Germany and greenhouse gas emissions

Historical and Political Context

Because of its central location in Europe, no other country shares more borders with European countries than Germany. Germanic people were fragmented by a number of large tribes. Following the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), which devastated German lands and killed about 30 percent of the people, the Peace of Westphalia divided the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation into numerous independent principalities, with the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and the Kingdom of Prussia as the largest players. The long road to unification included the foundation of the German Confederation in 1814, the tariff union (Zollverein), the Revolution of 1848, and the first establishment of the German nation state in 1871 amid the Franco-Prussian War. Being a latecomer, Germany pursued an aggressive path in its quest for power in Europe and abroad, leading to two lost world wars, with comprehensive devastation and unspeakable crimes committed by Nazi Germany.

Being forced to learn its lesson under Allied occupations, Germany was divided in 1949 into a socialist Eastern and a capitalist Western state, both of which became the battleground (and almost the nuclear battlefield) for the Cold War antagonists the United States and Soviet Union. After the spectacular fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, triggered by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms, Germany was reunified in 1990. United Germany took a leading role in the further establishment of the European Union, adopting the European currency, the euro in 1999.

In 2009, Germany had the largest population in the European Union and had sixteen federal states. It was home to a large number of international migrants. Germany is a federal parliamentary republic with the world’s third largest economy by nominal GDP and is the world’s leading exporter of goods, partly because of its scientific and technological advancements. The country has a comprehensive system of social security and the second biggest budget of development aid in the world. While military expenditure ranks sixth, Germany is an influential partner in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and took part in military interventions in the Balkans and Afghanistan that became controversial because of a strong anti-war attitude in the population.

Impact of German Policies on Climate Change

Concerns about the environment and sustainable development are high on the agenda in Germany. Policies have contributed to reducing air pollution and acid rain from sulfur dioxide emissions, limiting pollution from industrial effluents into water bodies, and increasing nature preservation areas. There is significant attention among the Germany public and media to the threat of global warming, including shrinking glaciers in Alpine regions, and natural hazards such as river flooding and storms.

The national government has put great emphasis on climate policy and is committed to supporting the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement of 2015, and other agreements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Germany is trying to phase out nuclear power and has taken a lead in renewable energy sources, including bioenergy and wind and solar power (such as the “100,000 roofs” solar electricity program). While the country’s CO₂ emissions per capita are among the highest in the European Union (still significantly lower than those of Australia, Canada, or the United States), overall emissions are falling thanks to wide-ranging emission reduction activities.

In June 1990, the Interministerial Working Group on CO₂ Reduction was established to develop climate protection policies and report to the federal cabinet. Germany’s national climate-protection strategy addresses the specifics of the economic sectors (industry, energy and transportation, commerce, trade and services) and is oriented toward achieving a sustainable energy supply by improving energy efficiency, balancing energy mix, and expanding renewable energy sources. Germany has a leading role in international climate negotiations; for example, it directed the 1995 Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and it hosted the U.N. Climate Secretariate in Bonn. The federal government plans to achieve its Kyoto target by implementing climate-policy instruments and measures.

The Ecological Tax Reform established a set of energy taxes (mineral oil, heating fuel, coal, electricity) and prevented 20 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions; it also created up to 250,000 jobs and additional tax revenues of 17.8 billion euros in 2005 used for the public social security system. Special regulations help to ensure the competitiveness of energy-intensive processes. The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) of 2000 and the 2004 and 2009 EEG amendments granted priority to renewable energy sources. In 2006, a total of 73.8 terrawatt hours of electricity based on renewable sources was generated, corresponding to 12 percent of total German electricity consumption. At the end of 2006, 5.8 percent of primary energy requirements and 12.0 percent of electricity requirements came from renewable sources. Through 2020, the EEG is expected to reduce emissions by about 45 million metric tons of CO₂.

Since 2005, emissions trading in the European Union has created economic incentives for reducing CO₂ emissions, including large energy installations and energy-intensive industrial systems. The German Bundestag (legislature) has passed several related laws: the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act, the National Allocation Plan, and the Act on Project-based Mechanisms. The initial upper emissions limit of 499 million metric tons is to be reduced to 453.1 million metric tons by 2012, including new installations.

Germany as a GHG Emitter

When it ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union (with fifteen member states at that time) committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 8 percent by the 2008–12 period, compared to their base-year levels (1990 and 1995). Under the EU burden-sharing agreement, Germany has agreed to reduce its emissions by 21 percent compared to 1990. German reunification was a key factor in the sharp decrease beginning in the early 1990s. Numerous fossil-fired power stations were modernized, and production in the new German state decreased considerably. According to the National Inventory Report, Germany has fulfilled a large part of its obligations. In 2007, German emissions declined by roughly 24 million metric tons compared to 2006 (-2.4 percent), bringing emissions down to below the one billion threshold for the first time, an overall reduction of 20.4 percent compared to 1990. Reasons for the steep decline were high gasoline prices, a mild winter, a tax increase, and the increase of renewable energy sources by 15 percent.

In 2006, CO₂ accounted for 87.6 percent of all GHG emissions, mostly related to stationary and mobile combustion. methane (CH₄) emissions from animal husbandry, fuel distribution, and landfills contributed 4.6 percent, and nitrous oxide (N₂O) from agriculture, industrial processes, and transport, 6.3 percent of greenhouse gas releases. Fluorocarbons accounted for about 1.6 percent of total emissions. Emissions changes were -14.7 percent for CO₂ by 2006, -53.8 percent for methane, and -25.3 percent for nitrous oxide.

By 2017, Germany had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 27.7 percent, reduced its primary energy consumption by 3.9 percent, and increased renewable energy as a source of energy consumption by 13.1 percent. It had also pledged to spend more than $580 billion by 2025 to update its energy system. Despite these efforts, Bloomberg reported in September 2018 that Germany was likely to fall short of its 2020 climate goals, causing concern that the nation's ambitious goals for 2030 may not be achievable, especially with its attempt to phase out nuclear reactors in response to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi meltdown. Even if Germany misses its targets, however, its efforts to overhaul its energy system are still affecting the types of fuels it uses to generate electricity. Germany's use of natural gas to produce electricity is decreasing, and renewable sources have almost replaced coal.

Key Facts

• Population: 80,594,017 (July 2017, estimate)
• Area: 357,021 square kilometers
• Gross domestic product (GDP): $4.171 trillion (purchasing power parity, 2017 estimate)
• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e): 1,226 in 1990; 981.3 in 2007; 906 in 2016
• Kyoto Protocol status: Ratified April 26, 2002

Bibliography

Climate Action in Figures: Emission Developments. Germany, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, 2016, www.bmu.de/fileadmin/Daten‗BMU/Download‗PDF/Klimaschutz/klimaschutz‗in‗zahlen‗emissionsentwicklung‗en‗bf.pdf. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.

“Germany.” The World Factbook, US Central Intelligence Agency, 2 Oct. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.

Solsten, Eric, ed. Germany: A Country Study. 3d ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1996. Reviews Germany’s history and dominant social, political, economic, and military aspects. Comprehensive assessment of Germany in historical and cultural context.

Umwelt Bundes Amt. Climate Change in Germany: Vulnerability and Adaptation of Climate Sensitive Areas. Dessau, Germany: Author, 2008. Discusses climate impacts and adaptation strategies.

Umwelt Bundes Amt. National Report for the German Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 1990-2006. Dessau, Germany: Author, 2008. Official report on German GHG emissions.

Umwelt Bundes Amt.Progress of German Climate Change Policies Until 2020. Dessau, Germany: Author, 2008. Puts German climate strategy in context.

Wilkes, William, et al. “Germany’s Failed Climate Goals a Wake-Up Call for Governments Everywhere.” Bloomberg, 15 Aug. 2018, www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-germany-emissions/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.