As a result of the Corona crisis, according to experts, Germany has exceeded the climate protection target for the year 2020. The greenhouse gas emissions last year 40, 3 percent below the value of 1990, revealed an analysis by the Agora Energiewende think tank, the results of which are available to the German Press Agency. The actually already written target for 2020 saw 40 Percent less emissions than 1990 before.

According to the calculations, the emissions went by over 80 million tons of CO 2 back to around 722 million tons. Two thirds of this reduction are a consequence of the corona pandemic, without it the decrease would only have been around 25 Million tons, and the 2020 target would have been missed.

More electricity from wind power than from coal As a result of the pandemic, energy consumption fell significantly in the past year. According to the experts, there were also relatively high CO 2 prices in the EU, which above all make climate-damaging electricity production from coal more expensive, as well as low gas prices and a mild winter, in which there was not so much heating. 2020 According to the Agora analysis, for the first time in Germany more electricity was produced from wind power than from coal.

Without the coronavirus, according to the analysis, Germany would have its CO 2 emissions compared to 1990 by 37, 8 percent reduced. “There have only been real climate protection effects 2020 in the electricity sector, because the CO 2 – Reduction due to the replacement of coal by gas and renewable energies “, explained the director of Agora Energiewende, Patrick Graichen. “Traffic and industry will emit more greenhouse gases again as soon as the economy picks up again.” For 2021 he reckons with more emissions overall. “You can only counteract this by acting quickly with climate policy.”

Still much to do for climate protection goals 2030 According to the analysis, renewable energies supplied 46, 2 Percent of electricity in Germany, 3.8 percentage points more than in the previous year. Without Corona and the resulting 3.6 percent lower demand for electricity, the share of renewable energies in the year 2020 would only have been 44, 6 percent located, it said. Overall, a lot of wind and increased wind power production at sea, i.e. through wind farms in the sea, are responsible for two thirds of the increase in green electricity, one third is due to solar systems. The expansion of wind turbines on land, in particular, but also of solar systems is still far from being sufficient to achieve the climate protection targets for 2030, Graichen warned.

So far this goal has been 55 percent less CO 2 – Output as 1990. In December the EU member states decided to change the EU-wide target from 40 to 55 To tighten the percent reduction – that should also have consequences for Germany. Agora Energiewende, for example, anticipates that the CO 2 prices for energy production will continue to rise and continue to put both hard coal and lignite power plants under pressure.

(axk)