German carmakers reject environmental groups’ climate demand

BERLIN (AP) — German automaker Daimler has dismissed a “cease and desist” demand from two environmental groups to commit to ending the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2030. Lawyers for Greenpeace and the group Deutsche Umwelthilfe have threatened to sue Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen unless they sign a legal pledge not to put new gas-fueled vehicles onto the market from the end of this decade. The groups argue that companies are bound by the same rules as governments when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. The lawyers successfully sued the German government earlier this year. Daimler said in a statement Friday that it saw “no basis” for the groups’ demand.