New setback for Olaf Scholz. At the time of COP28, the German justice system condemned its government on Thursday for its insufficient action in protecting the climate. The Berlin-Brandenburg Administrative Court forced it to take “emergency” measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transport and buildings, which generate 20% and 30% of the CO2 released in Germany, respectively. .
“The federal government is required to make a decision to implement an emergency program” in these two sectors, the judges indicated. This judgment is not immediately applicable, however, as the government can appeal.
NGOs, who accused Olaf Scholz’s government of inaction in the fight against global warming, welcomed this decision. “The court made it clear that the government must respect its own climate targets,” said BUND spokesperson Antje von Broock.
An insufficient policy
In detail, the associations believed that the government had not put in place the emergency programs necessary in recent years to reduce emissions in buildings and transport. German climate protection legislation provides for a maximum permitted CO2 emissions for each sector. If these ceilings are exceeded, the ministries concerned must submit an emergency program within three months to reduce volumes.
In the transport sector, the authorized emission levels for 2021 were, for example, exceeded by 3.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as by 2.5 million tonnes in construction, according to official figures. However, the associations believed that the measures put in place by the ministries had “not been enough”.
In transport in particular, “they only made it possible to close 5% of the gap” between actual emissions and the maximum authorized by law, Jürgen Resch, environmental activist from the DUH, told AFP. The associations are therefore calling for the implementation of concrete measures, such as a speed limit on motorways, in a country which does not yet have one or the elimination of subsidies that are “harmful to the climate”.