According to a Reuters study of environmental data, as Germany ramps up investment in renewables, carmakers’ energy consumption illustrates just how dependant the country’s most vital industry is on fossil fuels.
Their reliance reveals the challenges automakers have in reducing their own energy consumption while transitioning the transport industry, which accounts for roughly 30% of German energy consumption, to electromobility.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and rising gas prices have heightened the urgency for German industry, which consumes another 30% of the country’s energy, to transition away from fossil fuels, with tools such as carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates no longer sufficient to achieve the new goal of energy independence.
According to 2021 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) data based on 2020 estimates provided by the corporations, Volkswagen relied on non-renewable energy sources for about 80% of its demands, while BMW relied on non-renewable energy sources for over 60 percent.
The CDP data – the world’s largest archive of environmental statistics – revealed that fossil fuels accounted for over half of the carmakers’ energy use, with natural gas accounting for the greatest share.
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