The international climate protection regime depends on a willingness of states to cooperate that it cannot guarantee itself. Worldwide, there is a divergence between the need for ecological action and the political will to bring about the necessary changes in the national and international economy. As a result, climate lawsuits in domestic courts aimed at persuading policymakers to make greater climate protection efforts have increased. Like the Dutch Hoge Raad and the Irish Supreme Court, the German Federal Constitutional Court has defined its function for global climate protection in its climate decision. This consists primarily of strengthening international cooperation in the area of climate protection. To this end, the Court gives Article 20a of the Basic Law an international dimension and calls for political cooperation for climate protection at the international level. The Court closely links constitutional law to the Paris Agreement and places itself at the service of enforcing the internationally agreed regime. The decision is motivated by the insight that climate protection cannot be achieved by a democratic sovereign alone, but only through concerted action at the international level.
