A German court ruled on Tuesday that the federal government must strengthen its National Air Quality Program in order to meet European targets for reducing air pollution.

The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg ruled in favor of the NGO Environmental Action Germany (DUH), who had sued Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government.

The ruling follows a similar decision from May that said the government need to improve its overall climate protection plans.

According to Tuesday's decision, the government must step up efforts to reduce ammonia, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in the air.

However, they are allowed to appeal the decision to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.

Germans shun foreign electric cars

The ruling came the same day as a Handelsblatt Research Institute study which found that Germans overwhelming prefer domestic electric cars to cheaper Chinese models.

The survey, conducted for consultancy firm Bearing Point, found that German consumers preferred Volkswagen electric cars overall, followed closely by Mercedes and BMW.

Chinese brands and US-based Tesla, which recently opened a massive factory in Germany, fell well behind as the government tries to push the car-loving country to go electric.

es/lo (dpa, Reuters)