German court rejects farmers' climate change challenge

Greenpeace activists protest with apples in front of a court before the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. The words read "Together for the future." REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court rejected on Thursday a lawsuit brought by a group of farmers trying to compel the government to take swifter action on climate change.

At a hearing in Berlin on Thursday, the farmers, backed by the Greenpeace environmental pressure group, said the government was violating their rights by cutting greenhouse gas emissions at a slower rate than promised.

But the court rejected their plea. It said the federal cabinet's political commitments were not binding in the sense that the farmers claimed, and that the government also had leeway in deciding how to meet its obligation to protect the farmers' property and livelihoods from climate change.

Greenpeace activists protest in front of a court before the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. The words read "You go on trail. We stand behind you." REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

"The plaintiffs lacked a legal basis for their complaint," the court said in a statement. The plaintiffs were given leave to appeal.

One of the plaintiffs, the Backsen family, fears that rising sea levels could sweep away the farm ploughed by their forebears for 300 years could be swept away, along with the North Sea island of Pellworm on which it lies.

The lawsuit mirrored a successful case in the Netherlands where a group of about 900 citizens last year forced the Dutch government to accelerate its plans to cut emissions of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change.

Greenpeace activists display apples as they protest in front of a court before the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government initially promised to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 40% compared to 1990 levels by next year. That goal was abandoned in 2018. But Greenpeace, citing a report by the government-backed Fraunhofer institute, says the 2020 goal can still be reached.

A series of unseasonably hot summers has propelled climate change to the top of the political agenda in Germany, with thousands of people inspired by teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg taking to the streets to demand swifter action.

Climate change activists were disappointed by a package Berlin agreed last month aimed at meeting emissions targets by 2030, saying the magnitude of the crisis meant the government should have gone further.

Farmer Joerg Backsen awaits the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

(Reporting by Reuters TV, Thomas Escritt, additional reporting by Bart Meijer in Amsterdam; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Timothy Heritage)

Farmer's family members Joerg Backsen, Paul Backsen, Silke Backsen and Sophie Backsen await the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Greenpeace activists protest in front of a court before the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. The words read "You go on trail. We stand behind you." REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Lawyer Roda Verheyen awaits the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Farmer's family members Joerg Backsen, Paul Backsen, Silke Backsen and Sophie Backsen await the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Greenpeace activists protest in front of a court before the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. The words read "You go on trial. We stand behind you." REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Judge Ulrich Mortice arrives to the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Greenpeace activists protest with apples in front of a court before the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. The words read "You go on trail. We stand behind you." REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Judge Ulrich Mortice arrives to the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Lawyer Roda Verheyen stands beside farmer's family members Joerg Backsen, Paul Backsen, Silke Backsen and Sophie Backsen as they await the start of a lawsuit of German farmers against the German government's failure to meet climate protection targets in Berlin, Germany, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch