{"id":22213,"date":"2019-07-21T10:43:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-21T08:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.protect-the-planet.de\/climate-court-action\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:22:16","slug":"climate-litigation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.protect-the-planet.de\/en\/climate-litigation\/","title":{"rendered":"climate LITIGATION"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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climate LITIGATION<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Climate protection is a human right<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Dried up water hole with small plants in Kenya<\/p>

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We protect the right to a liveable planet.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>

The failure of companies, governments, and people in positions of political responsibility to act is irresponsible in view of the dramatic nature of the climate crisis\u2014and cannot be right. Protect the Planet sees the legal system, especially in democratic states\u2014at both the national and international levels\u2014as one of the most powerful levers for combating the climate crisis. <\/p><\/div>

Climate Litigation: Strategic Lawsuits<\/strong><\/h3>

Climate lawsuits are a democratic means of holding governments and companies accountable under existing law, thereby asserting the rights of future generations and those already affected today.<\/p>

After all, combatting climate change is a legal obligation!<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Protect the Planet initiated in 2018 the <\/span>People’s Climate Case,<\/em><\/a> in which families from various European countries as well as Kenya and Fiji who are already affected by climate change brought a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice. Although the court ruled against the plaintiffs, the lawsuit paved the way for the historic decision by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2021 regarding the <\/span>federal constitutional complaint against the German government’s climate protection law<\/em><\/a>, which we also played a key role in supporting. The German Constitutional Court declared parts of the Climate Protection Act of the German Federal Government to be unconstitutional and, for the first time, also emphasised the rights of future generations in the wording of its ruling.<\/p><\/div>

Protect the Planet pursues a strategy of strategic litigation. This means that we do not support all lawsuits related to climate and environmental protection, but rather those that send a strong signal or could set a precedent\u2014as was the case with the People’s Climate Case and the constitutional complaint of 2021. <\/p>

We also commission legal analyses and expert opinions to draw attention to the injustice being done to future generations and to examine the legal situation.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Climate and the legal system<\/strong><\/h3>

We also call for the expansion of existing (national and international) law to provide greater and better protection for our planet. To this end, we are working with movements such as the “Netzwerk Rechte der Natur”<\/a> (Rights of Nature Network) and Stop Ecocide Germany <\/a>to raise awareness of new ideas and approaches for improving existing law. <\/p>


More information:<\/strong><\/p>