Habeck: We are on track
German CO2 emissions fall by ten percent
March 15, 2024, 9:54 a.m
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Greenhouse gases in Germany will decline in 2023, more than at any time since 1990. Economics Minister Habeck is optimistic that the climate goals will be achieved by 2030. However, not all sectors contribute equally to the reduction.
Germany has achieved its climate target for 2023. At 673 million tons, around ten percent fewer greenhouse gases were emitted than in 2022, the Climate Ministry and Federal Environment Agency (UBA).. This is the sharpest decline since reunification in 1990. The main reasons are that less coal was burned in power plants and also that the German economy was weaker.
However, looking at the individual sectors, it is clear that despite improvement, both the transport and building sectors have once again failed to meet their legal requirements. Around 146 million tons of CO2 equivalents were emitted in traffic in 2023. This means that greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector are around 1.8 million tonnes (1.2 percent) below the 2022 value and around 13 million tonnes above the annual emissions of 133 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents permitted for 2023 under the Federal Climate Protection Act (KSG). . In the previous year, emissions had increased slightly.
In the building sector, emissions were also reduced from 8.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents to around 102 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents (minus 7.5 percent). Despite this reduction, the building sector once again exceeds the annual emissions permitted under the KSG, this time by around 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents.
In the energy sector, emissions in 2023 fell by around 51.8 million tons of CO2 equivalents or 20.1 percent compared to the previous year, which is due to a lower use of fossil fuels to generate electricity and heat. In industry, emissions fell for the second year in a row to around 155 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2023. This corresponds to a decrease of almost 13 million tonnes or 7.7 percent compared to the previous year. This means that the industrial sector is around 18 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents below its annual emissions for 2023.
Expansion of renewable energy pays off
Climate Minister Robert Habeck was nevertheless pleased: “Germany is on track – for the first time. If we stay on track, we will achieve our 2030 climate goals.” It turns out that the efforts paid off.
The Federal Environment Agency also stated that specifications for the next few years would also have to be created based on a projection. “Looking ahead to 2030, I am confident that we can meet the national goals,” said UBA President Dirk Messner. “With the outbreak of the war against Ukraine, many were worried that we would see a renaissance of coal and other fossil fuels. We know today that that did not happen. This is mainly due to the very successful expansion of renewable energies.”
In its new projection report, the Federal Environment Agency assumes a reduction of almost 64 percent. According to the ministry, the goal is now tangible. Last year a reduction of only 63 percent was expected, and the year before that it was only expected to be reduced by 49 percent. Germany wants to reduce its emissions by 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. Currently it is around 46 percent. Germany should be climate-neutral by 2045, meaning that the bottom line is that it will no longer produce any greenhouse gas at all.