The German Federal Constitutional Court’s revolutionary climate ruling. National Law as a Tool for Driving Global Solutions

Summary:

A year ago, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court called on the German legislature and government to become an international role model for climate protection with the help of an ambitious national climate law. The ruling baffled some outside spectators who did not see how national law-making could drive forward global mitigation. Admittedly, not much has happened since, but the ruling highlights the importance of national law as a proactive tool – the potential of which the current German government is more likely to harness than its predecessor.