Environmental protection and environmental sustainability

Germany gives top priority to climate protection and is committed to sustainable global development, in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Environmental and climate issues are still strongly anchored in society’s consciousness. The sustainable development of all states is the basis for a peaceful future.

Nature conservation has been enshrined as a state objective in the Basic Law, the German Constitution, since 1994. According to its Article 20a, Mindful also of its responsibility toward future generations, the state shall protect the natural foundations of life and animals by legislation and, in accordance with law and justice, by executive and judicial action, all within the framework of the constitutional order.

Environmental protection includes all measures and activities aimed at preventing, reducing, or eliminating environmental pollution and all other forms of environmental damage:

Air pollution control and climate protection
Wastewater management
Waste management
Protection and remediation of soil, groundwater, and surface water
Noise and vibration protection
Species and landscape protection
Radiation protection
Environmental research and development
Other environmental protection activities

As one of the world’s largest industrial nations, Germany is one of major contributors to global warming. Germany wants to be a climate-neutral industrial country by 2045.

In a nutshell: climate protection in Germany – key figures:

Germany is responsible for almost two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The average carbon footprint is 10.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalents, more than double the global average (4.7 tonnes)
Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions fell slightly by 1.9 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, and emissions fell by 40.4 percent compared to 1990
In the 2023 Climate Protection Index, Germany ranks 16^th, the top third are Denmark, Sweden and Chile leading the way

What are the German government’s climate targets?

The core element of the German climate policy is the Climate Protection Act, which was last amended in June 2023. The climate protection programme bundles the various measures into an overall roadmap. The Federal Government’s objectives are following:

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2030
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 88 percent by 2040
Germany to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2045

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