What does the Paris Agreement mean for climate protection in Germany

This briefing by the NewClimate Institute analyzes the implications of the Paris Agreement's long-term temperature goals for Germany's greenhouse gas emissions reductions, arguing that developed nations must reach zero CO2 emissions faster than the global average to avoid reliance on risky negative emission technologies.

• To align with the Paris Agreement's goals of limiting temperature increase to 'well below 2°C' and aiming for 1.5°C, global CO2 emissions from agriculture, forestry, and energy generation and use must drop to zero by 2035. This timeline avoids the necessity of large-scale atmospheric CO2 removal.
• Germany, as a developed country, would need to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero faster than the global average, specifically achieving zero CO2 emissions before 2035.
• For Germany to be compatible with the Paris Agreement, the energy mix across transport, industry, building heating and cooling, and electricity production must be 100% renewable before 2035. Specifically, the electricity sector should reach 100% renewables before 2030, assuming no use of CCS and the planned nuclear phase-out.
• Specific sectoral requirements for Germany include phasing out hard coal and lignite from electricity production by approximately 2025, renovating 5% of existing buildings to nearly zero energy standards annually, and ensuring all new buildings meet these standards.
• The analysis assumes that the remaining emission budget must be managed without 'negative emission' technologies, such as biomass combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS), due to the significant risks and problems associated with them.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2016). What does the Paris Agreement mean for climate protection in Germany. https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/what-does-the-paris-agreement-mean-for-climate-protection-in-germany

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. What does the Paris Agreement mean for climate protection in Germany. 2016. https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/what-does-the-paris-agreement-mean-for-climate-protection-in-germany.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=What does the Paris Agreement mean for climate protection in Germany |date=23 February 2016 |url=https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/what-does-the-paris-agreement-mean-for-climate-protection-in-germany |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2016what, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{What does the Paris Agreement mean for climate protection in Germany}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/what-does-the-paris-agreement-mean-for-climate-protection-in-germany}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }