Experts believe that Germany could be climate neutral by 2045, providing certain conditions are met. One such condition is the phasing-out of coal power by 2030.

Can Germany reach climate neutrality earlier than expected?

The current goal for the German government is to reach climate neutrality by 2050. However, experts believe that Germany, providing certain conditions are fulfilled, could achieve this by 2045. Reaching the target of climate neutrality five years ahead of schedule would save almost one billion tonnes of CO2 emissions, according to a study by three organisations: Climate Neutrality Foundation, Agora Energiewende, and Agora Verkehrswende.

In order for Germany to achieve such a feat, climate protection efforts such as using renewable energies, increasing energy efficiency and electrification would have to be advanced significantly. The use of coal-generated energy would also have to be phased out, specifically by 2030, for climate neutrality to be attained by 2045. Currently, Germany aims to phase out coal power by 2038.

What needs to be done?

The study calls for faster expansion in the wind and solar power sectors. Hydrogen will also play an increasingly important role in the quest for climate neutrality and should replace natural gas as the most important source for electricity production after 2040.

The study also called for faster electrification in the transport sector, with the aim of having 14 million electric cars ready for German roads by 2030. Cars with internal combustion engines should not be registered past 2032 and, by 2045, should all be replaced by electric cars. Goods should be transported more and more often by train.

The director of Agora Energiewende, Patrick Graichen, has demanded that the “civil servant mentality” should be abandoned in politics. Investment should be made first and foremost, and then regulation, not the other way around. Rainer Baake, the director of the Climate Neutrality Foundation, said that it should be an absolute priority for industries to invest in future technologies, not fossil fuels.