press release

DUH v. Baden Wuerttemberg - press release

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

Filing Year For Action

The German environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) filed a climate lawsuit against the state of Baden-Württemberg at the Administrative Court in Mannheim on June 10, 2025. According to Baden-Württemberg's own climate projection report, the state will miss its legally mandated 2030 climate target by 6 million tons of CO2, representing 17 percent above the allowed limit of 36 million tons. The state is also projected to fall short of its 2040 climate neutrality goal by over 21 million tons of CO2, with the transport sector showing the largest gap at 50 percent above its 2030 target.
The state's 2023 Climate Protection Act requires the government to adopt an immediate climate protection program when targets are missed. DUH set a deadline of June 8, 2025, for the state government under Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann to present such a program, but this deadline passed without action. The lawsuit seeks to compel the state to implement additional climate measures, including accelerated energy-efficient renovation of schools and kindergartens, truck tolls on state roads, speed limits on highways, and preservation of Stuttgart's main train station configuration and railway connections.
In November 2022, DUH previously obtained judgment requiring Baden-Württemberg to present a climate protection concept, though the state government subsequently amended the climate law in February 2023. DUH now alleges that the state government is violating the revised law as well.