War, transport weigh on Germany’s efforts to curb emissions

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany cut its greenhouse gas emissions by almost 2% last year, beating previous estimates but still falling far short of the cuts needed to meet its medium-term climate goals. Preliminary data published Wednesday by the German Environment Agency showed the country released the equivalent of 746 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2022, down from 760 million tons in 2021. The figures were better than an independent estimate published in January, largely due to bigger-than-expected cuts in the industrial sector. The agency’s head told reporters in Berlin that the war in Ukraine “has thrown a wrench into the works” of Germany’s emissions reduction efforts as the country reactivated fossil fuel plants. He noted that the transport sector, too, is going in the wrong direction.