Germany’s Key Statistics
GDP per capita: $59,090 per year (global average: $14,210)
Total CO2 emissions in 2023: 637 million tons
CO2 per capita: 7.05 metric tons (global average: 4.7)
Latest climate commitment: Part of the EU’s plan, due before November’s climate conference
Climate plans rating: Insufficient
For years, Germany has been seen as an environmental leader—a champion of recycling and renewable energy where people deeply value protecting the planet. However, this green image is increasingly being revealed as misleading.
The choice to shut down nuclear power plants before closing coal facilities has damaged Germany’s climate reputation among clean energy supporters. Its once-admired recycling culture has also lost its luster, as separate waste bins have become common across Europe and public trust in recycling has declined.
Even Germany’s famous punctual trains and well-engineered cars have become sources of embarrassment. Railways have been neglected in this car-focused country, which is one of the few without highway speed limits. Meanwhile, its prized auto industry has fallen behind Chinese and American competitors in the shift to electric vehicles.
“Germany benefited from an era when environmentalism was about changing lightbulbs, using tote bags, buying organic food, and maybe investing in local wind farms,” said Luisa Neubauer, a climate activist with Fridays for Future. “If you ignore emissions, we did great.”
Luisa Neubauer is a leading environmental campaigner in Germany.
Now, as Europe’s largest polluter, Germany has an unexpected chance to restore its green credentials. With the U.S. under Donald Trump abandoning climate agreements, cutting aid to weather-affected nations, and pressuring allies to buy more fossil fuels, Germany is viewed as crucial in guiding governments toward a safer future.
“Someone needs to step up, and the only one that can is the European Union,” said Niklas Höhne, a climate scientist and co-founder of the NewClimate Institute. “Germany leads the EU, but right now it’s pushing for less ambitious climate goals.”
Despite the fading hype, Germany has made real progress. It has nearly halved its greenhouse gas emissions since 1990—though critics note this baseline favors Germany due to the collapse of eastern industry after reunification. The country is also close to meeting its 2030 target of a 65% reduction.
If all goes according to plan, Germany aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2045—five years ahead of most wealthy polluters.
This progress stems largely from shifting power generation from fossil fuels to renewables, which supplied 59% of Germany’s electricity last year. Combined with industrial energy savings and reduced production, this has helped offset failures in cleaning up transport, buildings, and agriculture.
Although the toughest climate challenges lie ahead, analysts believe Germany is better equipped than most developed nations to handle them. Widespread student protests since 2019, which have persisted longer in Germany than elsewhere in Europe, have pushed all major parties except the far-right to commit to limiting global warming to 1.5°C by the century’s end.
Past efforts to replace gas boilers with cleaner options like heat pumps have faced strong opposition.
After Neubauer and fellow activists sued the government over inadequate climate action, Germany’s highest court ruled that its climate policies were insufficient.A court declared a law to be “partly unconstitutional” and called for it to be strengthened. “That was a super important moment,” said Höhne. “Society stood up, the court issued a ruling, and the government followed the court’s decision.”
However, public and political backing for climate action has weakened since the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which drove up inflation and cut off Russian gas that powered factories and heated homes. At the time, the Greens-led economy ministry eased some restrictions on new renewable energy projects but faced strong opposition for promoting the replacement of gas boilers with cleaner heating systems.
This change in political sentiment is evident both in central Berlin, where the center-right has removed bike lanes and increased speed limits, and in rural towns—both wealthy and poor—where the rising far right blames “woke” environmental regulations for Germany’s deindustrialization.
Political support for fossil gas, in particular, has grown under the centrist coalition led by Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats, which took power this year. This sharp shift in energy policy recently won praise from Trump, who commended the German government after claiming that many European countries were “on the brink of destruction because of the green energy agenda.”
“They were going green and they were going bankrupt,” he told world leaders at the UN General Assembly last month. “And the new leadership came in and they went back to where they were with fossil fuels and with nuclear.”
Neither of these statements is accurate—nuclear energy, for instance, is still not an option, and current efforts to slow the transition are far from a full return to the coal era—but the sentiment echoes rhetoric used by senior politicians ahead of February’s federal elections.
Similar shifts are occurring in Brussels and Strasbourg, where German conservatives hold significant influence. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has started to remove key parts of her “Green Deal,” while Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in parliament, has led a campaign against green rules in the name of supporting farmers and reducing bureaucracy.
