Where do Germany’s emissions come from?
The energy industry accounted for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany in 2022, at 34 percent. Although Germany’s total emissions fell 1.9 percent in 2022, emissions from electricity generation increased by roughly four percent that year to nearly 256 MtCO₂e. This was primarily due to the increased use of coal during the energy crisis brought on by the Russia-Ukraine war. Coal-fired power plants account for the majority of emissions from Germany’s power sector, with several installations, such as the Neurath lignite-fired power station, among the biggest carbon polluters in the EU. Still, the increased deployment of renewables and the gradual phasing out of coal has helped Germany cut power sector emissions by more than 45 percent since 1990. By comparison, transportation emissions saw little change until 2020, when traffic levels were impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19.The second-largest source of emissions is the country’s prized industrial sector. Iron and steel plants are the biggest industrial emitters in Germany’s, with many of the most polluting facilities located in the Western German city of Duisburg.
