German emissions barely fall

17.03.2026

Source: E & M powernews

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has presented the development of German greenhouse gases. Although Germany fell below the permitted amount in 2025, the gap to the 2030 climate target is growing.

Germany has only slightly reduced its greenhouse gas emissions in 2025, according to the report published on March 14. According to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), emissions amounted to around 648.9 million tons of CO2 equivalents. Compared to 2024, this corresponds to a decrease of around 0.9 million tons or 0.1 percent.

According to the UBA, Germany thus fell short of the annual emission volume of 661.6 million tons of CO2 permitted under the Climate Protection Act by around 12.8 million tons. At the same time, the reduction in emissions has slowed considerably. According to the authorities, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by around 48 percent since 1990.

At the presentation of the data in Berlin, Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) explained that Germany had already made significant progress towards climate neutrality. At the same time, progress on emissions had been too slow, although demand for climate-friendly technologies such as electric cars and heat pumps had increased significantly.

Great need for action

The UBA's medium-term projections also show a need for additional action. The statutory target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels remains achievable in principle, according to the authority. However, additional measures are required. From 2026, emissions would have to fall by an average of 42 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030.

According to current projections, the climate policy instruments implemented to date are only sufficient for a reduction of around 62.6 percent by 2030. At the same time, the previous buffer for achieving the target is shrinking significantly. According to the UBA, it is now only just under 3.8 million tons.

European targets torn

The gap to the European targets is also growing. With regard to the obligations under the EU Climate Protection Regulation, the cumulative difference by 2030 will increase by 29 million tons to a total of 255 million tons of CO2 compared to the previous year, according to the UBA. UBA President Dirk Messner explained that "the emissions and projection data show a cross-sectoral slowdown in climate protection".

At the same time, it is known what measures are needed to achieve the national climate targets. Messner cited the further expansion of renewable energies, the development of storage and grid infrastructure and greater electrification in transport and buildings as the central basis.

According to the UBA, a look at the individual sectors shows a mixed picture. In the energy sector, emissions fell slightly by around 0.6 million tons of CO2 to around 189.1 million tons. In the industrial sector, emissions fell much more sharply. This was mainly due to the weak economy and lower production volumes in energy-intensive sectors. In contrast, emissions in the transport and building sectors increased.

Harsh criticism from associations

Based on the UBA data, Julia Bläsius, Director of Agora Energiewende Deutschland, is calling for ambitious climate protection measures across all sectors. The German government must invest in sustainable infrastructure, release additional tenders for onshore wind power, reliably set lower CO2 fleet limits for vehicles and enshrine effective tenant protection in the Building Modernization Act as well as promote investment in building and heating modernization.

Greenpeace spokesperson Marissa Reiserer believes that Schneider has a duty with the upcoming climate protection program. Germany is currently experiencing how expensive dependence on oil and gas suppliers is. By sabotaging the electricity alternatives to gas and oil, the government is letting people fall into a cost trap, said Reiserer.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) calls the building sector the "biggest climate policy construction site of the federal government". The draft Building Modernization Act (GMG) would massively increase the already existing target gap in the Climate Protection Act, said DUH Federal Managing Director Barbara Metz. "What we need are clear priorities: a renovation offensive, building in existing buildings and renewable heat," said Metz.

The Federal Environment Minister wants to continue his calculations for the planned climate protection program based on the forecasts from the previous year, meaning that the program could already be partially outdated when it is presented. According to the law, the federal government's climate protection program should be available by the end of March at the latest. It should contain additional measures to meet the emission targets by 2030 and beyond.

The UBA report on greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 is available online.

Author: Susanne Harmsen