A new report from a climate think-tank has celebrated, unwittingly, the connection between cutting carbon emissions and falling productivity.
Agora Energiewende, a German think-tank dedicated to ‘climate neutrality’, welcomed the figures on emissions for 2024, down 3% on the previous year. According to its director Simon Müller:
Climate protection measures taken in recent years are increasingly having an effect on the electricity sector. With a significant increase in renewable energy and the positive trend in grid expansion, Germany is paving the way for a successful transformation in all sectors.
Mueller’s announcement at a January 7th press conference avoided mentioning the role of Germany’s manufacturing downturn as a major, if not the main, contributor to lowering industrial emissions. While economic stagnation cut energy use, it also deterred investment in ‘green’ technologies and renewable energy.
Despite mild weather also playing its part, the report has the familiar refrain of needing to cut back further to reach the arbitrary target of reducing overall emissions by 65% by2030 (compared to the level in 1990). Mueller accused the transport and construction sectors of not pulling their weight and said they should aim for more cuts in 2025, in line with Germany’s Climate Protection Act. If not, the threat of tighter and more punitive European Union regulation awaits.
Electorally doomed Vice Chancellor of Germany and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, welcomed the figures in the report and promised more of the same (also without mentioning the failing economy).
