Despite nuclear phase-out: fewer greenhouse gas emissions from power generation
Germany's gross electricity generation in 2023 had a lower climate impact than in 2022, even after the nuclear energy phase-out, according to the government.
The Isar 2 nuclear power plant near Landshut was one of the last to be decommissioned.
(Image: E.ON Kernkraft GmbH CC BY-SA 3.0)
According to the German government, the greenhouse gas intensity of gross electricity generation in Germany in 2023 fell by 49 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) generated compared to the previous year "despite the completion of the phase-out of nuclear energy". The reduction has therefore even accelerated again "compared to the pre-crisis trend". This was stated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection in a recently published answer to a question from the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. In 1990, 760 grams of CO2 were emitted per kWh of gross electricity generated. By 2020, this figure had fallen to 360 grams.
As a result of the gas price crisis that began the year before the Russian war of aggression, this trend "was interrupted in 2021 and 2022", the government explains. This is because at that time, "due to the crisis, more coal was used to generate electricity again" with the aim of saving gas. However, the outlook is positive: despite the changed conditions, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) expects the CO2 value to fall to 100 grams by 2030. The current UBA projection on the effect of the federal government's current climate measures as of 2024 and scenarios for achieving a greenhouse gas-neutral energy system in Germany show "a rapid continuation of the decarbonization of the electricity system". The Federal Environment Agency expects "a return to the long-term decarbonization path" in the second half of the 2020s.
Sweden: Lowest CO2 emissions in electricity production
For other EU member states, the government only has information on historical average carbon dioxide emissions. In a historical comparison, average CO2 emissions in the electricity sector in Germany have fallen particularly quickly compared to the EU as a whole. Looking ahead, it can generally be assumed that countries that expand renewable energies particularly quickly or phase out the use of coal energy in the electricity sector will be able to reduce their emissions in the electricity sector particularly quickly. According to the European Environment Agency, there was a wide range in the average intensity of carbon dioxide emissions in the EU in 2022. The best performers were Sweden with 8 and Finland and Luxembourg with 62 grams of CO2 per kWh each. Bringing up the rear were Estonia and Poland with 693 and 681 grams respectively.
The AfD was primarily interested in the consequences of the new battery regulation for Germany as a business location. According to the EU Commission's plans, only the average CO2 emissions for power generation in the country of production should count for the carbon footprint of batteries, the opposition group expressed concern. This would mean that individual companies would not be able to individually prove a "sufficient" CO2 balance via so-called renewable energy certificates. However, the government does not wish to comment on the current EU consultation process on this topic at present, as it is "currently in the process of forming an opinion within and across departments". However, it does list in detail the public funding in the form of subsidies and other support that battery manufacturers in Germany have received since 2017.
(nie)
