Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH, using the English name Environmental Action Germany) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and

consumer protection association The Consumer Protection Association (CPA; my, စားသုံးသူကာကွယ်ရေးအသင်း) is Myanmar's independent food consumer protection agency. References Burmese cuisine Consumer organisations in Myanmar Orga ...

, supported by public and private project grants and donations. It is a member of the

European Environmental Bureau The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) is a network of around 170 environmental citizens' organisations based in more than 35 countries. The EEB is a democratic federation, representing local, national, European and international groups in Eu ...

, in Brussels. It has the legal right to represent group claims in court against projects that it considers a threat to the environment. The group also aims to provide a forum for dialogue between environmental organizations, politicians and business people.

Notable work

In 2017, DUH filed a suit against Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), accusing it of failing to act robustly enough over

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

diesel emissions scandal From 2014 onwards, software which manipulated air pollution tests was discovered in vehicles from some car makers; the software recognized when the standardized emissions test was being done, and adjusted the engine to emit less during the test. T ...

. In 2023, DUH lodged a complaint calling for the operating licence of the

Floating Storage and Regasification Unit A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the production and processing of hydrocarbons, and for the storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive h ...

(FSRU) ship Höegh Esperanza at

Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal is Germany's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping liquefied natural gas terminal, terminal, situated near Wilhelmshaven, Germany on the North Sea. It had been in the planning stages since the mid-2010s, and in 20 ...

to be shortened by a decade citing its discharging of chlorine and risks to Germany's climate targets.

Political pressure

At its party congress on 8 December 2018, Germans conservative party CDU decided to have the non-profit status of the DUH examined. The motion was tabled by Steffen Bilger, a member of Bundestag for CDU, who is also Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Transport, as chairman of the CDU district association Nordwuerttemberg. The CDU also wants to ensure that the association no longer receives funds from the federal budget. The Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Ministry of Economics subsequently declared that they would continue to promote the DUH. The responsible tax office in

Singen Singen (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border. Location Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south ...

stressed that it could only take action if there were concrete indications. In the ARD magazine Monitor, the lawyer Joachim Wieland commented on Bilger's stance against the DUH that the policy had long watched in connection with the violations of emission values and did not intervene out of consideration for the automotive industry. Now they are trying to steer the resulting anger away from politics and the automotive industry, towards the courts and the ''Environmental Action Germany''.

Critics

In March 2017, local newspaper ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

'' criticized the organization, calling it "an interest group financing by

Cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not dis ...

(''

Abmahnung An ''Abmahnung'' (German term for a written warning) is a formal request by one person to another person to forthwith stop a certain behaviour. If this formal request is made by an attorney, then it is similar to a cease-and-desist letter (but no ...

en'')“.Holger Appel
''Rußmord.''
In: ''

''. March 3, 2017, retrieved Dezember 11, 2018.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Organizations established in 1975 Nature conservation organisations based in Germany Environmental organisations based in Germany Deutscher Naturschutzring