Fewer greenhouse gas emissions in Germany

The German Environment Agency recorded some 739 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions for Germany in 2020, which is around 8.7 percent less than in the previous year. For the first time, the German Environment Agency has presented its emissions data to the German government in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Climate Change Act. The figures published today reveal which sectors complied with the prescribed annual emission levels and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emissions decreased in Germany in 2020 for all greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide by nearly 67 million metric tons (-9.4%), methane by just over 1 million metric tons (-2.1%), and nitrous oxide also by just over 1 million metric tons (-3%). This marks the largest annual decrease since 1990. In all, emissions have fallen by 40.8 percent compared with 1990.

The data from the German Environment Agency also indicates that steps taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic are responsible for a good third of the reductions, with such measures affecting the transport and energy sectors in particular. “It is therefore clear that only ambitious climate action and structural change in key economic sectors which is geared toward accelerated decarbonization will make it possible to meet the German government’s climate targets,” says Dirk Messner, president of the German Environment Agency. He notes that, moving forward, it will be necessarily to install significantly more wind turbines and to drastically reduce the number of cars with combustion engines, for example.

The Federal Climate Change Act specifies how Germany intends to meet its national and European climate targets. For example, the law sets caps for emissions in the energy, industry, transport, building, agriculture, and waste management sectors, which will be lowered year after year. The German Environment Agency has the task of checking every year whether these caps are being observed. The latest figures reveal the following developments for these sectors:

Accuracy of the data

According to the German Environment Agency, the findings represent the best possible estimate at the moment, although they involve some uncertainties, due in particular to the limited statistical bases of calculation available at this time. The calculations stem from a system of model calculations and trend extrapolations of the detailed 2019 inventories of greenhouse gas emissions published in January 2021.

For more information and exact figures, visit the German Environment Agency’s website.