Germany's greenhouse gas emissions are at their lowest point in around 70 years, a new study shows, which states that Europe's largest economy has succeeded in reducing its dependence on coal faster than expected.
673 million tons of greenhouse gases were emitted last year from the Federal Republic, which was 73 million tons fewer than in 2022, shows the study from the think tank Agora Energiewende. Emissions are thus back to the level from the 1950s.
- The reduction is primarily due to the phasing out of coal power, Agora states.
In 2022, cuts in Russian gas supplies caused Germany to restart old coal-fired power plants, but last year these plants were gradually shut down again.
This contributed to a reduction in CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants by 46 million tons in 2023, while emissions from German industry fell by 20 million tons, according to Agora. Coal power accounted for 26 percent of electricity production in Germany last year, compared to 34 percent the year before.
The Germans obtained over 50 percent of of their electricity from solar and wind last year, but is still some way off the target of obtaining 80 percent of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2030.
Germany has a declared goal of phasing out coal by 2038, but Economics Minister Robert Habeck has proposed a faster phase-out - in 2030, which is already supported by the states, but is encountering resistance in the "brown belt" in the east.
/ritzau/dpa
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