The German Environmental Aid (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) was unable to secure its climate lawsuits against BMW and Mercedes‑Benz before the Federal Constitutional Court. On Monday, the court dismissed the DUH’s appeals against the judgments rendered in the lower courts in Munich and Stuttgart.
The plaintiffs, private individuals, had sought to compel the automakers to end the sale of combustion‑engine passenger cars in advance. They argued that the manufacturers’ heavy use of the CO₂ budget restricts political action space and thus infringes on the plaintiffs’ general personality rights. Their request required that, from 31 October 2030, no new combustion‑engine cars that emit the specified greenhouse gases could be introduced into the market.
The Federal Court clarified that both BMW and Mercedes‑Benz comply fully with all statutory climate‑protection requirements and that no additional duty of safety to the public exists. Responsibility for future climate legislation lies solely with the law‑making body, which must establish an appropriate framework for climate protection. The judgments dated 23 March 2026 (VI ZR 334/23 and VI ZR 365/23) reaffirmed this position.
