German environmentalists intend to judicially induce the automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz to abandon internal combustion engines in the coming years. On Monday, September 20, relevant claims were filed with the state courts in Munich and Stuttgart, the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) environmental organization reported on September 21.
Activists have called on car makers to make climate change transformations, in particular to drastically reduce CO₂ emissions from cars in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and Germany’s climate protection law. In addition, by 2030, companies should stop selling cars with internal combustion engines, DUH said.
Environmentalists count on courts in 2022
Earlier, environmentalists demanded that both companies submit statements on the cessation of illegal actions by September 20. BMW has told dpa that it has already rejected DUH’s demands in response to a request from an environmental organization. Decisions on how to achieve climate protection goals are made by parliaments, he further pointed out.
The representative of Mercedes-Benz, a subsidiary of the Daimler concern, also announced the response to the request of environmentalists. It says that Mercedes-Benz “has long been clear about the transformation to eliminate the negative impact on the climate.” In turn, DUH lawyer Remo Klinger noted that environmentalists had expected similar responses and are now confident that lawsuits will begin next year. In addition, he announced the imminent filing of a similar lawsuit against the energy concern Wintershall.
Some German automakers, including Volkswagen and Audi, have already announced their intention to abandon internal combustion engines in the future and produce only electric cars.
See also:
.