Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) v. Baden-Württemberg (BaWü)

On November 8, 2021, environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH; Environmental Action Germany) brought a claim against the state of Baden-Württemberg (BaWü) asking the Higher Administrative Court of BaWü to order the BaWü government to adopt an integrated energy and climate protection plan to: (i) reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 65% by 2030 (as compared to 1990 levels) and (ii) reach carbon neutrality by 2040. The state’s climate protection law (KSG BW), adopted in 2013 and amended in 2021, stipulates that in 2020 and every five years thereafter, the state government shall decide an integrated energy and climate protection concept, which sets out essential objectives, strategies and measures for meeting the overall climate protection goals. This concept is to be decided on the basis of legally mandated monitoring reports and following consultations with civil society associations and federations. Plaintiff complaints that to date, no such integrated energy and climate protection concept exists, even though the KSG BW was amended in 2021. As a result, plaintiff argues, the state is in violation of its own Climate Protection Act.