A legal Perspective on Climate Change – Legal means as a game changer in climate change politics

Germany is constitutionally obligated to pursue efforts on a national and an international level to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C. In 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court ordered the German government to amend the Climate Protection Act. This means that the German legislature is obliged to set a national path for limiting global warming to well below 2 °C, preferably 1,5°C. Thus, the law, provides necessary framework conditions. But: Germany will still miss its climate targets. In the light of the aftermaths of the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, its climate policies seem to have stalled. Despite ambitious election promises and the representation of the Green Party in the Government, truly effective political measures are a long time coming. Can the law provide a remedy?   

Climate protection can be advanced not only at the legislative level, but also at the judicial level. As seen in the lawsuit in front of the Federal Constitutional Court in 2021, climate lawsuits, known as climate litigation, increase the political pressure and bring a strong moral perspective into legal action for climate protection. 

Discussion with:

• Lea Nesselhauf, Policy Advisor, GermanZero
• Lutz Weischer, Head of Policy Berlin, Germanwatch
• Luisa Neubauer, Fridays for Future and plaintiff in the Constitutional Complaint in Germany
• Birgit Schwenk, Director General for Climate Action at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

Moderation: Dr. Martin Köppel, Protect the Planet

The event will be livestreamed on the website of the German Climate Pavillon.