In addition, Greenpeace is supporting an identical lawsuit filed by an organic farmer before another German regional court, the environmental organization said on Tuesday.

The plaintiffs argue that the CO2 emissions of the Wolfsburg-based auto giant is contributing significantly to the climate crisis and its consequences. They claim that VW’s business model is not compatible with the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In order to protect their liberties and property rights the plaintiffs demand, among other things, that VW stop selling climate-damaging internal combustion vehicles worldwide by 2030 at the latest.

The Greenpeace directors Martin Kaiser and Roland Hipp, Fridays for Future activist Clara Mayer, and the farmer, also rely in their lawsuit on a recent climate ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court as well as a Dutch ruling against the oil company Shell.

If the lawsuit is successful, 2 gigatonnes less CO2 would be emitted by 2040 compared to VW’s current plans, they said.

Volkswagen, which is the largest car manufacturer in Europe, did not immediately comment on Tuesday’s suit.

But it has said in the past that disputes in civil courts through lawsuits against individual companies are not the right way to go about reducing emissions.

The company maintains it has clearly committed itself to the Paris climate agreement and wants to be CO2-neutral by 2050 at the latest.

It was the task of lawmakers to shape climate protection, it said recently.