The German environmental group Deutsche Umweltshilfe (DUH) has filed a lawsuit against the car manufacturers BMW and Daimler, the parent group of Mercedes-Benz.
DUH is demanding that car manufacturers stop producing cars with combustion engines by 2030 in order to comply with the Paris climate agreements and German climate legislation.
At the beginning of this month, it was already announced that the climate club was threatening a lawsuit. The charges were brought before the courts in Munich and Stuttgart on Monday, DUH said on Tuesday. A case against the German oil and gas company Wintershall Dea is still pending. A case can also be brought against Volkswagen.
The lawsuits would be modelled on the case that was filed in the Netherlands against oil and gas group Shell last year. The court in The Hague ruled that Shell must do more to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions by users of Shell products are also taken into account.
BMW has said it rejects DUH’s arguments and states that climate targets are set by parliament. Daimler said that steps had been taken to achieve the climate goals for some time.