judgment

Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg e.V. v. Commerz Real Fund Management S.à.r.l. - judgment

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

Filing Year For Action

In December 2022, the plaintiff filed a claim with the Regional Court of Stuttgart and argued that the advertising statements were misleading after the defendant themselves had massively relativised in other places. The defendant responded that the value was an investment ‘target’ and could therefore be exceeded as well as fallen short of. With regard to the various quantities, an amount that was too low had been stated by mistake. An imputed misleading was therefore not relevant in any case.

Commerz Real Fund Management S.à.r.l. advertised a financial product, ‘klimaVest’, on a website. This fund invested in renewable energies projects and could therefore track concrete amounts of green electricity and avoided CO2 emissions. Furthermore, klimaVest was an Impact Fonds according to European Regulations and was obliged to pursue a positive ecological goal. This resulted in the ‘klimaVest target (set value)’ of at least 3.5 tonnes of CO2 avoidance per EUR 10,100 invested per year. Thus, investors were able to indirectly support the avoidance of future emissions with their investment. On the website, internet users could calculate their personal CO2 footprint. This value was then compared with the desired ‘CO2 offset’ through the investment. In a separate document, information was included that the investment objectives of the fund could not be guaranteed and that they could vary considerably over time. Under the FAQ category it was set out that the impact goal of klimaVest was to achieve a CO2 offset of at least 3.0 tonnes per year for every 10,000 euros of invested capital. The calculation basis for that was the CO2 calculator.

On January 2022, the Regional Court found the advertised claims to be misleading commercial practices and in violation of § 5 para. 1 of the Act against Unfair Competition. It held that the claim of an absolute CO2 reduction of 3.5t or of a CO2 compensation of -3.5t was a statement suitable to mislead the target public, since they understood these statements as set values, which in any case would not be fallen short of, although these were in fact target values which could be significantly undercut. Furthermore, the Court found the differing statements on the targeted CO2 avoidance of 3.5t on one site and 3.5t on another site to be misleading by omission pursuant to §5a para. 2 of the Act against Unfair Competition.

Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg e.V. v. Commerz Real Fund Management S.à.r.l.

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

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.

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.

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

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

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

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

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

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Heat extracted from the ground, usually in the form of hot water or steam and typically referred to as hydrothermal fluid.

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

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg e.V. v. Commerz Real Fund Management S.à.r.l. - judgment

Risk

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance