Germany is set to miss its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, experts have warned, urging Berlin to swiftly overhaul a recently unveiled climate action plan.
Monday’s report by the council of experts on climate crisis, an independent body appointed by the government, adds to worries of climate policy backsliding under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Europe’s biggest economy has set a legally binding 2030 target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent compared with 1990 levels, and a 2045 deadline to achieve climate neutrality.
The pace of reductions has slowed, emissions were virtually unchanged last year, but the environment ministry has insisted it is still possible to meet the 2030 goal.
However, the experts said the ministry’s projections “underestimate the emissions expected up to 2030,” and that it “assumes that the target will be missed”.
Especially in the buildings and energy sector, emissions were likely to be higher than projected, council head Barbara Schlomann said.
Political backlash grows
Berlin’s new climate action plan, announced in March, and including measures such as electric car subsidies and a boost for wind power, also does not go far enough and should be revised, she said.
The Greens party described the report as a “a stinging slap in the face” for Merz’s coalition.
