Berlin has said the country will stop using coal, oil, and gas in less than two decades<\/p>\n
Germany has presented a roadmap for completely phasing out fossil fuels by 2045. The government is sticking to its green transition policy, despite Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier acknowledging that the country is going through \u201can energy crisis.\u201d
\nGermany abandoned Russian pipeline gas, on which its energy-intensive manufacturing sector had been built, after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The US-Israeli war on Iran this year, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, accounting for some 20% of global crude oil trade, has further complicated the situation for the country\u2019s businesses and households.
\nThe German economy contracted in both 2023 and 2024, marking its first back-to-back annual decline in more than two decades, while 2025 only saw a weak growth of 0.2%. Over the past few years, leading German companies such as BASF, Bosch, and Volkswagen have been forced to shut down factories or announce major staff cuts.
\nIn the document released on Wednesday, Merz\u2019s government for the first time explicitly promised to get rid of coal, oil, and gas altogether. Previously, it only committed itself to \u201ccarbon neutrality.\u201d<\/p>\n
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According to the roadmap, the proportion of renewable energy obtained from windmills and solar panels should increase from 55% to 80% in electricity generation by 2030.
\nIt also envisages a reduction of methane emission by 30% by 2030 in line with the global methane pledge signed by Berlin in 2021.
\nThe plan to phase out fossil fuel is being rolled out at a time when Merz\u2019s approval ratings sank to a record low of 10%, with even the majority of supporters of his own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party disapproving of his policies, according to the latest polls.
\nSpeaking about the roadmap at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider called the 19-year deadline feasible, saying that the plan \u201ccombines independence, affordability, and climate protection.\u201d
\n\u201cOur roadmap is intended to set an international example. I am sure that many other countries will follow,\u201d Schneider insisted.
\nGermany is only the third country after France and the Netherlands to publish such a plan.<\/p>\n
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Greenpeace energy expert Mira Jager welcomed the roadmap, but noted that \u201cat the same time, the federal government is subsidizing the oil industry, breaking the heating transition, and slowing down the expansion of renewables,\u201d as cited by Deutsche Welle.
\nThe right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which delivered crushing defeats to the CDU in two local elections this month, warned in a post on X on Wednesday that \u201cthe German middle class dies\u201d if the fuel price climbs from the current \u20ac2.3 ($2.6) per liter to \u20ac3 ($3.4).
\n\u201cWe demand the reduction of EU energy taxes as well as value-added tax. In addition, the immediate abolition of the CO2 levy on gasoline and diesel,\u201d it said.
\nAfD co-leader Alice Weidel, who has been a strong opponent of Germany\u2019s green transition, previously called wind turbines \u201cthe windmills of shame.\u201d She also repeatedly argued that restoring economic ties with Moscow and bringing back Russian gas is key to reviving the German economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Berlin has said the country will stop using coal, oil, and gas in less than two decades Germany has presented a roadmap for completely phasing out fossil fuels by 2045.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t