Dynamic changes in the European climate policy are aimed at a drastic reduction of CO2 emissions. The Union’s policy has several social, economic, and political consequences. Therefore, it is subject to assessment from the perspective of the legal order, including the constitutional order of the Member States. Therefore, a question arises as to the compliance of the “Green Deal” policy with the Polish constitution. It can be very troublesome to answer them positively. The EU policy is not only implemented in the interest of the whole world, and its effectiveness is uncertain, if only due to the need for cooperation of the entire international community. An additional challenge may be the quite evident departure from the principle of sustainable development in favor of climate protection. Although the given questions are troublesome, they deserve attention and noticing an apparent collision.

On March 24, 2021, the First Senate of The German Federal Constitutional Court issued that part of the Federal Climate Change Act of December 12, 2019 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2513) must be deemed contrary to Basic Law. The fundamental reason underlying his conclusion was the failure of the federal legislator and the Federal Government to take suitable and prospectively sufficient measures to decrease greenhouse gasses (predominantly CO2) emissions. The Tribunal interpreted Art. 20a of the Basic Law, in conformity with the principle of intergenerational equity. By anchoring his reasoning in that concept, the Tribunal turned into an unclear and controversial path. It may serve to enhance radical political changes. However, on the other hand, it may also undermine the green change.

Constitutional Right to Resistance in Europe. A Comparative Study

The purpose of the article is an analysis of the right to resistance present in European constitutions, mainly in Central and Eastern Europe. The author defines the concept, indicates its origins, provides its classification and explains reasons justifying contemporary shape of this institution in fundamental laws of European states. The author, applying comparative method (according to the procedure of K. Zweigert and H. Kötza), as well as formal-dogmatic and functional methods as auxiliary means, offers a systematic summary of the results achieved due to the comparison and delivers a critical assessment of such results. The result of the research proves that the right to resistance may be deducted and conceptualized from the principle of a democratic state of law contained in the Polish constitution.