Climate impact of cooling gases in Germany down by 21 percent in 2018 - Destatis
Clean Energy Wire
In time for the UN climate conference COP25 being held in Madrid, the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) released figures on the potential greenhouse effect of the emission of fluorinated greenhouse gases in Germany in 2018, which fell by 21 percent compared to 2017. "The volume of greenhouse gases (GHG) used was roughly 9,390 tonnes in 2017 and was down to roughly 8,036 tonnes in 2018 (-14%). When measured in CO2 equivalents, the volume of gases used fell from 13.8 million tonnes to 10.9 million tonnes in 2018, which is a 21 percent decrease in the potential greenhouse effect," according to a Destatis press release dated 10 December. Destatis said the reason for the decline is an EU regulation, which prescribes a switch to lower-potential gases.
Fluorinated greenhouse gases are largely used as cooling agents in refrigerators or air conditioning systems. They accounted for 1.2 percent of Germany’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2017. Despite a rise in power generation from renewables, the Energiewende nation’s track record in cutting GHG emissions is mixed and it will likely miss its national 2020 climate target of reducing emissions by 40 percent compared to 1990 levels. Germany is now aiming at its 2030 target with the Climate Action Programme 2030 and aims for a reduction by 55 percent. Given this target, carbon emissions would have to fall from about 866 tonnes per year in 2018 to 563 million tonnes per annum by the end of the next decade.
