18.03.2024
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
In 2023, Germany emitted 10.1 percent fewer greenhouse gases than in 2022, according to calculations by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). This course makes the climate protection targets for 2030 achievable.
According to the figures from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Germany was able to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10.1 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year for the first time. This is due to the increased share of renewable energies, a decline in fossil energy production and lower energy demand from industry and consumers. In total, around 673 million tons of GHG were released in Germany in 2023 - 76 million tons or 10.1 percent less than in 2022.
The President of the authority, Dirk Messner, said: "This is the strongest decline since 1990." At the same time, he conceded that the transport sector in particular must make adjustments to climate protection. It once again fell well short of its climate targets and is 13 million tons above the permitted sector budget. "Looking ahead to 2030, I am confident that we will be able to meet the national climate targets," Messner told journalists.
At the beginning of the legislative period, his authority was still assuming an excess of 1,100 million tons of GHG for 2030. "Now we can see in our projections for 2030 that this gap will be closed if we continue to work so ambitiously on climate protection," said the UBA President. According to the Climate Protection Act, German greenhouse gas emissions are to fall by 65 percent by then compared to 1990. The current reduction is around 45 percent.
Energy sector on track
Federal Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) admitted that part of the success was due to the decline in industrial production as a result of high energy prices. Nevertheless, the climate protection target is still achievable even if the economy picks up again.
For the industry association BDEW, Managing Director Kerstin Andreae emphasized that the energy industry has continued to massively reduce its emissions. In 2023, renewable energies covered almost 52% of electricity consumption for the first time. "In order for us to meet the climate targets by 2030, we now need swift decisions from the German government: this includes the rapid adoption of the solar package and a significantly faster provision of land for onshore wind by 2027 than is currently planned," warned Andreae.
In addition, the German government should issue the tender for hydrogen-capable power plants as quickly as possible so that there is clarity for investors. Reliable framework conditions are also needed for grid expansion, she said.
More successes called for in the transport and building sectors
Simon Müller, Director of the think tank Agora Energiewende Deutschland, called for emission reductions in the transport and building sectors in particular. Germany runs the risk of incurring fines from the EU if it fails to meet the effort-sharing reduction targets for buildings and transport set out in European law, Müller reminded.
Die Deutsche Umwelthilfe ( DUH ) strongly criticized the emissions and projections report presented by the German government and the Federal Environment Agency. It contains "tricks and deceptions" in various places. For example, the report even credits measures to the climate balance sheet that were canceled months ago and will definitely not happen. This applies, for example, to the building sector, where measures were already canceled at the last construction summit, or to the climate transformation fund, through which a number of climate protection projects will no longer be financed following the constitutional ruling.
Olaf Bandt, Chairman of the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation ( BUND ), also believes that the achievement of climate protection targets is not assured. "A large part of the reduction is cyclical and price-related and remains a temporary effect," said Bandt. Germany needs a mobility turnaround and must get the energy modernization of buildings underway.
"The data reveals a structural problem that massively jeopardizes both compliance with current and future climate targets," said Bandt. In addition, BUND believes that even compliance with the German climate targets is insufficient when measured against the constitutional and international legal requirements of the 1.5-degree target to limit global warming.
For the environmental protection organization Greenpeace , CEO Martin Kaiser said: "Without immediate measures such as a speed limit or a reformed company car tax that drives the lame switch to e-cars, traffic will become a greater climate burden for the entire country with each passing year - with devastating economic damage." Law and order must also apply to Transport Minister Wissing (FDP), he demanded with regard to the requirements in the Climate Protection Act.
The UBA projections on greenhouse gas emissions for 2024 are available on the Internet.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
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