Easily explained
Representative actions
Can climate protection be enforced in court?
Mocking demonstration by German Environmental Aid: They are allowed to file representative actions in German courts – and make extensive use of them
© Finke/DUH
After a lawsuit by Deutsche Umwelthilfe, a court ordered the federal government to make more CO2 savings. But what is the point of such a judgment? And who actually has the right to sue?
Environmental Aid assumes that the previous measures to reduce CO2 in the transport, energy, buildings, industry and agriculture sectors are not sufficient to achieve the set climate targets. According to the Climate Protection Act, these emissions must be reduced by at least 65 percent compared to 1990 by 2030; In 2023 it was only around 46 percent. Among other things, the DUH is calling for a speed limit of 100 km/h on motorways and 30 km/h in urban areas.
The DUH activists from Radolfzell, based in Berlin, are loved and feared for their willingness to complain – depending on your perspective. But can the climate really be saved by judges?
Who is allowed to sue for environmental rights in Germany?
The term environmental law encompasses a series of laws that are intended to prevent the environment from being destroyed by human hands. These include the Nature Conservation Act, the Water Law, the Immission Control Act, the Waste Law, but also in a broader sense the Energy or Genetic Engineering Law and many more. Environmental law is anchored in Article 20a of the Basic Law, where environmental protection and sustainability are declared a state goal. In addition, the Federal Constitutional Court has defined climate protection, specifically compliance with the 1.5 degree global warming target, as part of constitutionally guaranteed environmental protection.
Private individuals can sue if they see their rights violated by an official decision because it endangers their health or property. Recognized environmental and nature conservation associations such as Deutsche Umwelthilfe are also allowed to do this as “environmental advocates” in order to have official decisions with significant environmental impacts reviewed in court for their legality, even though there is no personal concern. This is guaranteed by the Environmental Legal Remedies Act, the Federal Nature Conservation Act and state law.
What does the federal government have to do after the DUH’s recent success?
First of all, nothing. She may appeal the latest ruling again, which is to be expected. In the end, the Federal Administrative Court will decide what pressure to impose on Berlin to implement it.
Meanwhile, the traffic light is trying to weaken the climate protection law. An amended version should eliminate the mandatory sector targets for CO2 reduction for the individual ministries. This request has been heavily criticized by environmental associations, who are calling on the opposition to refer the project to the mediation committee in the Federal Council. The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Construction in particular are dramatically behind the climate targets.
Is there a damaging flood of lawsuits from environmental groups?
Some politicians say that. They complain that many important future projects are being unnecessarily delayed. But according to official figures, this is exaggerated. On average, there are around 60 lawsuits per year – with around 1,000 approval decisions that have to be examined for their environmental compatibility. 15 years ago there were still twelve lawsuits per year. The main reason for the increase, according to the Federal Environment Agency: At that time there were 112 environmental associations nationwide that had the right to sue; today there are almost 130.
How successful are the plaintiffs?
Very. Over 50 percent of their lawsuits before administrative courts are either completely or partially successful. In general administrative court proceedings, the success rate is just ten to twelve percent.