GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Friedrich Gebert, Hannah Düwel, Bernhard Gröhe and Clara Schmidt, ARQIS Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB
2. National Policy and Legal Regime (Overview) 2.1 National Climate Change Policy Germany’s climate change policy is closely aligned with prevailing climate science, in particular the find - ings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and is shaped by the EU climate framework as well as international obligations under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. Over time, German climate policy has evolved from an initial focus on renewable energy promotion and energy efficiency towards a comprehensive regulatory framework that includes legally binding emission reduction targets, carbon pricing mechanisms and sustainability reporting requirements. More recently, climate litigation, ener - gy security concerns and EU legislation – notably the European Green Deal, the Fit for 55 package and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) – have further accelerated policy development. The cur - rent trajectory is characterised by efforts to reconcile ambitious decarbonisation objectives with industrial competitiveness, energy affordability and administra - tive practicability. Germany does not submit an individual NDC but is part of the European Union’s collective NDC. At the end of 2025, the European Council (EC) submitted to the UNFCCC an updated version of the EU NDC on behalf of the EU and its member states, replacing the previous ones submitted in 2020 and 2023. The updated EU NDC template has been prepared against the backdrop of the adoption of the key ele - ments of the Fit for 55-package, which will result in the EU reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels). With the updated NDC, the EU and its member states reaffirm their commitment to this legally binding target. These targets are unconditional, meaning they are not contingent upon financial or in-kind support from other countries. The current EU NDC contains the following central objective: a reduction in net greenhouse gas emis - sions. This relates exclusively to mitigation, ie, the avoidance and reduction of emissions through the
mechanisms noted in 1.2 Regional Climate Change Legal Regimes , but also reduction targets for other sectors, eg, transport and energy systems. In terms of content, the EU NDC does not contain adaptation measures with regard to any quantitative or verifiable targets. 2.2 Constitutional Framework for the National Legal Regime for Climate Change Constitutional Basis Even though climate protection is not explicitly men - tioned in the German Basic Law ( Grundgesetz – GG), there are constitutional norms that serve climate pro - tection. Article 20a, GG contains the constitutional objective of protecting the natural foundations of life. The state is obliged to protect the natural foundations of life and animals in responsibility for future generations. The “natural foundations of life” include climate pro - tection, which has been established by the Federal Constitutional Court. Although Article 20a does not create directly enforceable individual rights, it plays an important interpretative role in shaping climate legisla - tion and administrative decision-making. In addition, Article 143h(1), GG authorises the Federal Republic of Germany to establish a special fund for additional investments “to achieve climate neutrality by 2045”. The GG does not contain a specific fundamental right to environmental protection or climate protection. However, the fundamental rights already established can protect against environmental damage by oblig - ing the state to protect its citizens from environmental damage, thus indirectly protecting the environment. Jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court A key turning point in the constitutional development of German climate policy was the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court ( Bundesverfassungsger- icht ) in 2021, often referred to as the “climate deci - sion” (Order of the First Senate of 24 March 2021 – 1 BvR 2656/18, ECLI:DE:BVerfG:2021:rs20210324.1b vr265618). In this decision, the Court found that the 2019 version of the Federal Climate Action Act ( Bun-
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