Carbon dioxide emissions in Germany

Overview

Current developments in emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions fell to around 580 million tonnes in 2024. In order to limit the global rise in temperature due to climate change to well below 2 °C, carbon dioxide emissions should fall to zero by the 2030s. However, the climate protection measures introduced to date are not sufficient to achieve this. Germany will have already used up its emissions budget by 2024 to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.

A more significant decline in emissions can be observed for 2023 and 2024. Two developments intertwine here: reduced demand from industry due to the difficult economic situation and the increasing share of renewable energies in the energy mix. At the same time, the mild weather contributed to the decline in the consumption of fossil heating energy sources. However, the reasons for this decline also show that this will not be a lasting trend. With this development, not even the weak reduction targets for the year 2030 or the year 2045 of the German Climate Protection Act can be met, as the chart below shows. This means that German climate protection policy is also failing to meet the requirements of the Federal Constitutional Court. Ambitious measures need to be taken in the building and transport sectors in particular.

History of emissions since 1990

Particularly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification, great successes were achieved in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Germany in the early 1990s. Between 1990 and 1995, total emissions fell by almost 11 per cent. However, this reduction was mainly due to the economic upheaval in the new federal states. In the old federal states, greenhouse gas emissions actually increased during these years.

Since 2000, there has again been a slight decline. The use of renewable energies, the utilisation of lower-emission energy sources and the rational use of energy began to show results. Due to the economic crisis, emissions fell sharply in 2009. Energy consumption fell rapidly and with it greenhouse gas emissions. However, this decline is not a sign of a sustainable energy policy. This is shown by the renewed increase in 2010, since when emissions have largely moved sideways. In 2019, emissions trading and the further expansion of renewable energies made themselves felt.

After falling due to the consequences of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, emissions rose again when the economy restarted in 2021. Although energy consumption fell slightly during the energy price crisis in 2022, emissions remained at a comparable level (-1 %). It remains to be seen whether an economic recovery can materialise in 2025 without rising emissions.

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions

Carbon dioxide accounts for almost 90 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. Other gases such as methane or nitrous oxide are of lesser importance. Well over 90 per cent of total carbon dioxide emissions are in turn energy-related, i.e. come from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas. The following chart shows the development of total carbon dioxide emissions; the following tables show energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, total carbon dioxide emissions and total greenhouse gas emissions separately. The annual change in greenhouse gas emissions is also shown.

Global CO₂ emissions are shown on a separate page. Due to the complexity of obtaining global data, these statistics are usually only published with a considerable delay.

Carbon dioxide emissions in Germany and target paths for the Paris climate protection agreement

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