Germany set to miss emissions target, group says

Germany is on course to miss its greenhouse gas target for 2021, according to Berlin-based environmental think tank Agora Energiewende.

The organization, which is funded by the German government and environmental groups including the European Climate Foundation, looked at data from the first half of this year to predict that the nation will emit between 760 million and 812 million metric tons of carbon dioxide this year.

Germany had set its target of producing 40 percent less emissions this year than it did in 1990, but the group said it is likely to have only cut emissions between 35 percent and 39 percent. Agora Energiewende said Germany hit its 40 percent target last year, but only because the novel coronavirus pandemic severely hurt its economy.

The Associated Press said the additional 47 million metric tons of carbon dioxide predicted to be produced during 2021 in comparison to the year before will be, ironically, the biggest annual increase since 1990.

"Far-reaching decisions need to be taken that we mustn't shy away from," said Olaf Scholz, Germany's finance minister, as quoted by the agency. Scholz is the candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in next month's national elections.

The nation's main political parties have now put tackling global warming at the top of their agendas ahead of the Sept 26 elections.

The Agora Energiewende report noted that Germany fed the demand for energy following its emergence from the pandemic-related downturn by burning more coal than normal, a problem that was compounded by poor weather that made wind and solar power generation difficult.

Tougher goal

But despite being on course to miss its 2021 target, Berlin has set itself an even tougher target for 2030－by pledging to cut emissions between 55 percent and 65 percent of 1990 levels. It is also calling for reductions of 88 percent by 2040 and "net zero" emissions by 2045.

The Guardian noted that the report singled out the construction, industrial and transport sectors as having increased their demand for fossil fuels during 2021, which will be countered with new industry-specific laws.

The Agora Energiewende report followed a report released last week in which scientists said the world is on course to be far hotter in a decade than previously predicted, a situation UN officials described as "code red for humanity".

John Redwood, a Conservative Party lawmaker in Britain, said on BBC Radio 4's Today program that the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November needs Berlin's support.

"It's only going to work if Germany, which puts out twice as much (carbon) as we do, starts to take the issue seriously and closes down its coal power stations," he said.