German govt must amend “inadequate” clean air programme following court ruling

Germany's government will have to amend its national clean air programme and present effective measures to reduce air pollution in line with EU rules, a court has ruled. NGO Environmental Action Germany (DUH) had filed the lawsuit at the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court, arguing that measures in the government's existing clean air programme – adopted in 2019 and updated in May 2024 – were inadequate and not enough to achieve the EU’s reduction targets. The court partially ruled in favour of DUH, which had argued that the revision of the programme was based on outdated data in significant parts, and ordered the government to amend the programme. The German government can still appeal the court's decision.

The EU has targets to reduce air pollution across all member states, including slashing ammonia, fine particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. Measures in Germany's clean air programme include goals which are also relevant for the country's greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts and energy transition too, such as the aim to have 15 million purely electric cars on roads by 2030, and a reduction in ammonia emissions from agriculture.

The court said the programme did not take into account the latest projections and policy developments in some areas. It still assumed an early coal phase-out "ideally" by 2030 in the forecast, but this has not found political consensus, yet. Changes in an agreement to phase out fossil fuel heating systems from last year were also not taken into account in the emission reduction projections. The law now allows for the operation of wood pellet heating systems, which lead to increased air pollution with particulate matter. Additionally, a purchase premium for electric vehicles, which was included as a measure to meet emission reduction targets for 2025 and 2030, was cancelled at the end of 2023 in the wake of Germany's budget crisis.

"This landmark judgement means that we have succeeded for the first time in limiting toxic substances at source, and that the federal government must take concrete additional measures to protect the health of people in Germany in order to prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths," DUH director Jürgen Resch said. DUH has previously won climate-related lawsuits against the government and retail stores. In a May 2024 ruling, the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court declared that Germany's government must improve its climate policy plans to reach the 2030 emissions reduction target, as well as stay in line with the emissions limits for each sector.