Germany’s transport sector has again fallen well short of its climate targets in 2023, the third year in a row, according to the independent Council of Experts on Climate Change that advises the government.
Instead of the permitted 133 million tons of CO2 equivalents, the sector emitted 146 million tons of greenhouse gases last year, the experts write in their report published on Monday, which relied on data presented by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in March.
For better comparability, other greenhouse gases are converted into CO2.
According to UBA calculations, the building sector also narrowly missed its target. But in its review of the data, the council said there was still some uncertainty about the measurement and so it could neither confirm or deny the agency’s assessment.
If sectors fail to meet the targets, the responsible ministries must follow up with immediate action programmes within three months.
The annual emission levels permitted for individual sectors such as industry, energy, transport and buildings are set out in Germany’s Climate Protection Act.
Despite uncertainties, the council confirmed the sharp decline in overall emissions last year of around 10% compared to 2022, with emissions falling from 750 million to 674 million tons of CO2 equivalents.
However, the council attributes this to the weakening economy and the weather rather than effective climate policy.
“Without the decline in energy-intensive industry and the mild weather again in 2023, emissions would have been significantly higher,” said Hans-Martin Henning, chairman of the council.
The overall annual target would probably not have been achieved under other conditions, he said. However, rising temperatures could mean that less heating would be needed in the long term.
Germany has set itself the target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 compared to 1990. According to the Federal Environment Agency, Germany is on track here, but the Council of Experts has not assessed the calculations.
Germany aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2045.