A coalition of members of the Union parties has presented a legal opinion warning that any rollbacks of climate protection measures would be in conflict with the principle of “improvement prohibition.” According to Thomas Heilmann, the chairman of the Climate Union, “climate protection is not a nice extra, but a legal obligation. Whoever weakens climate protection acts unconstitutionally and risks legal consequences.” He added that the SPD-Green government had already failed at the Federal Constitutional Court and that the coalition must learn from its mistakes and design a policy that is constitutionally compliant and future-proof from the start. The coalition also cites international law, the European Convention on Human Rights, EU law and the German Basic Law to support the argument that climate protection is legally secured.
In 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the legislator may not prioritize today’s generation over future generations and, therefore, may not excessively burden the latter. This was justified by the “intertemporal freedom guarantee.” Based on this, individuals can also sue the state if they believe their freedom rights are being endangered by measures that allegedly imperil climate protection.
The Climate Union, founded in 2021, is a network for members of the Union parties and people with similar political views that advocate for adhering to the 1.5-degree target. The organization claims to address “civil climate enthusiasts who no longer find an emotional and political home in the increasingly left-leaning climate movement.