Isa Bilgen

• In its “Windenergie”-decision, the BVerfG declared the legal obligation of wind turbine operators to involve citizens and communities in the vicinity of new wind farms in the projects essentially to be constitutional. The intention of the discussed provisions to promote acceptance for the expansion of wind energy serves the climate protection requirement under Article 20a Grundgesetz. The decision continues the line of the “Klimaschutz”-decision. The legal obligation of private persons is based on the factual necessity of the participation of all social actors to prevent climate change. The ecological long-term responsibility in Article 20a Grundgesetz is moved into the private sphere and thus, to a certain extent, subjectivized. These decisions pave the way for a constitutional change. They open up new perspectives for taking account of Article 20a Grundgesetz when weighing up the interests of freedom. Following the logic of the BVerfG, not only companies but also individuals would have to be obliged. In light of the decision, thisIn its “Windenergie”-decision, the BVerfG declared the legal obligation of wind turbine operators to involve citizens and communities in the vicinity of new wind farms in the projects essentially to be constitutional. The intention of the discussed provisions to promote acceptance for the expansion of wind energy serves the climate protection requirement under Article 20a Grundgesetz. The decision continues the line of the “Klimaschutz”-decision. The legal obligation of private persons is based on the factual necessity of the participation of all social actors to prevent climate change. The ecological long-term responsibility in Article 20a Grundgesetz is moved into the private sphere and thus, to a certain extent, subjectivized. These decisions pave the way for a constitutional change. They open up new perspectives for taking account of Article 20a Grundgesetz when weighing up the interests of freedom. Following the logic of the BVerfG, not only companies but also individuals would have to be obliged. In light of the decision, this article examines the possibilities of an emerging constitutional change toward a basic obligation (Grundpflicht) to use freedom in a sustainable manner. Thus, the discussed decision has a fundamental significance that has been too little appreciated and underestimated so far.…