Environmental organizations are taking the European Commission to court

The hope is that the lawsuit will get the European Commission to tighten the climate targets for 2030.

The organizations Climate Action Network (CAN) and Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) are at the forefront of the campaign.

– Illegally high emissions

On Tuesday, they presented their arguments in EU law.

The organizations believe, among other things, that national limits for emissions of greenhouse gases from sectors such as transport and agriculture are illegal.

The limits are set too high, which will mean that the EU will not meet the goal in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, according to the organisations.

EU law has given the case priority, which means it will be dealt with next year.

– Green washing

In addition, five other organizations took the commission to court on Wednesday over the decision to include aircraft and ships under the regulations for sustainable financing.

The EU has classified the replacement of new aircraft and ships that are more fuel efficient or use more environmentally friendly fuel as green measures that can receive financial support.

This is greenwashing because such planes and ships still use fossil fuels, believes the organization Opportunity Green.

– We do not take such lawsuits lightly, but this is the only way we can challenge this, says legal director David Kay to the website Euractive.