The adoption of Germany's Climate Protection Act planned for this Friday can go ahead after the Constitutional Court rejected an application for a temporary injunction.
The highest German court in Karlsruhe made the announcement on Thursday after Christian Democrat member of parliament Thomas Heilmann applied for the injunction on Wednesday.
He justified the move, similar to his successful proceedings against Germany's new Heating Act last year, because of an "extremely shortened consultation period" which he believes meant the passing of the law was rushed.
He argued that his right as a member of parliament "to consultation and to equal participation as a member of parliament in the parliamentary decision-making process" had been violated.
The reform of the Climate Protection Act will lead to fundamental changes in Germany.
Until now, if individual sectors such as transport fail to meet statutory CO2 emissions targets, the responsible ministries must submit immediate action programmes the following year.
With the reform, compliance with the climate targets will no longer be monitored retrospectively by sector, but will be forward-looking, multi-year and cross-sectoral.
If it becomes apparent in two consecutive years that the German government is not on track with its climate target for 2030, it will have to make adjustments.
Environmental organizations have criticized this as a softening of the target and Heilmann also fears a weakening of climate protection with far-reaching consequences.
According to the law, Germany must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
