for reducing emissions of air pollutants. These include ammonia, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
The government had based the program on data that was no longer up to date. The government’s forecasts of air quality in the program were therefore not plausible, said the judges. For example, the stop to purchase premiums for electric cars or the changes to the EU Euro 7 emissions directive had to be taken into account. The directive required Germany to submit air quality plans every four years in order to reduce pollutants in accordance with EU requirements.
Judgment not final
According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), around 68,000 people died prematurely in Germany in 2021 due to fine dust alone. Fine dust is created by industrial processes, but also by diesel and petrol cars and tire abrasion.
The ruling is not legally binding. Because of its fundamental importance, the judges allowed an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.
Source: Stern
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