BMW emissions challenge unfounded, Munich court rules

A case against BMW by the heads of German environmental NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe calling on the carmaker to tighten its carbon emission reduction targets was unfounded, a Munich district court ruled on Tuesday.

A case against BMW by the heads of German environmental NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe calling on the carmaker to tighten its carbon emission reduction targets was unfounded, a Munich district court ruled on Tuesday. The plaintiffs' argument that the impact of BMW's emissions was infringing on their freedoms could be valid in theory, but there was not yet sufficient evidence that their rights were being impacted by the carmaker, the court said in a statement.

It was not clear that a 2021 ruling by Germany's federal court - which said the state must tighten its carbon emissions targets to protect the rights of future generations - would apply to this case, the statement added. BMW welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement that public debate on how to achieve climate goals should take place via parliament and political processes rather than the legislature.

The court's reasoning mirrored that of Stuttgart's district court in September 2022 on an identical lawsuit by DUH against Mercedes-Benz. The NGO said it would appeal that ruling. The heads of Greenpeace in Germany, climate activist Clara Mayer and landowner Ulf-Alhoff Cramer have also filed lawsuits against Volkswagen, which are still ongoing, with verdicts expected in all cases later this month.

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