petition

Steinmetz, et al. v. Germany - petition

Filing Year For Action

On January 24, 2022, a group of German minors and young adults, supported by environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH, Environmental Action Germany) filed a constitutional challenge to Germany's updated Federal Climate Protection Act (“Bundesklimaschutzgesetz” or “KSG”). Claimants argue that the KSG's amended GHG emissions reduction paths are insufficient in light of Germany’s constitutional and international legal obligations.   

This constitutional challenge builds on the Constitutional Court’s order in <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/neubauer-et-al-v-germany/">Neubauer v. Germany</a>, where the Court found in favor of a group of youths, striking down parts of the KSG as incompatible with fundamental rights for failing to set sufficient emissions reduction pathways. For the first time in its jurisprudence, the Court stated that “the fundamental rights - as intertemporal guarantees of freedom - afford protection against the greenhouse gas reduction burdens imposed by Art. 20a of the Basic Law being unilaterally offloaded onto the future." Consequently, the Constitutional Court ordered the federal German legislature to set clear provisions for reduction targets. In response to the decision, the federal lawmakers passed a bill approving an adapted KSG, which has been in effect since August 31, 2021. It raised the reduction target for 2030 from 55% to 65% (as compared to 1990 levels). It also updated the reduction path for the years 2031-2040, and elaborated on the legislative involvement in the determination of the individual sector budgets from 2031 onwards. Lastly, the target year for achieving carbon neutrality was brought forward from 2050 to 2045. 

Relying on a new factual basis and scientific updates, claimants argue that the amended KSG and its reduction targets are insufficient to protect their fundamental rights: 

In August 2021, the IPCCC released the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6WGI), on the scientific basis of climate change. The report details how the 1.5°C limit may be surpassed in roughly 10 years. In the Report, the IPCC also refined previous calculations on residual budgets, directly transferrable onto Germany’s remaining budget. Beyond these developments in international climate science, claimants also invoked the Glasgow Climate Pact. In this joint final declaration of COP26, the UNFCCC’s contracting parties agreed to significantly strengthen the 1.5°C target, which includes drastic emissions reductions before the end of the decade. 

Claimants argue that the new reduction path continues to infringe on their fundamental rights, as it will use up large parts of Germany’s remaining CO2 budget, as determined in accordance with Article 20a of the Basic Law. Rather, claimants argue, both reduction paths, i.e., from 2021-2030, and after 2030 exceed the budget limits and put Germany way above the Paris and/or Glasgow targets. In addition, claimants argue that the risk of considerable impairments of their fundamental rights is further increased by the lack of clear obligations on, and coordinated efforts across the federal states. As a result, the federal states have very differing and at times insufficient climate protection policies. Claimants ask the Constitutional Court to declare parts of the amended KSG unconstitutional and to order the federal legislature to re-regulate the reduction pathway in light of new scientific constraints, and to make provision for the distribution of the reduction burden across the federal states. 

Steinmetz, et al. v. 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.

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

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

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.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

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 drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

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

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

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

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

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

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

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

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.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

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

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

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

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

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

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

Kinetic energy of airflow transformed into useful energy, mostly electrical energy.

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.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

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

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

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

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

The cryosphere is the frozen part of the Earth—it includes sea ice, glaciers, snow, and ice sheets. It helps regulate the climate and weather by reflecting sunlight. Rising temperatures are causing melting, leading to sea ice loss, glacier collapse, and glacier landslides and avalanches. This threatens the livelihoods of around 700 million people who rely on the cryosphere for food, water security, and cultural practices.

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

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Steinmetz, et al. v. Germany - petition

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance