German climate law needs to be redone. This places a heavy burden on young people

With the current German climate law, the burden of reducing emissions will fall on the shoulders of young people. That is what the Constitutional Court says.

The German Climate Law Because it violates the fundamental freedoms of citizens, in fact it represents New generations The task of preventing global warming with a sharp cut in emissions. Let this policy This is a historical sentence Of Federal Constitutional Court It is located in Karlsruhe. Now the government will be there until the end of next year Rearrange the text. Meanwhile, in September, there will be elections to renew the Bundestock, marking the end of the era. Angela Merkel, Has been leading the country since 2005.

What German climate law provides, and why it is not enough

Approved in 2019, provided by German Climate Law Reduce greenhouse gas emissions It will increase by 55 percent in 2030 compared to the 1990 levels. The same goal was agreed upon by EU companies after long months of negotiations (however, in this latter case, we are talking about a reduction of “at least 55 per cent” which, in real terms, can therefore be overstated).

In doing so, Berlin sought to take the path indicated by the Paris Agreement. The problem, however, is that this is a short-term goal That is not enough Everything can be done not to exceed 1.5 degrees to control global warming within 2 degrees Celsius. “Reduction of emissions still required After 2030 They must be achieved with greater urgency and with less notice, ”the court judges wrote.

Young people may lose their independence

From here Legal action It was started by a group of young activists. Among them is a 25-year-old Louisa Newbury, One of the leaders of Fridays for the Future Movement, which defines the ruling of the Constitutional Court as a “big win”. German climate law – the judges say – sets the time until 2030 to erode the majority Carbon budget Residue, i.e., low levels of CO2 that can still be emitted in order to have the opportunity to comply with the Paris Agreement. Therefore, junk food can only be for young people.

“Almost anything Freedom This could undermine future emissions reduction obligations because all areas of human life are still associated with greenhouse gas emissions and are therefore threatened by drastic reductions after 2030, ”the court argues. This leads to a deviation that is considered unacceptable. That is, the inaction of today’s decision-makers is paid for by the sacrifices of tomorrow’s adults.