Over the past two decades, Germany has created a sophisticated climate change legislation framework which in many instances implements international and particularly European Union (EU) requirements. This article points out that in some areas Germany has played a pioneering role in shaping the development of EU law. As an environmental problem of truly global scale, climate change mitigation is heavily reliant on the achievement of international consensus. But it also requires effective,

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... pecific solutions to problems at all rungs of the multilevel policy hierarchy comprising the international community, the EU and the Federal Republic of Germany with its sixteen states and numerous cities and municipalities. Much progress has therefore already been made, but efforts must be greatly intensified right across the board.