This will require the economy and society to be transformed through law. “The central hypothesis behind this research project is that the transformation process that is initiated through the law, will also change the law itself in its fundamental assumptions and way of thinking,” says Claudio Franzius, Professor of Public Law at the University of Bremen. In addition to the Universities of Bremen and Greifswald, scholars from the Universities of Bochum, Bonn, and Freiburg, as well as from the Technical University of Darmstadt, and the Helmut-Schmidt University are involved in the project.
Research on space, time, and society
The researchers come from various fields of academia, from law to political science, and economics. In line with the title of the Research Unit, they will investigate transformative climate law under the headings of “Space”, “Time”, and “Society”.
In the subprojects in the field of “Space”, researchers will look at how international, European, and national climate goals can be realised by local and regional players. They will focus in particular on the challenges caused by Germany’s federalism in the realisation of the climate goals.
The subprojects on “Time” concentrate on the the role law plays in climate and resource policies at European and national levels. On the one hand, the researchers in this part of the project will examine how European climate protection law, with its target of decarbonisation, hands the ecological and social costs on to future generations and the Global South. On the other hand, they will take a closer look at the German Klimaschutzgesetz (Climate Protection Act) and show how it acts as a “bridge” between abstract climate goals and specific measures. This is also linked to the question of to what extent it can be used as a legal layer between the Constitution and legal provisions.
The subprojects in the area of “Society” will investigate CO2 removal technologies, i.e. procedures with which CO2 is extracted from the air. These are currently in the early stages of development. The researchers will therefore elucidate how climate law can foster a fast spread of these technologies, but also how, conversely, these technologies may change the law. Furthermore, the researchers will take a look at the social tensions that may be associated with the shift towards climate neutrality. In doing so, they will analyse the concept of a “just transition” and examine which role it can play in climate law.
Climate protection in the Federal Republic of Germany
Prof. Dr. Sabine Schlacke, an environmental law expert based in Greifswald, is running the subproject “Climate Federalism: Climate Planning and Land-Use Planning in the Federal Republic”. “The project investigates, whether and how the German Federal Republic – with the national, state, and district administrations – is providing an effective legal framework for achieving the climate protection goals,” explains Schlacke. The term “climate federalism” that originates from US law serves as a key heuristic in this context. The focus is placed on the question of which factors foster or hinder the effective coordination of climate law and climate planning in a federal system. Furthermore, the research will examine which special features can be found in German climate federalism when compared to the U.S.
Success factors for effective climate law
Schlacke’s hypothesis is that the federal regulatory structure of the German Federal Republic currently creates more normative hurdles than advantages for effective climate law. This applies above all to the reduction of emissions with the goal of greenhouse gas neutrality, but also to adjustments to climate change. Schlacke sees the causes in the lack of official agreements on climate goals, gaps in organisational law, and the absence of spatial coordination, in particular in the area of planning. “As a result, we plan to develop approaches to resolving contradictions, conflicts and fragmentations between the legislative and organisational levels de lege ferenda,” says Schlacke.
Three dimensions will be examined in the investigation of the allocation and coordination of climate goals through climate law: the competence-related, the organisational, and the instrumental dimension. The latter shall focus on financial and planning instruments. The goal of Greifswald’s subproject is to develop conditions for an effective synergy between federalism and climate protection law in the German Federal Republic.
Further information
Website of Prof. Dr. Sabine Schlacke.
Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Sabine Schlacke
Public Law: Administrative Law and Environmental Law
Institute of Energy, Environmental and Maritime Law (IfEUS)
Ernst-Lohmeyer-Platz 1, 17489 Greifswald
Tel: +49 3834 420 2100
sabine.schlackeuni-greifswaldde