A recently released climate action report from the German government indicates a potential failure to meet its long-term climate targets for 2040 and 2045. The report, detailed in a Politico report, concludes that current measures are insufficient to achieve these ambitious goals.
While progress is being made, the report finds that Germany remains largely on track across all sectors concerning emissions reductions between 2021 and 2030, provided that existing climate protection measures are fully implemented. However, significant challenges persist within the transport and building sectors.
Despite observing a continuous decline in emissions within the transport sector, the report notes that the initial emission levels remain high, precluding a significant acceleration in reduction rates. A transformative shift required to meet long-term goals has not yet materialized.
In the building sector, the report projects the adoption of heat pumps in over eleven million buildings and the connection of approximately 3.5 million buildings to district heating networks by 2045. However, the pace of this development is considered too slow to reach the targets set for both 2030 and 2045.
Industrial emissions saw a slight increase of 0.1% in 2024 compared to the previous year, attributable to a rebound in production of crude steel and ammonia. Nevertheless, the industrial sector met its target for 2024 and is projected to exceed it by 2030, mirroring performance in the agriculture and waste management sectors. The report warns, however, that this positive trend is expected to decelerate after 2030, leading to a failure to meet the 2045 target, primarily due to anticipated emissions from industrial power plants and process heat.
