All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodies
An official website of the European Union | How do you know?
Environmental information systems
EN
The Germany country profile provides a concise overview of key trends across three dimensions: environment and climate; socio-economic change; and system change (energy, mobility and food) in the country. It highlights the main developments and challenges in these areas, including measures to support progress towards sustainability in Germany. An assessment for each of the three dimensions was prepared by national experts from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) in Germany, based on 20 established indicators from the EEA or Eurostat.
Germany is stepping up its climate and environmental efforts as challenges intensify. Renewable energy and biodiversity are its top priorities, with coal and nuclear power being phased out. Ecosystems like forests and peatland are vital for carbon storage, and yet face growing pressure from drought, pests and degradation. Despite progress in organic farming and securing protected areas, biodiversity loss continues: one in four species are endangered. The energy transition is picking up speed, but transport and heating still rely too heavily on fossil fuels. Public transport use has grown, thanks to the Deutschlandticket, but real change needs better infrastructure. Food habits are shifting – as people eat less meat and more plants – but farmers face uncertainty. Waste is still rising, and the shift to a circular economy is too slow.
At the same time, Germany’s transition is also a chance to shape its future competitiveness. The green economy is already a key economic pillar, with millions employed in green sectors. With smart investments and innovation, sustainability and economic strength can go hand in hand.
Initiatives like the federal action plan on nature-based solutions and the national water strategy aim to restore nature and build resilience. Still, deeper transformations in how we move, eat and use energy are essential. Public support is strong, but social fairness must remain a central focus. Germany’s path shows promise, but reaching EU and global goals will require bold, coherent action across all sectors.
Key trends and assessments
Loading
Summary assessment
Germany continues to strengthen its climate and environmental policies in response to mounting challenges. The government has prioritised renewable energy and biodiversity protection, phasing out nuclear power in 2023 and advancing its coal phase-out plan. Intact ecosystems, including forests and peatland, are central to the nation’s approach, serving as natural carbon sinks. However, these ecosystems face considerable strain, with forest health significantly affected by climate-related stressors.
Despite the expansion of organic farming and terrestrial protected areas achieving 2030 targets, biodiversity loss persists. A quarter of species are endangered, driven by habitat fragmentation, intensive agriculture and pollution. Water resources are also under high pressure. Groundwater quality remains a concern, with 32.7% of bodies failing to reach chemical standards, primarily due to nitrate and phosphorus pollution. The ecological status of surface waters is even more serious. Only 9% of surface water meets the ‘good ecological status’ requirement under the EU Water Framework Directive.
Climate trends underscore the urgency of these challenges. Average temperatures in Germany have risen by 1.7 °C since 1881, with the past five years featuring extreme heat and droughts. Water availability is increasingly variable, with southern and eastern regions particularly vulnerable. Heavy rainfall and floods add complexity to water management strategies.
Ambitious initiatives like the natural climate action programme and the national water strategy aim to restore ecosystems and adapt infrastructure to climate extremes. However, accelerating systemic transformations in food systems, mobility and energy remains critical for achieving long-term sustainability goals. Germany’s progress demonstrates potential, but significant hurdles must be overcome to align with EU and international benchmarks.
Societal support for environmental and climate protection
In 2022, environmental and climate protection remained an important topic for people in Germany, but it has slightly decreased in importance since 2018. With regard to the sustainable transition of the German economy, a broad majority is in favour of an ambitious ecological policy path. However, social concerns are important to people in regard to their support for the transformation.
Green economy as an important part of future competitiveness
The green economy is an important pillar of the German economy and Germany’s competitiveness in the European market. Depending on the definition used, up to 3 million people work in ‘green economy sectors’, contributing up to 7% of gross added value. While Germany is still one of the top market players for green technology globally, the German market share and innovation rate have grown less than those in other countries, especially those in Asia. Sustainable government revenue and expenditure policies offer levers for future-proofing society. The potential of green public investments, environmental taxation and subsidies and the phase-out of environmentally harmful subsidies are only partially exploited. Investments in innovation and infrastructure will be crucial to staying competitive in relation to the transformation.
