German citizens are suing their government over “dangerously” high levels of air pollution.
They contend that the government is failing to safeguard their health and that their right to breathe clean, healthy air is being violated.
Like many other nations, Germany frequently exceeds the World Health Organization’s air pollution guidelines.
Around the world, air pollution causes seven million preventable deaths each year.
It is the first time that people in Germany have invoked human rights law in this manner.
The case was brought after the advocate general to the European Court of Justice, one of the top attorneys in the EU said in May that citizens should pursue such a course of action to seek compensation.
The group of seven claimants, which includes parents speaking on behalf of children, allege that politicians are doing little to safeguard the health of the plaintiffs. Many of them suffer from asthma.
They claim to be breathing air with pollution concentrations four to five times higher than the WHO’s permitted standards because they reside in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, and Düsseldorf—four of Germany’s seven largest cities.
Volker Becker-Battaglia resides in Munich, on one of the dirtiest streets in all of Germany.
“You can’t perceive the problem of air pollution. Although it is a killer, it is not in people’s thoughts “He told the BBC.
“Every day, almost 150,000 cars pass in front of our house; it’s awful. Every time we can, we leave the city “He clarifies.
Germany’s air pollution levels comply with national law, but the claimants argue that the law has to be updated to take into account the expanding body of scientific evidence.
As additional information about the risks of toxic air became known, the WHO reduced the suggested limits in 2021.
