Greenpeace has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen

The two managing directors of Greenpeace Germany, together with a climate activist, have filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen AG with the Regional Court of Braunschweig for lack of climate protection. In addition, Greenpeace supported the identical lawsuit filed by an organic farmer before another German regional court, according to a statement from the environmental organization. The plaintiffs argue that the gigantic CO2 emissions of the Wolfsburg-based car company are making a significant contribution to the climate crisis and its consequences. VW's business model is not compatible with the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. To protect their freedom and property rights, the plaintiffs are calling on VW, among other things, to end the sale of climate-damaging combustion engines worldwide by 2030 at the latest. If the lawsuit were successful, a good two gigatons less CO2 would be emitted by 2040, it said. In their argumentation, Greenpeace managing directors Martin Kaiser and Roland Hipp, Fridays for Future activist Clara Mayer and the farmer also rely on the Federal Constitutional Court's climate share and a Dutch judgment against the Shell oil company. At the beginning of September, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and Greenpeace took legal action against four German corporations to oblige them to do more climate protection. BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW as well as the oil and gas company Wintershall Dea were sent cease and desist letters. At the end of October, VW rejected the legal request to reduce its CO2 emissions more quickly. From VW's point of view, disputes in civil courts through lawsuits against individual companies are not the right way to do justice to this task. The company has clearly committed itself to the Paris Climate Agreement and wants to be CO2-neutral on the balance sheet by 2050 at the latest. It was also the responsibility of the legislature to shape climate protection, it said last. "A huge CO2 emitter like Volkswagen has to bow to international climate targets and the ruling from Karlsruhe," Kaiser said on the sidelines of the climate conference in Glasgow. "Only with a quick goodbye to the combustion engine can VW make its contribution to limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees."