German climate goals at risk as emissions cuts slow

BERLIN

The pace of German greenhouse gas emissions cuts slowed further in 2025, putting in jeopardy climate goals in Europe's biggest economy, a think tank warned on Jan. 7.

Emissions fell by 1.5 percent in 2025 from the previous year, according to a study by Agora Energiewende, compared to a three-percent drop in 2024 and 10 percent the year before that.

"At the current rate of reduction, there will still be a climate protection gap with regard to 2030," said the study.

By 2030, Germany aims to reduce its emissions by 65 percent compared to 1990 levels.

To achieve its goals, Germany will have to cut its emissions four times faster than it did last year from 2026 onwards, Agora warned.

Last year's emissions cuts were driven by falls in energy-intensive industries, many of which are struggling as the economy stagnates, and record solar power generation.

But emissions in transport and buildings rose again in 2025, noted the study, criticizing "years of insufficient progress" in the shift to electric vehicles and heat pumps.

The news is likely to raise fresh questions about whether green policies are being undermined by the government of conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took power last year.

His coalition has championed a series of policies that critics claim could damage the fight against climate change but that Merz says are needed to reduce burdens on businesses and households.

He led criticism of an EU plan to ban new combustion-engine car sales from 2035, which was subsequently watered down, and his coalition is moving to scrap an unpopular law that required newly installed heating systems to run on mostly renewable energy.

Overall Germany's 2025 emissions totalled 640 million tonnes, a reduction of nine million tonnes from the previous year, according to Agora.