Laura Otýpková
Lawyer and Head of the Responsible Energy Team
An unprecedented decision was made at the Municipal Court in Prague in the historically first Czech climate litigation, for which Frank Bold Advokáti provided legal expertise.
According to the court, the state should now take the necessary measures to slow down climate change. In particular, it should take the necessary steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the fields of energy, transport and forestry. The state was given six months to comply. This is the first similar decision in the Czech Republic, but we have seen the same decision to be made already by courts in Germany, the Netherlands or Ireland.
"The court, like the courts of other European and world states, has assumed that international climate protection obligations directly imply the rights of individuals. He stated that the measures set out in the strategic documents of the Czech ministries are clearly not sufficient to achieve even the minimum emission reduction target by 2030 set by the European Union,” summed up the court's verdict our lawyer Pavel Černý.
Today, national ministers responsible for internal market and industry voted in favour of the first reading position adopted by the European Parliament in April 2024. This approval by the Council of the EU brings to a successful close the legislative journey of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which will now become law.
Four months after the announcement of a political agreement by negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, and after a severe reduction of the number of companies covered last March, the EP gave today its final approval to CSDDD.
Today, the Council of the EU approved a watered-down version of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). It includes a severely reduced scope: Only about 0,05% of companies across the EU will be subject to the new law, a cut of roughly 2/3 - compared to the December trilogue outcome.
