As the biggest economy in all of Europe, Germany is also a major emitter of greenhouse gasses. This past year, however, Germany released 38 million tons of carbon dioxide less than it had the previous years, signifying a 4.2 percent drop in total emission. The reason for this drop is not as satisfying as you might have hoped though. According to the German Minister of Environment, unusually warm weather played a key role in lowering emissions as it reduced the need for heating fuel while simultaneously boosting the production of renewable energy. Overall emissions in Germany last year were about 30.6% lower than in 1990. The government had originally aimed to cut them by 40% next year as part of efforts to curb climate change but has admitted it will miss that target. It has now set a new goal of reducing emissions by at least 55% from the 1990 baseline year by 2030. One measure that will help reduce Germany’s emissions is a plan to phase out the burning of coal for electricity by 2038
Germany saw a big drop in carbon emissions in 2018
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