Neubauer v Germany
Germany's climate legislation was partly unconstitutional because it postponed emissions reductions after 2030, placing an excessive burden on the freedoms of future generations.
Facts
Young people and environmental organisations challenged the German Federal Climate Change Act 2019, which set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030, compared with 1990, and set annual emissions allowances up to 2030, but made no provision for reductions after 2030. They argued that the Act was insufficient to protect their fundamental rights.
Legal principle
The Federal Constitutional Court held that the Act was partly unconstitutional. The court said that the state has a duty to protect life and health from the dangers of climate change, and that article 20a of the Basic Law, which requires the state to protect the natural foundations of life for future generations, imposes a duty to take climate action, including to achieve climate neutrality. By allowing high emissions until 2030 without making provision for the period after, the Act would require drastic reductions later, which would place an unconstitutional burden on the freedoms of the complainants in the future. The legislature amended the Act soon after, setting more ambitious targets.
Related cases on climate change litigation
- Duarte Agostinho v Portugal and 32 Other States (2024) Application no 39371/20
- Lliuya v RWE AG (2025) I-5 U 15/17
- Massachusetts v Environmental Protection Agency 549 US 497 (2007)
- Milieudefensie v Royal Dutch Shell plc (2021) ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2021:5339
- R (Friends of the Earth Ltd) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWHC 1841 (Admin)
- R (Friends of the Earth Ltd) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero [2024] EWHC 995 (Admin)
- Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (2024) ITLOS Case No 31
- Smith v Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd [2024] NZSC 5
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