It’s Wednesday, May 5, and a German court has ruled that the country needs stronger climate change laws.
Germany’s highest court ruled last week that the nation’s current climate law is insufficient and violates the rights of young people, who will bear much of the burden of curbing carbon emissions. The court’s ruling directed Germany to revise its climate change law by the end of next year.
In response to the ruling, Germany’s finance minister, Olaf Scholz, said today that the government will now aim for a 65 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, an 88 percent reduction by 2040, and net-zero emissions by 2045. Germany’s current climate law calls for a 55 percent emissions cut by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
The German court found that the country’s current goals delay much of the necessary action to achieve Paris climate agreement goals until after 2030 and provide little detail on how emissions will be reduced further than a decade out.
If Germany burns through most of its permitted emissions before 2030, the burden to take climate action on short notice will fall to the next generation. This would, the court said, violate the freedoms of the climate change activists and environmental group members who brought the complaints to court, “some of whom are still very young.”
The decision prompted a moment of celebration for the country’s climate activists, with Luisa Neubauer, a 25-year-old climate activist with the Fridays for Future initiative, tweeting that it is a “huge win for the climate movement.”
The Smog
Need-to-know basis
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