Friends of the Earth Germany submitted a claim with the Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenburg, for its missing emission targets for the building and transport sector. The organization argues that the sectors exceed the annual CO2 emissions considered permissible under law and are therefore required to draft an emergency program, detailing the speedy reduction of their respective emissions, and to secure the adherence to targets between the years of 2023 to 2030. 

On November 30, 2023, the Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenburg ruled that the federal government must adopt an immediate action program (‘Sofortprogramm’) under Section 8 of the Climate Protection Act (CCA). The program is intended to ensure compliance with the annual emission targets for the building and transportation sectors for the years 2024 to 2030. At the level of the admissibility of the lawsuit, the court confirmed that environmental associations can sue for the enactment of an immediate action program under the CCA. Such a right to sue for implementing the CCA is not explicitly provided for in German procedural law. On the merits, the court found that the federal government is obliged to decide on an immediate program by exceeding permissible GHG emissions in the building and transport sectors, thereby confirming that the provisions on immediate programs in the CCA are binding, enforceable law.

The defendant has filed an appeal with the German Federal Administrative Court.

DUH and BUND v. Germany

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DUH and BUND v. Germany - press release

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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

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

DUH and BUND v. Germany - press release

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector