How Germany failed to achieve its climate targets for 2022 and 2023

Germany would miss its climate targets for 2022 and 2023, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action,Robert Habeck said on Tuesday when presenting a report on the current state of climate protection in the country.

Measures to date were "inadequate in all sectors" and Germany would have a "drastic backlog" with regard to climate protection, said Habeck of the Green Party. In order to catch up, the speed of the country's emissions reductions had to be tripled, Xinhua news agency reported.

New measures to speed up the energy transition include making solar rooftops mandatory for new commercial buildings and the norm for new private buildings, according to the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi).

The expansion of wind energy is to be boosted by developing land potential for onshore facilities in the short term, according to the ministry.

Electricity in Germany should become cheaper compared to fossil fuels. "We are making heat pumps and e-mobility more attractive and advancing sector coupling," the ministry said.

Germany seeks to generate 80 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and wants to become fully climate neutral by 2045.

In 2021, only 42 per cent of total electricity in Germany came from renewable energies, down from 46 per cent in the previous year, according to figures by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). "Germany has allowed itself to be left behind in the energy transition in recent years, neglecting the expansion of wind and solar energy," said Viviane Raddatz, head of climate protection and energy policy at WWF Germany on Tuesday.

(IANS/JB)

(Keywords: Germany, Climate, Protection, Economic Affairs, WWF, Climate Action, Environment)