Climate Change Litigation Cases Against German Car Manufacturers Dismissed

On March 23, 2026, the German Federal Court of Justice ("BGH") ruled that private individuals cannot compel car manufacturers to cease placing passenger cars with combustion engines on the market before the expiry of the deadlines set by the EU Passenger Car Emissions Regulation.

Referring to the so-called climate decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court ("BVerfG"), the plaintiffs argued that only a certain CO₂ budget may be consumed by the defendants in order to achieve the climate targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. The plaintiffs asserted that by consuming too large a part of the remaining CO₂ budget, the defendants unlawfully interfered with the intertemporal dimension of the plaintiffs' general right of personality.  Plaintiffs argued that, as a result of this depletion, far-reaching measures for CO₂ reduction, thereby restricting their civil liberties, would be necessary at a later date.