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ARTICLE · 06 MAY 2021

German Constitutional Court: Climate Change Act Is Partially Unconstitutional

Jones Day
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In a ruling announced on April 29, 2021, the German Federal Constitutional Court ("Court") delivered a groundbreaking decision on national climate change legislation.

GermanyGovernment, Public Sector
Yvan Desmedt
Yvan Desmedt
Françoise Labrousse
Françoise Labrousse
Holger Neumann
Holger Neumann
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In a ruling announced on April 29, 2021, the German Federal Constitutional Court ("Court") delivered a groundbreaking decision on national climate change legislation. The Court instructed the German legislator to revise the Federal Climate Change Act ("FCCA") by the end of 2022. The Court considered the current version of the FCCA partially unconstitutional because it did not specify greenhouse gas ("GHG") emission reduction targets beyond the year 2030. This decision will affect various sectors, such as transportation, energy, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and waste management.  

The objective of the FCCA is to meet national and international climate protection targets. It is based on the nation's commitment under the Paris Agreement and the goal to achieve GHG neutrality by 2050. The FCCA prescribes legally binding climate targets with annually decreasing GHG budgets for certain sectors that are relevant to climate change.  

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