While Germany may have almost halved its annual carbon emissions since 1990, the progress comes from the country’s energy sector, as other sectors failed to deliver.
Germany emitted about 656 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2024, according to think-tank Agora Energiewende’s latest figures, a 3% decrease in 2023 and a 48% decrease since 1990. This is also below the cap of 692 million tonnes for 2024, as stipulated by the Federal Climate Action Act (Bundes-Klimaschutzgesetz or KSG).
German law also targets a reduction of 65% by 2030, 88% by 2040, and net neutrality by 2045 – five years earlier than the EU’s net zero deadline.
German Minister for Economy and Climate Action Robert Habeck said the country’s hard work is paying off, describing it as “on track,” but environmental group WWF Germany said most sectors had not significantly improved their carbon footprint.
To combat problematic areas like transport and building, Habeck said Germany should do better when ramping up electromobility, adding that there was much more work to be done in housing and construction.
Renewable-driven reductions
The think tank attributes 2024’s reduction mainly to transforming the country’s energy sector, including the decommissioning of several coal plants and a rise in renewable energy generation, but also to “mild weather conditions and weaker economic performance”.
Director of Agora Energiewende, Simon Müller, said climate protection measures had shown an increasingly strong impact on the electricity sector.
While poor economic performance may have contributed to the decline, deindustrialisation did not appear to drive emissions reductions.
The report notes that industrial emissions even increased in 2024 “mainly due to a slight increase in production in energy-intensive industries.”
[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Alice Taylor-Braçe]
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