The EU has already taken steps to weaken and reverse regulations on sustainable finance, carbon border taxes, and deforestation in supply chains. The EPP is also pushing to relax a planned 2035 ban on new combustion engine cars. It remains uncertain whether Germany will join other member states in opposing the expansion of carbon pricing.
The Emissions Trading System (ETS), which already taxes pollution in Europe’s power and industrial sectors, is recognized as a key driver of decarbonization. Starting in 2027, a second ETS is set to cover transport and buildings—a major step that would place three-quarters of European emissions under a strict cap—but it has faced increasing resistance from German industry in recent months.
“I am really afraid that the biggest mistakes are ahead of us, not behind us,” said Ottmar Edenhofer, a climate economist and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “The biggest mistake, from my point of view, would be if Germany were to become a leader in dismantling the European Green Deal.”
This is a stark contrast to the mood during the 2021 federal elections, when all mainstream parties supported the goals of the Paris Agreement in a vote that…Shortly after devastating floods, intensified by climate change, killed 190 people—mostly in the Ahr valley—the tragedy captured public attention for weeks but soon faded from political discussions. This environmental disaster was Germany’s deadliest in over half a century.
According to Neubauer, Germany’s inconsistent and sometimes contradictory climate policies—such as subsidizing both fossil fuels and renewables—stem from mainstream political parties not fully embracing the “why” behind climate action. Instead, they rush into superficial debates about the “how.”
She likened public acceptance of the coming decarbonization challenges to the prospect of improving Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s rail operator, which suffers from chronic delays due to underinvestment. Revamping the outdated railways would require massive debt-funded investments, cause chaos during construction, and heighten social tensions—from hiring migrant workers amid rising racism to disrupting daily commutes.
“The next 20 years are going to be really tough,” she said. “And if we don’t understand why we’re doing this, we won’t stick with it when things get hard, polarizing, and challenging.”
Neglect of the railways has turned even the once-punctual trains into a source of embarrassment.
Polarization is already underway, with the climate-skeptic Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) leading German opinion polls for the past two months. Like far-right parties in Europe and the U.S., the AfD has made climate and energy its second priority after migration. Centre-right parties have adopted much of its rhetoric while still supporting long-term emissions targets.
Edenhofer argued that climate policy should be viewed as essential to safeguarding prosperity—a core principle of postwar Germany with cross-party support—just as residents see waste collection and railway stations as vital. Instead, he noted, it has become entangled in a culture war.
“Would we call a well-functioning Deutsche Bahn a sacrifice?” he asked. “I don’t think so.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Germanys green transition framed around the idea that its progress is impressive only when certain factors are overlooked
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is Germanys green transition anyway
Its Germanys national plan called the Energiewende to shift from fossil fuels and nuclear power to renewable energy sources like wind and solar
2 Why is Germany often seen as a leader in green energy
Because it has invested heavily in renewables like wind and solar and these sources now produce a large share of its electricity It also has ambitious legal targets to become climateneutral
3 If Germany is a leader whats the problem
The main problem is that while Germany is good at generating green electricity its overall progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is much slower Its success looks best if you only focus on the power sector and ignore other areas like transportation and industry
4 What are greenhouse gas emissions
They are gases like carbon dioxide that trap heat in the atmosphere and cause global warming The main goal of a green transition is to reduce these emissions
IntermediateLevel Questions
5 How can Germanys emissions be high if it uses so much renewable energy
For a few key reasons
Phasing out Nuclear Germany shut down its nuclear power plants which were a source of lowcarbon electricity This meant it had to rely more on coal and gas to keep the lights on especially when the sun isnt shining or the wind isnt blowing
Other Sectors Lagging Its transportation and heating sectors still depend heavily on oil and gas and their emissions have not fallen much
Industrial Base Germany has a powerful energyintensive manufacturing industry that is difficult to decarbonize quickly
6 What is carbon leakage and why is it a concern for Germany
Carbon leakage is when a company moves its carbonheavy production from a country with strict climate laws to a country with weaker laws Germany is worried that if its regulations are too tough or energy costs too high its key industries might leave which would hurt the economy without actually helping the global climate
7 Can you give a realworld example of a hurdle Germany is facing
A major example
