German court dismisses farmers’ climate lawsuit against Volkswagen. WGN Radio 720

BERLIN (AP) — A German court on Friday rejected a farmer’s bid to force automaker Volkswagen to stop selling vehicles with combustion engines by 2030.

In a lawsuit in state court in the western town of Detmold, farmer Ulf Alhof Kramer said dry soils and heavy rains due to climate change are damaging his fields, cattle and commercial forests.

He argued that Volkswagen was partly to blame because the mass production of gasoline-powered cars contributed significantly to greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.

The court ruled that the lawsuit was without merit. It could not be established that the alleged damages to the plaintiff’s property, health and rights could be remedied solely by the measures he requested.

The environmental group Greenpeace, which backs the lawsuit, has accused Volkswagen of relying on the claims of climate change skeptics to avoid accelerating the deadline to end sales of internal combustion engine cars from 2040. there is

The automaker has disputed the farmer’s claims that it may be directly related to the climate-related damage he suffered. I also mentioned the efforts

Greenpeace Germany Executive Director Martin Kaiser said he would appeal the ruling. He said the verdict was “disappointing.”

Greenpeace plans to appeal another lawsuit earlier this month after a Braunschweig court dismissed another civil lawsuit demanding that VW stop selling vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2030.

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