Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by just under 5% last year compared to 2020, according to the federal environment agency UBA’s annual report released on Monday, as Europe’s largest economy recovered from the coronavirus outbreak.
Although emissions climbed last year, they were 39 percent lower than in 1990, according to the report.
The report will add urgency to plans by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way administration to nearly treble the share of renewables in its energy mix to over 80 percent by 2030 and wean the economy off gas and oil imports from Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
Germany exceeded its 2020 aim of cutting emissions by 40 percent compared to 1990 levels, cutting them by nearly 41 percent as emissions declined due to a substantial drop in economic activity during the epidemic.
The UBA discovered that Germany emitted 762 million tonnes of CO2 last year, 33 million tonnes more than in 2020.
According to the report, transportation and buildings exceeded their emissions targets, while industry and agriculture met theirs.
Germany intends to reduce emissions by 65 percent by the end of this decade when compared to 1990 levels.
The Economy Ministry hopes to release plans outlining tangible actions to reach this aim by Easter.
The strategy is expected to entail accelerating the electrification of the transportation sector, boosting building energy efficiency, constructing a hydrogen production capacity, and rapidly expanding wind farms.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck has not ruled out Germany failing to meet its climate targets until 2023, when efforts to convert the economy to a CO2-free future begin to bear fruit.
Post Your Comments