Teenagers are winning climate fights one court case at a time

Activists sue European governments and business

Activists of the environment organization Greenpeace protest with CO2 letters illuminated with flames in front of the Brandenburg Gate against the climate change in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, May 6, 2021. The demonstrators demand German Chancellor Angela Merkel to push the fight against climate change during the 12th meeting of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue conference which took place on May 6 and 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Whatsapp chat rooms and Telegram channels across Germany lit up in the early hours of April 29. Young people frantically exchanged messages in a tone that went from disbelief to surprise to euphoria.

The country’s highest court had just ruled that the government’s 2019 climate law was incompatible with fundamental rights, a victory for the nine young German activists that filed the lawsuit and for the global youth climate movement. Over the next few days, it also changed the course of Germany’s politics, economy and climate strategy for the next three decades.