Indicator: Greenhouse gas emissions
Click to enlargeSource: German Environment Agency Figure as PDF
Click to enlargeSource: German Environment Agency Figure as PDF
Table of Contents
At a glance
- According to initial calculations, greenhouse gas emissions in Germany declined by 48.2 % between 1990 and 2024.
- Germany aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 % by 2020 and by at least 65 % by 2030 compared to 1990 emission levels. Complete greenhouse gas neutrality is to be achieved by 2045.
- With the ‘amended Federal Climate Protection Act’ in 2024, the allowed sectoral emission quantities were replaced by an total annual emission budget which covers all sectors. In 2024 the emissions of 649 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents were below the total annual emission budget of 693.4 CO2 million tonnes CO2 equivalents.
Environmental importance
Greenhouse gases are released mainly through the use of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. Industrial processes and livestock farming are also relevant emission sources. Rising levels of greenhouse gases warm the earth's atmosphere, leading to climate change. Global warming has diverse negative impacts such as rising sea levels, increased risks of flooding, drought and other extreme weather events.
Thus at the 2015 Climate Summit in Paris the international community agreed to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C when possible and to keep it well below 2 °C. This can only be achieved if global greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly reduced.
Assessing the development
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have fallen since 1990: from 1,252 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 1990 to 649 million tonnes in 2024. Overall, this corresponds to a reduction of exactly 48 %. Excluding the low values in certain years with special circumstances, the indicator follows a long-term downward trend. After a period of stagnation, emissions have fallen significantly in 2018 to 2024, mainly due to the rising share of renewable energies and declines in fossil energy generation. In 2023, emissions fell by 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents or 3.4 % compared to the previous year (cf. UBA press release 11/2025).
At the end of 2015, a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol was agreed with the Paris Convention. The development to date makes it clear that intensive efforts in climate protection are necessary to achieve the targets. The German government has therefore initiated measures in the form of the Climate Action Programme 2020, the Climate Action Programme 2030 and the Climate Action Programme 2023 (in German only). With the Federal Climate Change Act, binding total annual emission budget were agreed to ensure the greenhouse gas reduction target of ‘at least 65 %’ by 2030 and greenhouse gas neutrality in 2045.
Methodology
The indicator is based on the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2023 (UN Submission, April 2025) and separately calculated emissions data for 2024 (cf. UBA press release 11/2025). The calculation method is described in the latest inventory report. Emissions of all greenhouse gases governed by the Kyoto Protocol (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane) are compiled in a standardised format. Since the different gases have different impacts on the climate, their effect is expressed in terms of the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2 equivalents).
More detailed information: ’Treibhausgas-Emissionen in Deutschland’ (in German only).
