Germany

Germany plays a crucial role in the fight against the climate crisis. The country has a strong industrial base and the highest greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. This, coupled with its ambitious climate targets, makes the world’s fourth-largest economy a key player in the global transformation towards climate neutrality.

The German energy transition has its roots in the power sector. Thanks to its early adoption of solar and wind power, the country has long been seen as a pioneer in the energy transition. However, the transition needs to be accelerated across all sectors. For example, the provision of heat for buildings and industrial processes is still largely dependent on fossil fuels and responsible for a large part of Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the political debate increasingly focusses on the sectors beyond electricity. While technology solutions to reach climate neutrality are available across all sectors, innovative solutions for a fast roll-out at scale are more important than ever.

In its Germany work, Agora Energiewende develops science-based solutions and integrated policy concepts to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and further accelerate the transition towards climate neutrality. In its early years, Agora’s work mainly focused on the electricity sector, but has broadened its scope as the German energy transition has evolved. Thus, Agora’s policy concepts include proposals for a further ramp-up of renewable energies and its infrastructure, the switch to renewable heat and climate-neutral buildings, as well as overarching questions of the energy transition such as financial or legal aspects. With a broad network across policy makers, industry, as well as associations and non-governmental organisations, Agora Energiewende connects key stakeholders of the energy transition and fosters an ongoing exchange and collaboration.