Last year, Germany's industry and energy sector emitted fewer carbon emissions than had been expected. This welcome news, however, is a little deceiving. While there has been a growth in renewables, it is Germany's stagnant economy that largely explains last year's emissions drop.
These are the findings of Germany's Council of Experts on Climate Change, an independent scientific body that advises the government on how to best to achieve its climate targets. The committee also prepares reports and projections on whether Germany's climate policies are proving effective.
Germany wants to achieve net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045 and even net-negative emissions from 2050. The measures taken to date, however, have clearly failed to achieve these goals, says Council of Experts on Climate Change chairwoman Barbara Schlomann.
The transport and building sectors are particularly far behind their climate targets.
On a positive note, Germany's forests are showing some recovery. They not only form important ecosystems, but also serve as vital carbon sinks. This means they extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and convert them into biomass.Wind power — controversial but indispensable?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