Clear pathways and frameworks crucial for the transformation of the private sector
German companies are under increasing economic and environmental pressure. Progress in environmental and climate protection threatens to unnecessarily conflict with maintaining the competitiveness of companies, particularly given a lack of clear transition pathways. Regulations on sustainable corporate governance and sustainable finance have led to tangible progress in financial institutions’ and companies’ awareness of sustainability-related impacts and risks and facilitated a more level playing field for sustainable front runners. The current rollback of key pieces of EU legislation, however, could hinder the goal of channelling more private investment into green and transition-related activities.
Policies needed to allow for the just transition
Neighbourhoods that are less well-off experience more air and noise pollution than affluent ones. An estimate of around 10% of households in Germany will be severely negatively affected by increased prices for energy and mobility due to carbon prices in the next decade. Therefore, environmental policies need to consider and counterbalance their social effects. Various measures accompany the national carbon pricing scheme to make the burden fairer. For example, the Carbon Dioxide Cost Sharing Act requires landlords and tenants to share costs associated with carbon dioxide (CO2) pricing, and the Housing Benefit Plus Act has introduced flat rates (on heating and climate components) to help cover increased heating costs and rental fees due to renovations. With the 2023 Heating Law, low-income households can receive additional financial support for changing heating systems. Germany will implement measures through the EU Social Climate Fund to support households and small and medium-sized enterprises particularly affected by increasing carbon prices.
Loading
The food system
Nutrition was long seen as a strictly private topic in Germany’s public debate on food systems. Lately, however, food environments are increasingly recognised as important factors for individual choices. A widely recognised report played an important role in this change in attitudes. Against this backdrop, Germany adopted its first national strategy on nutrition in January 2024. The strategy points out the key role nutrition and plant-based diets in particular play in achieving climate and biodiversity goals. It also promotes organic and seasonal produce and alternative protein sources. A key element of the strategy is the goal to implement the quality standards of the German Nutrition Society for public catering, which would be mandatory until 2030. Concurrently, the German Nutrition Society published new food-based dietary guidelines that for the first time consider environmental aspects and recommend a maximum amount of 300 g of meat per week and only two portions of dairy per day.
This is in line with changes in food consumption in Germany. Meat consumption has decreased by 14% over the past five years, from 60 kg/capita in 2018 to 51.6 kg/capita in 2023. The consumption of dairy has decreased as well, but less significantly. The consumption of plant-based alternatives still has a small market share, but has grown sharply, and continued growth is predicted. To bolster the protein transition, the government has introduced the programme ‘Chancenprogramm Höfe’, which supports farmers to shift from animal agriculture to the production of alternative protein sources. The market share of organic products increased slowly but steadily to 7% by 2021, but decreased again to 6.3% in 2022 due to the general price increase in the food market. To reduce the amount of food loss and waste, a national strategy was established in 2019. In addition, increasing attention is being paid to stakeholders within the food value chain, like supermarkets, mass catering and the food industry.
Regarding the food production system, European initiatives in response to food security concerns resulting from the Russian attack on Ukraine and the recent farmers’ protests have led to a rollback of environmental regulations within the common agricultural policy, such as the former good agricultural and environmental conditions standard 8. This in turn reinforces the lack of long-term planning security for farmers, since it is uncertain what role environmental regulations might play in future agricultural policy. This is particularly important given existing and binding agri-environmental targets have still not been achieved. An organic action plan has been set out by the EU in order to achieve the European Green Deal target of 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030. This goes hand in hand with national targets for organic farming in Germany. However, the expansion of organic farming in Germany has not been as successful as planned. This also underlines the need to think about a more ecological approach to conventional agriculture.
The energy system
The transformation of the energy system, by promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and new energy infrastructure, is at the heart of Germany’s effort to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality by 2045.
The 2023 revision of the Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz) accelerates the planned renewable energy expansion, aiming for at least 80% of gross electricity consumption to be from renewable energy sources (RESs) by 2030. First results can already be felt, as the rate of RE installation increased in 2023 over 2022 (wind onshore: 3.0 vs 2.1 GW; PV: 15.1 vs 7,5 GW). However, to reach the 2030 targets, the installed onshore wind capacity needs to grow from 61 GW today to 115 GW and PV capacity must nearly triple from 83 GW to 215 GW. The offshore capacity ranging at 8.5 GW needs to reach 30 GW.
