Germany Saved 80 Million Tons of CO2 Last Year
Germany exceeded a climate protection target that had long been written off. This is primarily due to the corona crisis.
According to experts, as a result of the Corona crisis, Germany has exceeded the climate protection target for 2020. Greenhouse gas emissions last year were 42.3 percent below the 1990 level, according to an analysis by the Agora Energiewende think tank. The target for 2020, which had actually already been written off, provided for 40 percent fewer emissions than in 1990.
According to the calculations, emissions fell by over 80 million tons of CO2 to around 722 million. Two-thirds of this reduction are a consequence of the corona pandemic, without it, the decrease would only have been around 25 million tons, and the 2020 target would have been missed.
Energy consumption fell significantly last year because of the pandemic. In addition, according to the experts, there were relatively high CO2 prices in the EU, which above all make climate-damaging electricity production from coal more expensive, as well as low gas prices and a mild winter in which there was not as much heating. According to the Agora analysis, in 2020 more electricity was generated from wind power than from coal for the first time in Germany.
EU wants to tighten the 2030 target further
According to the analysis, without the coronavirus, Germany would have reduced its CO2 emissions by 37.8 percent compared to 1990. “There were only real climate protection effects in 2020 in the electricity sector because here the reduction in CO2 is due to the replacement of coal with gas and renewable energies”, explained the director of Agora Energiewende, Patrick Graichen. “Traffic and industry will emit more greenhouse gases again as soon as the economy picks up again.” For 2021, he expects more emissions overall. “You can only counteract this by acting quickly on climate policy.”
According to the research, renewable energies provided 46.2 percent of electricity in Germany
According to the research, renewable energies provided 46.2 percent of electricity in Germany, 3.8 percentage points more than in the previous year. Without Corona and the 3.6 percent lower demand for electricity, the share of renewable energies would have been only 44.6 percent in 2020, it said. Overall, a lot of wind and increased wind power production at sea, i.e. through wind farms in the sea, are responsible for two-thirds of the increase in green electricity, one third is due to solar systems.
Germany Saved 80 Million Tons of CO2 Last Year
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