Greenhouse gas emissions
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Sectoral greenhouse gas emissions
At the federal level, German policymakers have repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2045. With the 1st Amendment to the Federal Climate Protection Act of 2021, sectoral emission reduction targets for 2030 were introduced in addition to a target pathway for total net emissions by 2045; however, with the 2nd Amendment to this law, however, the binding nature of the sectoral targets was abolished again. Net greenhouse gas neutrality is to be achieved by 2045.
The following figure shows sectoral emissions since 1990 and the target pathway for total emissions through 2045, based on data from the Federal Environment Agency. In 2020, greenhouse gas emissions were more than 40 percent below those of the reference year 1990, marking the achievement of an important policy goal. However, a significant pandemic-related decline in economic activity in 2020 contributed substantially to this. As the economy recovered, emissions rose slightly in 2021, but have since declined significantly again. In 2025, total emissions (excluding LULUCF) largely stagnated.
Even though the sectoral targets set by the Climate Action Act are no longer binding, it is still interesting to compare them with actual sectoral emissions. Since 2020, greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector and industry have been reduced by significantly more than planned. In contrast, emissions from the transportation sector have been well above its sectoral target since 2022. Emissions from the building sector have also slightly exceeded their target every year since 2020.
Emissions of electricity generation
The federal government has not set an explicit target for CO2 emissions from electricity generation. The draft of the EEG 2023 referred to “nearly complete greenhouse gas neutrality” in electricity generation by 2035; however, this wording is not included in the final Bundestag resolution. Previously, at the G7 summit in Elmau, it had already been decided to “fully or predominantly decarbonize” the electricity sector by 2035. The figure therefore shows an indicative target of zero CO2 emissions in 2035.
The absolute CO2 emissions (in millions of tons) from German electricity generation are calculated annually by the Federal Environment Agency. According to these figures, emissions nearly halved between 1990 and 2020. However, the 2020 figures were particularly low due to the pandemic. In 2021 and 2022, CO2 emissions from electricity generation rose again, initially due to a resurgence in electricity consumption and then to increased use of coal-fired power plants during the European electricity price crisis. Since then, however, emissions have fallen significantly again, due to the easing of tensions in the European electricity market and the continued expansion of renewable energies. The so-called emission factor (direct CO2 emission factor of electricity consumption in g/kWh, excluding upstream emissions) has also declined significantly recently. The same applies to the GHG emission factor, which measures not only the direct CO2 emissions of the electricity mix but also total greenhouse gas emissions, including upstream emissions.