The Energy Efficiency Regulation (Energieeffizienzgesetz) outlines targets for primary and final energy consumption, with 1867 TWh in 2030 for the latter. To achieve this, the regulation targets the federal government and states (calling for an annual reduction of 45 TWh, or approximately 3 TWh per state), mandates energy or environmental management systems for companies and introduces energy efficiency standards for data centres.
The Building Energy Act (Gebäudeenergiegesetz) mandates heating systems in new buildings to be powered by at least 65% renewable energy, starting in 2024. Further focus rests on making buildings more energy efficient by tightening building standards, setting up support programmes and investing in energy efficient technologies. The final energy consumption is expected to decrease from 700 TWh (2024) to 610 TWh (2030). With more, tighter policies, it could decrease to 595 TWh (2030).
In 2024, the power station strategy (Kraftwerksstrategie) was announced. It promotes investments in 10 GW gas-fired power plants – capable of switching to 100% hydrogen, green and blue, between 2035 and 2040 – and investments in 500 MW hydrogen-fired power plants. It ensures long-term CO2 emission reductions by switching from gas to hydrogen for a green power supply.
The hydrogen strategy (Wasserstoffstrategie) creates the framework for green hydrogen production and its infrastructure. It also sets an electrolysis capacity target of at least 10 GW (2030) and outlines the foundation for a hydrogen core network, part of the European hydrogen backbone initiative. This connects essential hydrogen locations, such as electrolysers, storage facilities, hydrogen-fired power plants, refineries and steel producing plants. The first pipes will be commissioned in 2025. The core network, spanning 9 040 km, is to be completed by 2032, at a cost of EUR 18.9 billion. It will supply more than the 95–130 TWh demand estimated for 2030. Today’s hydrogen demand is 55 TWh, for refineries and the chemical industry (ammonia, methanol, etc.). By 2030, this demand is expected to increase by 40–75 TWh for steel production, additional use in the chemical industry, high-temperature processes in industry and synthetic transport fuels. However, the increase is highly uncertain.
High economic risks for investors (including macroeconomic risks, capital expenditure for hydrogen plants, uncertain returns, the market not yet existing and EU regulations) are causing delays in implementation. Electrolysis capacity in 2030 is expected to range between 4 GW and 7 GW.
The mobility system
As a key technology, electric mobility is expected to have a significant impact on the mobility system in Germany. In order to achieve the German climate targets for the transport sector for 2030 and beyond, specific and budget-neutral measures such as the reform of vehicle taxation, which surcharges new cars with high CO2 emissions, are sensible and necessary to accelerate fleet renewal towards electric vehicles. Currently, the share of newly registered electric vehicles is significantly lower than in 2023 due to the phase-out of the buyer’s bonus because of budget restrictions. However, it is expected to increase again in 2025, as CO2 standards are tightening.
A life-cycle analysis carried out on behalf of the German Environment Agency shows that battery electric vehicles registered in 2020 are about 40% more climate-friendly than comparable cars with petrol engines. Due to the expansion of renewable energy, the climate advantage for battery electric vehicles registered in 2030 is expected to rise to about 48–55%.
German air traffic has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Driven by the use of digital alternatives (e.g. virtual meetings), domestic flights have decreased: seats offered for domestic flights have nearly halved. The remaining seats are increasingly serving as feeder flights for international aviation. Since May 2024, air passenger tax rates have been increased by 24%, further contributing to lower demand.
In May 2023, Germany introduced the Deutschlandticket, a nationwide subscription for local public transport, including buses, trams, rail and ferries, which costs EUR 58 per month in 2025. The Deutschlandticket simplifies public transport usage by overcoming complicated tariff structures and regionally restricted ticket validity. Currently, over 11 million people benefit from this ticket, causing an increase in passenger volume on German regional public transport.
Recent evaluations show that the hoped-for modal shift from cars to public transport is very limited. It is primarily people who were already using public transport who are now using the Deutschlandticket; only 8% of all ticket owners were not previously users of public transport.
However, a substantial problem persists: increasing expenditure (on energy, workforce, operations and infrastructure) means that public transport in Germany is under further financial pressure. To tackle the omnipresent delays and cancellations caused by the outdated German rail network, it is clear that Germany needs much more and steadier funding in order to upgrade the existing network to handle future traffic volumes by 2030.
To be a real game changer in terms of transport choices, the Deutschlandticket needs to be embedded in an integrated strategy that includes an expansion of infrastructure and provides improved quality and quantity of transport services.
References