MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - The German environmental aid group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) failed on Tuesday with a climate lawsuit against BMW in the first instance at the Munich I Regional Court. According to the plaintiffs, however, the last word has not yet been spoken. The association wants to go with its request into the next instance - and if necessary also up to the Federal High Court.

Umwelthilfe had demanded that the Munich-based automaker stop selling gasoline and diesel cars from 2030 and drastically reduce the CO2 emissions of its vehicles by then. The company had rejected the demand as unfounded. The decision of the regional court is not yet legally binding.

Despite the dismissal of the lawsuit, Umwelthilfe feels that the ruling confirms its claim. The court had expressly judged the claim to be admissible and emphasized that the ruling had only been made in the current context, said DUH's federal managing director Jürgen Resch. If the state does not fulfill its climate protection obligations in the coming years, the lawsuit could be more successful in the future. One hopes promptly an appeal hearing before the Munich higher regional court and at the latest 2024 a fundamental decision of the Federal High Court.

BMW also expressed satisfaction with the court's decision on Tuesday. "We welcome the ruling of the Munich Regional Court, which dismissed DUH's lawsuit as unfounded," a spokesman said. "The dispute about the way to achieve the climate targets must take place in the political process, through the democratically legitimized parliaments - but not in the courtroom."

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs of the environmental aid group had pointed to an encroachment on their general personal rights by the CO2 emissions of car sales. Although the court did not rule out such an encroachment on Tuesday, it ruled that there was no threat of an unlawful violation at the present time.

In its reasoning for the ruling, the chamber referred to a decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of 2021, which obliges the state to protect the climate. Both the government and the legislature must always review the effectiveness of their climate protection measures and adjust them if necessary. At present, however, the court does not see any special features that would lead to a different assessment under civil law.

In September, the Stuttgart Regional Court also dismissed a similar lawsuit brought by the environmental organization against Mercedes-Benz; the case is now before the Higher Regional Court in the second instance. The association is also taking the oil and natural gas company Wintershall Dea to court at the end of August./jml/DP/jha