GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Friedrich Gebert, Hannah Düwel, Bernhard Gröhe and Clara Schmidt, ARQIS Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB
ARQIS Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB Breite Straße 28 40213 Düsseldorf Germany
Tel: +49 211 1306 9000 Fax: +49 211 1306 9099 Email: duesseldorf@arqis.com Web: www.arqis.com/en/
1. Multilateral and Regional Regimes 1.1 Multilateral Climate Change Legal Regime Germany participates in the multilateral climate change legal regime individually and as a member of the European Union (EU), which acts as a negotiating bloc for the 27 EU member states. Individually, Germany is an Annex 1 party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and ratified the Paris Agreement on 5 October 2016. Germany regularly participates in UNFCCC negotia - tions and is the host country of its Secretariat. Key features of Germany’s participation include its com - mitment to legally binding emission reduction targets (supporting Net Zero by 2050 at EU level and nation - al climate neutrality by 2045), adaptation measures funded through bilateral and multilateral aid, sub - stantial climate finance contributions of over EUR6 billion annually, capacity-building and technology transfer initiatives, constructive engagement on loss and damage including support for the operationalisa - tion of the Loss and Damage Fund, advocacy for a dynamic interpretation of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabili - ties (CBDR-RC), and the implementation of compre - hensive domestic climate legislation aligned with EU and international climate objectives.
1.2 Regional Climate Change Legal Regimes European Union Germany plays a central role in regional climate change legal regimes, primarily through its deep inte - gration into the European Union’s climate governance framework. As a founding member of the EU and its largest economy, Germany is a key contributor to the EU’s comprehensive legal and policy mechanisms addressing climate change. These regional legal regimes are not only legally binding for Germany but are also strongly shaped by German political, techno - logical, and financial leadership. The European Union has set the goal of “combating climate change” in its primary law, particularly in Arti - cle 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Euro - pean Union (TFEU). Over the years, the EU has continuously developed its climate change policy, constantly adapting it to international obligations. A big milestone was the announcement of the European Green Deal in Decem - ber 2019. The European Green Deal is a growth strat - egy, which is designed as a political strategy. It does not contain legally binding commandments or prohibi - tions but rather contains a roadmap and package of necessary measures for each economic sector with the overall goal of reducing emissions. The neces - sary measures are transposed into binding EU law over the years following the roadmap; this process of transposition is ongoing.
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