Neubauer, et al. v. Germany

The Federal Court of Germany ruled that parts of the Federal Climate Protection Act (KSG) were incompatible with fundamental rights because they lacked provisions for updating greenhouse gas emission reduction targets from 2031 onwards. While the court found that the government breached obligations by omitting post-2030 targets, it declined to compel a limit of 1.5°C over 2°C, citing IPCC uncertainty and legislative discretion. The court also affirmed that national climate action is required regardless of whether such action alone can stop global climate change, and it granted standing to complainants from Nepal and Bangladesh, though it did not establish a specific duty of protection for people abroad under the Basic Law.

• The Federal Court of Germany determined that specific sections of the Federal Climate Protection Act (KSG), including section 3(1) second sentence and section 4(1) third sentence in conjunction with Annex 2, were incompatible with fundamental rights. This incompatibility stemmed from the act's failure to include a mechanism for updating greenhouse gas emission reduction targets starting in 2031.
• The court ruled that by not specifying permitted emission levels after 2031, Germany failed to take sufficient precautionary measures, thereby creating a disproportionate risk to freedoms protected by fundamental rights.
• The court declined to mandate a 1.5°C warming limit over a 2°C limit, stating that as long as Germany complies with the 2°C target, the legislator has the discretion to determine which obligations fulfill the duty of protection, noting that the IPCC report contained considerable uncertainty.
• The court established that the necessity for national climate action remains valid even if that action cannot independently stop global climate change.
• The court recognized the standing of complainants residing in Nepal and Bangladesh, although it did not conclude whether the Basic Law imposes an obligation on the German state to protect individuals abroad.

APA

Contributor, C. (2022). Neubauer, et al. v. Germany. ClimaTalk. https://climatalk.org/2022/05/27/neubaur-v-germany/

Chicago

Contributor, ClimaTalk. Neubauer, et al. v. Germany. ClimaTalk, 2022. https://climatalk.org/2022/05/27/neubaur-v-germany/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Contributor |first1=ClimaTalk |title=Neubauer, et al. v. Germany |publisher=ClimaTalk |date=27 May 2022 |url=https://climatalk.org/2022/05/27/neubaur-v-germany/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{contributor2022neubauer, author = {Contributor, ClimaTalk}, title = {{Neubauer, et al. v. Germany}}, institution = {ClimaTalk}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://climatalk.org/2022/05/27/neubaur-v-germany/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }