On October 24, 2023, the German environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH, Environmental Action Germany), together with a group of German minors and young adults, filed a new constitutional complaint before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) against the Federal Government.

Building on the principle of intertemporal freedom developed by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) in the Neubauer decision, the constitutional complaint argues that the climate protection program adopted by the federal government in October 2023 violates the fundamental rights of the plaintiffs. Climate protection programs under § 9 (1) of the German Climate Protection Act are intended to ensure the achievement of climate protection goals, as outlined in the Climate Protection Act. The starting point of the lawsuit is that climate protection programs also have a constitutional dimension because only if the emission reduction path of the climate protection program is ambitious enough can the mandate of intertemporal freedom protection developed by the FCC be upheld. The plaintiffs argue that the current climate protection program is not sufficient to meet Germany’s climate mitigation goals. In particular, they argue that the mitigation gap existing until 2030, with over 200 million tons of CO2 equivalents, probably even up to 331 million tons of CO2 equivalents, is so large that it can only be closed with significant infringements on the civil liberties of citizens.

The main aim of the constitutional complaint is for the federal government to immediately adopt a climate protection program that formulates sufficiently concrete climate protection measures based on a consistent data foundation, ensuring compliance with the statutory emission reduction path of Germany’s Climate Protection Act. All other courses of action, the core argument goes, are unconstitutional.

Steinmetz, et al. v. Germany II

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Steinmetz, et al. v. Germany II - complaint

Filed

Germany

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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

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

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.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

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

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

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

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.

Replacing technologies that burn fossil fuels directly with alternatives powered by electricity.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

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

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

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

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

This sector provides communication services, software development, and IT solutions.

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

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Steinmetz, et al. v. Germany II - complaint

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance