Germany’s highest court ruled Thursday that the country’s 2019 climate law unconstitutionally saddles young people with the burden of fighting climate change by “irreversibly offload[ing] major emission reductions burdens onto periods after 2030.” German finance minister Olaf Scholz said the government would rapidly propose legislation to comply with the ruling. The case was brought by young people who argued the German plan to reach net-zero carbon pollution by 2050 backloaded too much of the required emissions cuts until after 2030. “We are super happy with the court’s decision,” 22-year-old plaintiff Sophie Backsen, who fears sea level rise will engulf her family’s farm, told reporters. “Effective climate protection has to be implemented now and not in 10 years’ time, when it’ll be too late.” (Reuters, The Guardian, AP, New York Times $, The Hill, BBC, NPR, Fortune, Politico EU; Government response: Reuters)
