Major power very far from its 2030 climate targets

Major power very far from its 2030 climate targets

If the country continues to emit greenhouse gases at the current rate, the 2030 climate targets will not be met, experts say. The industrial sector alone would need to speed up its annual emission reduction by a factor of around ten to meet Germany's climate targets by 2030. Emissions in the transport sector should be reduced by up to 14 times of the current rate.

ECONOMY NOVEMBER 7. 2022 06:00

Germany is at risk of falling far short of its 2030 climate targets, concludes the first report of the Expert Council for Climate Issues, published by the independent body two days before the start of the next World Climate Conference.

„The 2030 climate targets will certainly not be met by a business-as-usual approach,”

Expert Council Vice Chair Brigitte Knopf said. By then, the German government wants to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65 per cent compared to 1990 levels, but the country is still a long way from achieving that goal.

The Expert Council consists of five experts appointed by the federal government for a five-year term. Currently, it is chaired by Hans-Martin Henning, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. Members are assisted in their work by scientific staff. The council is bound only by the mandate of the Federal Climate Protection Act and is independent in its activities. The council reviews the emissions data compiled annually by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. If the climate targets are not met in any of the sectors under review, the responsible ministries should develop emergency programmes, which will be reviewed by the Expert Council.

The current report is based on an analysis of the years 2000 and 2021, and similar reports will be compiled every two years. Last year, around ninety per cent of greenhouse gas emissions was attributable to the energy, industry, buildings and transport sectors. According to the report, greenhouse gas emissions in Germany fell by 26.6 per cent over the whole period under review. However, the Expert Council warns that

in general, the emission reduction rates achieved so far are far from sufficient to meet the 2030 climate targets, either overall or in individual sectors.

Transport and industry fare much worse in terms of emission reductions, with experts calculating reductions of only 13 per cent and 18 per cent respectively in 2000 and 2021.

The industrial sector alone would have to produce around ten times less emissions to meet Germany’s climate targets by 2030. In the transport sector, emissions should be reduced by up to fourteen times a year.

ECONOMY

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climate goals, germany, greenhouse effect