Deutsche Umwelthilfe has filed a climate protection suit against Daimler and BMW. The environmental association demands: From 2030, car manufacturers should no longer be allowed to build cars with internal combustion engines. Further lawsuits against energy companies and car manufacturers could follow.
Climate protection lawsuit calls for combustion engines to be switched off from 2030
After the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) had already threatened with a lawsuit against Daimler and BMW at the beginning of September, the association got serious on Monday evening yesterday. The DUH filed one application at a time against BMW at the regional court in Munich and at the regional court in Stuttgart against Daimler a.
The DUH demands in the climate protection lawsuit: The carmakers must commit to a worldwide combustion engine shutdown by 2030 at the latest.
Because from the point of view of the DUH, the production of cars with internal combustion engines violates the groundbreaking climate share of the Federal Constitutional Court.
Allegation: Daimler and BMW exceed CO2 budget
The DUH relies, among other things, on various studies, statistics and the sales figures of the car manufacturers and argues: If BMW and Daimler continue to produce diesel and gasoline, they will exceed their CO2 budget.
This CO2 budget relates both to the national CO2 budget and to the global budget. The basis for this are the calculations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, as stated in the complaints.
According to the IPCC, according to the recently published Sixth Assessment Report, as of January 1, 2020, the global CO2 budget was still 550 gigatons of CO2 in order to limit global warming to 1.7 ° C with a probability of 83%.
Broken down nationally, the German Government’s Advisory Council for Environmental Issues (SRU) has calculated a Germany-wide CO2 budget. This was 6.7 gigatons in 2020. The DUH is of the opinion that both Daimler and BMW are exceeding their CO2 budget with their combustion engine production, and that this violates the climate share of the Federal Constitutional Court.
Car manufacturers reject allegations
Before filing the climate protection lawsuit, the DUH had already addressed a demand to Daimler and BMW, calling for a clear commitment to phase out combustion from 2030 – and for a declaration of cease and desist by September 20.
The corporations have not complied with this. BMW pointed in one Reply letter the claim back. A legal battle is not the right way to achieve the climate goals. That is the task of the legislature.
But this is exactly where the problem is.
EU law slows the ban on combustion
Because within the European Union it is legally problematic to lay down national combustion bans without a uniform directive. This is due to the fact that new vehicle types have to be approved by all national registration authorities within the EU in order to enable fair market access.
If there are different requirements for vehicle types in individual countries, this could violate EU law. In any case, this was the conclusion reached by a legal opinion commissioned by the Climate Neutrality Foundation. here is it[called:
In our opinion, the introduction of a ‘combustion ban’ would be constitutionally permissible, but would probably not be able to be implemented in accordance with European law through a national regulation. A combustion ban would therefore have to be introduced at European level.
For this reason, Denmark, for example, has withdrawn its plans for an early combustion ban. The EU Commission has put forward a corresponding draft law with the “Fit For 55” climate package. But when and in what form this will be implemented is unclear, as resistance is expected from various EU countries.
The DUH lawsuit is thus something like the demand for a combustion ban through the back door.
Climate action: is there now a wave of lawsuits?
It will be exciting to see if the courts see this the way the DUH does. That, in turn, could set an interesting precedent for further lawsuits. It is not for nothing that not only the DUH, but also Greenpeace presumably have further lawsuits against the oil and gas company Wintershall DEA and Volkswagen in the drawer.
But even if German courts agree with the associations, it is still not clear whether such a jurisprudence could hold up across the EU. After all, a similar lawsuit by environmental associations against the oil company Shell had been brought before the court in The Hague success.
However, the judgment is not yet legally valid as Shell has appealed.
In order to prevent a potential wave of lawsuits, the CDU Economic Council has already threatened a countermeasure. He called for a ban on climate protection suits.
Associations like “Deutsche Umwelthilfe” produce headlines, but not prosperity. That #Activists Covering companies with legally questionable lawsuits borders on character assassination. The legislature must put a stop to such show numbers. #IAA21https://t.co/GQ5ItyoZrU
– Economic Council of the CDU eV (@Wirtschaftsrat) September 8, 2021
Why is there even a need for a climate protection lawsuit?
But why are carmakers fighting back against phasing out combustion engines at all? Because even if the mill of the law grind slowly within the EU, the signs all over the world point to electric motors. Non-EU countries such as Norway and Great Britain have already drawn up relevant laws.
Some cities such as Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam have also already decided to put a combustion engine off in the coming years.
There are also similar efforts around the world. Canada wants to push its combustion ban to 2035. In the USA, on the other hand, states are outbidding each other as to who is more likely to introduce a combustion ban. The US state of Washington has just rushed forward with the year 2030.
In Asia, too, countries from India to Japan to Thailand are taking aggressive action against combustion engines. The first combustion bans are also expected to come here from 2030.
But there is one exception: China. Here one is aiming for a combustion ban not until 2060. And as long as there are different vehicle standards for car manufacturers and a combustion engine market like China with high purchasing power, it can make economic sense to continue to pursue a two-pronged approach for a while, and rely on the more sustainable Synfuel fuels, for example.
Some car manufacturers even further than Daimler & Co.
However, some car companies see it differently. Because, whether it is 2030 or 2060: the end of the combustion engine is foreseeable and the electric car market is growing. General Motors (from 2035 or possibly earlier) or Opel (from 2028) have already decided to end production for cars with internal combustion engines.
That can also make economic sense. Because anyone who already puts all their efforts, investments and research into electric vehicles could then – if a combustion ban really comes politically – have a decisive market advantage.
Of course, the German car manufacturers affected by climate protection lawsuits are also aware of this. Both BMW and Daimler and Volkswagen have set themselves climate targets in this direction.
The BMW brand Mini wants to drive purely electrically from around 2030. And Daimler is planning to switch to pure electric platforms from 2025. Volkswagen, on the other hand, is aiming for a combustion engine off for 2033 to 2035.
