Spurred on by youth climate activism, German courts rule that the 2019 Climate Protection Act does not adequately protect the futures of its youth.

On April 29, 2021, Germany’s highest court ruled that the 2019 Climate Protection Act does not go far enough to protect the country’s youth. When it was created, the act stated that intensified climate action was needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent additional strains on the federal budget. The act required energy, transportation, industry, building, waste and agriculture sectors to collectively reduce carbon emission levels by 55% from 1990 levels.

However, the plans to reduce carbon emission under this act were set to stop by the year 2030. A group of nine young German protestors filed a lawsuit against the act for not containing explicit targets to fight climate change during the 20 years after 2030 and up until the country’s 2050 goal of reaching greenhouse gas neutrality. Young protestors fought for additional measures to be put in place from 2031 to 2050 to effectively reach the law’s goals.

In a significant climate case decision, the German court sided with youth climate activists and ordered the government to expand carbon emission mitigation measures to reach greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. This new legislation hopes to protect future generations by taking action against climate change. 

This decision came just in time for a warning report from Bavaria that the region’s five alpine glaciers are melting quickly and are projected to be gone in a decade. According to Thorsten Glauber, the state’s environment minister, a glacier on the northern side of the country’s highest peak, the Zugspitze, is losing 250 liters (66 gallons) of water every 30 seconds. In the past decade, the glaciers in Bavaria have lost two-thirds of their ice.

Germany’s glaciers are essential to their landscape and society, providing water for rivers and streams during droughts, stabilizing mountain rocks, and hosting popular ski resorts. The glaciers are also indicators of global climate temperatures, serving as further proof that climate action needs to be taken immediately.

Germany’s recent court decision on the 2019 Climate Protection Act is more important now than ever. Not only does it come in time to help the country’s beautiful glaciers, but it also serves as an example of young people’s power to influence legislative decisions. Similar court cases filed by youth were attempted in other countries, but not many have been as successful as this one in Germany. Hopefully this case will pave the way for t many similar victories in the future.

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Isabelle is an undergraduate student at Boston University currently on campus in Boston. She is double majoring in Journalism and Film & Television, and she is interested in being a travel writer and writing human-interest stories around the world. Isabelle loves to explore and experience new cultures, and she hopes to share other people's stories through her writing. In the future, she intends to keep writing journalistic articles as well as creative screenplays.