IEA: ‘Traffic emissions are major hurdle to Germany’s climate goals’

According to the International Energy Agency’s latest report, transport in Germany is a significant obstacle to the country’s green energy transition, still accounting for 95% of all transport emissions. IEA experts identified transport as “the largest emitting sector in Germany” and thus a key area for additional focus.

The IEA report highlights how Germany has exited nuclear power and lowered its share of coal-fired generation. At the same time, it has significantly increased its wind and solar capacity.

Energy crisis

However, challenges persist, most notably from the ongoing impacts of the energy crisis caused by Russia’s curtailment of pipeline gas supplies to the European Union.

IEA recommends Germany optimize its electricity system to lower costs and accelerate emissions reductions in end-use sectors, such as transport, construction, and industry.

Climate-neutral by 2045

The organization stresses the need to improve public transport and focus increasingly on electric vehicles and biofuels while noting the need for rail and electric charging infrastructure upgrades.

IEA also says that while Germany is on a pathway to an energy system mainly based on renewables, “more work is needed in the energy sector to reach Germany’s goal of climate neutrality by 2045.”

Slowly becoming more environmentally friendly

As a sign of good news, data from Germany’s federal motor transport authority suggest that cars on the country’s roads are slowly becoming more environmentally friendly.

As of January 1st, almost 53% of the roughly 49 million cars registered in Germany either comply with the Euro 6 emissions standard or do not emit exhaust emissions because an electric motor powers them.

The EU’s exhaust emissions standards for cars, vans, and heavy-duty vehicles are designed to reduce pollution from road traffic. They impose limits on various pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

However, the exhaust standards do not regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, which is limited according to drivetrain, motor efficiency, and vehicle size.

SUVs dominate

Overall, in Germany, the number of small and medium-sized cars on the road declined while SUVs rose by 588,000 to 6.6 million. SUVs accounted for almost a third of new registrations in 2024, though many were EVs.

Germany has ambitious goals to develop a hydrogen industry, but according to the IEA, final investment decisions on projects are lagging. This highlights the need to focus government efforts on targeted demand-creation policies to help kickstart the sector.

Ambitious plans

Overall, the IEA report concludes that Germany has a huge economic opportunity to leverage its technological and industrial leadership if it follows through on its ambitious plans for an energy transition.

The report was conducted by the IEA and the German government to assess Germany’s most pressing challenges in the energy sector and provide recommendations on how to address them.