Climate change in Germany
is leading to long-term effects on agriculture in Germany, more intense heatwaves and coldwaves, flash and coastal flooding, and reduced water availability. Debates over how to address these long-term challenges caused by climate change have also sparked changes in the energy sector and in mitigation strategies. Germany's energiewende has been a significant political issue in German politics that has made coalition talks difficult for Angela Merkel's CDU.
Despite massive investments in renewable energy, Germany has struggled to reduce coal usage. The country remains Europe's largest importer of coal and produces the second most coal in the European Union behind Poland, about 1% of the global total. Germany phased out nuclear power in 2023, and plans to retire existing coal power plants by 2030. In 2024, Germany's greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 3% compared to the previous year, totaling 656 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
Climate change could cost Germany up to €900 billion by 2050 due to issues like extreme heat, drought, and floods. These events have already caused significant economic losses, with at least €145 billion in damages between 2000 and 2021.
German climate change policies started to be developed in around 1987 and have historically included consistent goal setting for emissions reductions, promotion of renewable energy, energy efficiency standards, market based approaches to climate change, and voluntary agreements with industry. In 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court issued a landmark climate change ruling, which ordered the government to set clearer targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Germany aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. It has set provisional objectives of reducing emissions by at least 65 percent by 2030 and 88 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels.Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have decreased since 1990, falling from 1,242 million tonnes of equivalents in 1990 to 762 million tonnes in 2021. Following a period of stagnation, emissions have decreased significantly from 2017 to 2021, owing primarily to higher emissions trading certificate rates and the growth of green energy. The federal environment agency UBA reported in March 2022 that Germany's greenhouse gas emissions increased by 4.5% in 2021 compared to 2020.
Germany is the 6th heaviest cumulative emitter at about 100 Gt. In 2023, Germany was the 14th highest emitting nation. In 2016, Germany's government committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% to 95% by 2050. In 2024, Germany's greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 3% compared to the previous year, totaling 656 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. This reduction is attributed mainly to an economic downturn but also mild weather, and effective climate policies. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar contributed to approximately 55% of the country's electricity consumption in 2024.
In 2020, a group of youths aged 15 and 32 filed a suit arguing that the Federal Climate Protection Act, in force since 18 December 2019, inadequately protected their rights to a humane future for being to weak to contain the climate crisis. Among the complainants are German youths living on islands that are experiencing more frequent flooding.
On 29 April 2021, German Constitutional Court issued a landmark climate change ruling that the government must set clearer targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The court called the current government provisions "incompatible with fundamental rights" since it placed the burden of major emissions reduction onto future generations. The court ruling gave the government until the end of 2022 to set clearer targets for reducing greenhouse emissions starting in 2031.
The suit filed by the youths form part of a broader movement of youth activists around the world using street and online protests and lawsuits to pressure governments to act against climate change.
In August 2022, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to sign a deal to establish hydrogen supply chains with Canada. Germany hopes to be free of Russian gas by the middle of 2024.
Methane emissions
From coal mining
A report in 2024 by the energy think tank Ember has brought attention to potential underreporting in Germany's coal mine methane emissions. The report suggests that the actual emissions could be significantly higher than the figures officially reported by Germany. In 2022, Germany, which mined 131 million tonnes of lignite coal, amounting to 44% of the European Union's production, reported only 1,390 tonnes of CMM emissions. This figure is in stark contrast to independent studies, which imply that the real emissions could be 28 to 220 times the reported amount, adding up to an estimated 300,000 tonnes of methane annually. Ember's own analysis estimates Germany's annual CMM emissions to be approximately 256,000 tonnes, a number which is supported by satellite data showing methane concentrations as high as 34 parts per billion over certain mining areas. The report underscores the need for Germany to update its emission reporting practices, especially in light of the upcoming EU Methane Regulation.Effects on the natural environment
Temperature and weather changes
Extreme weather events
The south and west of Germany, including the mountainous regions, are expected to experience the most significant rises in average temperature, as well as more frequent and intense heat waves. Germany is expected to experience more extreme precipitation events, leading to higher risk of flash flooding, especially in urban areas, as well as more drought events.The North Sea provinces of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony have a large vulnerability to storm surges and devastating river flooding. The Baltic province of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is less vulnerable to storm surges, but at higher risk to loss of biodiversity and loss of topsoil and erosion. If
Effects on people
Economic effects
As a highly industrial, urbanized economy with a relatively short coastline compared to other major economies, the effects of climate change on Germany are more narrowly focused than other major economies. Germany's traditional industrial regions are typically the most vulnerable to climate change. These are mostly located in the provinces of North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and the free cities of Bremen and Hamburg.The Rhineland is historically a heavily industrial and population-dense area which includes the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate, and Saarland. This region is rich in iron and coal deposits and supports one of Europe's largest coal industries. In the past, sulfuric acid emissions from Rhineland coal plants contributed to acid rain, damaging forests in other regions like Hesse, Thuringia, and Saxony.
Other significant problems for the Rhineland related to its high level of industrialization include the destruction of infrastructure from extreme weather events, loss of water for industrial purposes, and fluctuation of the ground water level. Since these problems are related to its level of industrialization, cities within other regions are also sensitive to these challenges including Munich and Bremen.
Agriculture
Warming in Germany has affected some parts of the German agricultural industry. In particular, warming since at least 1988 in the Southwest wine-growing regions has caused a decline in the output of ice wine, a product particularly vulnerable to warming. In 2019, almost no ice wine was produced due to lack of sufficiently cold days.A key reason why the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is particularly vulnerable to climate change among northern provinces is that it is a relatively poor region of Germany with a large agricultural sector.
Health effects
Many Rhineland provinces and regions are heavily built-up, creating a heat island effect. In addition, urban areas are rapidly aging along with the rest of Germany. This increases the severity and frequency of heatwaves which can be dangerous for vulnerable populations such as the elderly.Flooding
A November 2020 simulation published in the KN Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information found that using Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios 4.5 and 8.5, between 5477 and 626,880 people would be affected by flooding due to sea-level rise in Northern Germany. The bulk of the difference stems from whether the dikes will breach or not.Mitigation and adaptation
Mitigation approaches
Renewable energy
Germany has created multiple policies meant to encourage the use of renewable energy sources, such as the Electricity Feed-In Act and Renewable Energy Sources Act. The 1991 Electricity Feed-In Act stipulated that utilities purchase subsidized renewable electricity, which effectively cost 90% of the retail price which henceforth made the development of wind, biomass, and hydroelectric power economically viable. It is estimated that the Electricity Feed-In Act is responsible for a 42x increase in wind power from 1990 to 1998.Despite initial success, due to shifts in the electricity market, the Electricity Feed-In Act was no longer as effective by the end of the decade, and was later strengthened by the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This act guaranteed the price of renewable energy for twenty years by setting feed-in prices, and spread the costs of wind power subsidies across consumers of all energy sources.
Mitigation efforts are being undertaken at all levels of government. Federal-level efforts are being carried out by the Umweltbundesamt, Germany's primary environmental protection agency, serving a similar function to the US' EPA. The UBA's primary role is to make environmental risk assessments and deliver policy recommendations to the Ministry of the Environment. The agency is also in charge of enforcing environmental protection laws including in the approval process for new pharmaceuticals and pesticides and CO2 trading.
In some parts of Germany a phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles is planned by 2030.