Germany’s energy production champion NRW has already met its 2020 climate target

The German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is likely to have already met its 2020 emissions reduction target of 25 percent compared to 1990 levels, the state’s environment agency (LANUV) says in a press release. Almost one third of Germany’s total power production takes place in NRW, which is also the country’s most populous state. In 2016, NRW emitted about 286 million tonnes of CO₂, 38 million tonnes or 22 percent less than in 1990. Roughly 53 percent of the state’s emissions come from energy production, which, however, is the sector with the greatest reduction thanks to the “low utilisation of existing plants and the decommissioning of others,” the LANUV says. Emissions from transport, on the other hand, have risen by 3.4 percent since the reference year, the agency says.

Read the press release in German here.

See the CLEW article Germany on track to widely miss 2020 climate target – government for more information.