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Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has sued the federal government for compliance with the climate targets in the energy, industry, buildings and agriculture sectors.
From the point of view of the environmental activists, the measures planned so far are not sufficient to comply with the maximum levels of climate-damaging greenhouse gases in the individual areas.
The aim of the lawsuit is to oblige the federal government to launch an effective program that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
That has not happened so far.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe submitted the application to the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Berlin-Brandenburg on Tuesday, March 9, according to its own information.
The federal government against which the action is directed is legally represented by the Federal Environment Ministry.
The ministry announced in the afternoon that he had not yet received the lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for the dpa said there was “no public position” on ongoing proceedings.
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The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg had confirmed receipt of the lawsuit on dpa request on Thursday.
In September 2020, the DUH sued the federal government for compliance with the climate targets in the individual transport sector.
The lawsuit has not yet been decided.
"Sheer populism and showmanship"
The current lawsuit from Deutsche Umwelthilfe was received just a few days before the publication of new climate protection data.
The Federal Environment Agency will present its report on sector-specific emissions for 2020 in the coming week.
The environmental aid assumes that the results will be distorted by pandemic-related effects.
She also fears that the German government could try to recognize emissions saved in one sector as compensation for excessively high emissions, for example in traffic and agriculture.
This type of relocation must be prevented, said DUH Federal Managing Director Sascha Müller-Kraenner of the German Press Agency.
Sharp criticism of the lawsuit came from the ranks of the FDP.
The parliamentary group's climate policy spokesman, Lukas Köhler, accused the activists of “sheer populism and showmanship”.
In the energy and industry sectors, the achievement of the climate targets depends on the EU-wide values, "additional measures in Germany would do nothing for climate protection," said Köhler of the dpa.
At the same time, however, he assumes that beyond these two sectors, Germany will “miss the climate targets by miles”.