Experts call for a radical reduction in emissions: the EU faces historic climate change!

Experts call for a radical reduction in emissions: the EU faces historic climate change!

In a new report, the European Climate Advisory Council has made a concise recommendation to protect the EU economy: greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 90 to 95 percent by 2040 compared to 1990. This requirement is considered crucial to ensure the Union's competitiveness and energy security in geopolitically uncertain times. The report is a continuation of a similar recommendation from 2023 and emphasizes the need for a binding interim target for 2040, which is still missing. A set target for 2030 calls for reducing emissions by 55 percent compared to 1990, a goal that the EU Commission considers feasible. Utopia reports that a proposal for a binding law is expected in early July 2025.

The EU Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen has previously recommended reducing net emissions by at least 90 percent by 2040. However, there are currently concerns that some members of the European Parliament and various EU states are questioning this ambitious goal. In order to achieve the targets, the Commission plans to create more flexibility, including the recognition of climate certificates from non-EU countries. However, the Climate Advisory Board suggests foregoing international emissions credits and instead relying on intra-European measures.

Germany's emissions in the context of the EU goals

As part of the EU climate targets, Germany has already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 48 percent compared to 1990. As the Tagesschau reports, 656 million tons of CO2 equivalents were emitted in 2024, a decrease of 3 percent compared to the previous year. This reduction marks the third consecutive year of emissions falling to levels last seen in the 1950s.

Despite this progress, Germany has missed the EU climate target by 12 million tonnes of CO2, with emissions from transport and buildings contributing significantly. What was particularly noticeable was a 44 percent decline in demand for heat pumps and a 26 percent decline in new registrations of electric cars. Emissions from buildings and traffic each fell by 2 million tonnes, mainly due to mild weather and reduced truck traffic. Nevertheless, car traffic increased, which led to the sub-targets in the building sector and traffic being exceeded.

Looking into the future: Germany's climate goals

Germany aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 and aims to become climate neutral by 2045. In the meantime, the country has to buy pollution rights from other countries in order to avoid possible fines. At the same time, industrial emissions cannot be ignored, as they have increased by 3 million tons of CO2, mainly due to increased consumption of fossil fuels.

A bright spot in German climate policy is the high proportion of renewable energies, which will already account for 55 percent of electricity consumption in 2024. To this end, 6.1 gigawatts of coal-fired power plant capacity were shut down, which corresponds to 16 percent of the installed coal capacity. The income from the sale of pollution rights reached a record of 18.5 billion euros and flows into the climate and transformation fund to promote projects such as energy-efficient building renovation and the hydrogen economy.