German court rules BMW emissions challenge unfounded

(Reuters) — A lawsuit against BMW by climate organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe demanding the carmaker tighten its carbon emission reduction targets was unfounded, Munich’s district court said Tuesday.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe said it plans to appeal the ruling.

The heads of Deutsche Umwelthilfe called in their lawsuit for BMW to end production of combustion engine cars by 2030 and limit its emissions before then to remain within a “carbon budget" they calculated for the company, a ratio of the global carbon budget put together by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Failing to do so would infringe on their right to be protected from the consequences of climate change enshrined in  Germany's climate protection law passed in 2021, they argued.

The court ruled their argument could be valid in theory, but there was not yet sufficient evidence that their individual rights were threatened by the carmaker.

BMW had already set goals to align with the Paris Climate Agreement and existing environmental regulations, and it was not yet evident that those goals were not sufficient, the court added.