Munich Regional Court Judgment (In German)

On September 20, 2021, environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH; Environmental Action Germany) filed an action against BMW in the Regional court of Munich for not yet having clearly and irreversibly committed to phase out the sale of passenger cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2030. DUH argues that by failing to do so, the automaker is violating the fundamental right to climate protection and impinging upon the rights and freedoms of future generations, as phase out would be necessary for the company to adhere to its allocated carbon budget. The claim is grounded in the Paris Agreement and German Tort Law. The plaintiff relies on the earlier decision by the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) on the German Climate Protection Act, where the Court accepted that Germany has a limited total CO2 emissions budget remaining at its disposal (Neubauer v. Germany). The action filed against BMW is one of the first civil proceedings based on this decision.

DUH asks the court to hold that, (i) unless BMW can prove GHG neutrality for Scope 3 CO2 emissions resulting from the intended use of their ICE passenger cars, after October 31, 2030 BMW is obliged to refrain from placing ICE passenger cars on the market; and (ii) unless BMW can prove GHG neutrality for Scope 3 CO2 emissions globally exceeding a total of 604 million tons resulting from the intended use of ICE passenger cars (based on an average mileage of 200,000 km) between January 1, 2022 and October 31, 2030, BMW is obliged to refrain from placing new ICE passenger cars on the market. Alternatively, DUH asks the court to order BMW to stop placing new ICE passenger cars on the German market after October 31, 2030, unless BMW can prove GHG neutrality for the intended use of said cars. The requested ban on producing new ICE cars would take effect earlier than the 2035 effective ban proposed by the EU in July 2021.

On 21 September 2023, the Regional Court of Munich dismissed the climate lawsuit. The court held that, although climate-related interferences with fundamental rights are not excluded in principle, the continued sale of combustion vehicles does not currently constitute an unlawful infringement of the general right of personality. In light of the existing national and EU climate regulatory framework, the court found no basis for civil-law obligations extending beyond the legislature’s discretion as recognised by the Bundesverfassungsgericht.

On 12 October 2023, the Oberlandesgericht München (32 U 936/23) dismissed the appeal and fully affirmed the first-instance judgment. It emphasised that BMW markets its vehicles in compliance with applicable law and that the constitutional jurisprudence on the Climate Protection Act provides no indication that current legislation inadequately protects fundamental rights against the effects of climate change. 

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) v. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)

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Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) v. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) - judgment

Filed

Germany

Bayern

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Using laws and the legal system more broadly to protect vulnerable entities

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) v. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) - judgment

Target

Policy instrument

Impacted group

Just transition

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance