BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Federal Environment Agency on Friday said greenhouse gas emissions in Europe’s biggest economy fell by around 3.4% year-on-year in 2024, putting the country on track to meet its 2030 climate targets.
Carbon dioxide emissions fell to 649 million tons last year, the agency said, below a preliminary figure of 656 million metric tons published by the Berlin-based Agora Energiewende think-tank in January and the 2024 legal target of 693.4 million.
Germany aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 compared with 1990, a step to becoming carbon-neutral by 2045.
“Looking ahead to 2030, I remain confident that we will achieve our national climate targets,” Climate Action and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.
Germany, however, is at risk of significantly missing its targets under the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) for 2021–2030, mainly due to insufficient progress in the transport and building sectors.
Reduction in fossil energy drove Germany’s 2024 emissions decline, thanks to a sharp rise in renewable energy expansion, which accounted for around 54% of the country’s gross electricity consumption.
But emissions cuts in the transport and building sectors remained modest last year, at 1.4% and 2.3% on the year respectively, missing their legal targets.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, Editing by Rachel More)
