The ruling ends a nearly two-year long legal battle and requires the German government to act.
Climate groups in Germany are celebrating a major legal victory after the country’s top court ruled that the federal government must strengthen climate protection plans.
On Thursday, 29 January, the administrative court in Leipzig rejected a government appeal against a 2024 ruling that found Germany’s 2023 climate programme failed to meet the requirements of the Climate Protection Act. The original case was brought by environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH).
The decision is final and enforceable, leaving the government legally required to revise its climate plans.
A ruling that forces tougher climate action
The court found the existing measures insufficient to ensure a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 65 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
The judges pointed to a gap of at least 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and says the programme failed to show how annual emissions limits would be met in individual sectors.
DUH, meanwhile, hailed the decision. Its managing director, Jürgen Resch, tellsold German press that the court delivered “a resounding slap in the face for the federal government”, adding that loopholes in the current programme – such as allowing producers to continue making vehicles that run on e-fuels – must now be closed.
Politicians from the Green Party also say the ruling puts pressure on ministers to act, especially in sectors that have repeatedly missed their emissions targets.
Lisa Badum, the party’s climate policy spokesperson, tells Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that successive transport ministers had blocked meaningful emissions cuts for decades. “That ends now,” she says.
She also called for concrete steps to drive change, such as cheaper public transport tickets nationwide, speed limits on motorways, a tax on private jets and the removal of climate-harming subsidies such as company car tax breaks.
The German government faces a deadline after the decision
Under the Climate Protection Act, Germany sets annual emissions limits for sectors including energy, transport, buildings, agriculture and industry. If a sector misses its target, the government is required to introduce immediate corrective measures.
The court’s decision comes as signs emerge that Germany’s climate progress is slowing.
Greenhouse gas emissions fell last year, but less sharply than in previous years, according to data from Germany’s Federal Environment Agency.
The government says it will respond by going beyond minor adjustments to the existing plan.
State Secretary for the Environment Jochen Flasbarth says the government will replace the struck-down 2023 plan with a new one due by the end of March.
“We haven’t yet implemented all the necessary measures to meet the legal targets,” Flasbarth says, but adds that he is confident the government will meet its March deadline.
The ruling, he says, makes clear that “there can be no compromises when it comes to climate protection”.
