Germany cut its hard coal consumption in power plants by 39 percent in the first nine months of 2024 C.E., compared to the same period the year before. The drop saved an estimated 20 million tonnes of CO2 in just three quarters — a sign that Europe’s largest economy is moving away from one of its most carbon-intensive habits, even if the road ahead remains long.
At a glance
- Hard coal decline: Power plant consumption of hard coal fell 39 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2024 C.E., driven by rising renewables output and increased electricity imports from neighboring countries.
- Lignite reduction: Consumption of brown coal — the dirtier of the two — fell 14.5 percent over the same period, adding to a broad structural shift in Germany’s energy mix.
- CO2 savings: Energy market research group AG Energiebilanzen (AGEB) projects a 3.3 percent decline in energy-related CO2 emissions for the full year of 2024 C.E., on top of the 20 million tonnes already avoided in the first three quarters.
What’s driving the shift
Three forces are working together to push coal out of Germany’s grid. Renewables now supply more than half of the country’s electricity — a threshold Germany crossed in 2023 C.E. — and that share keeps growing. When the sun shines and the wind blows, coal plants simply aren’t needed.
At the same time, Germany has been buying more electricity from its European neighbors. Cross-border imports filled gaps that coal plants once covered, reducing the need to fire up older, dirtier capacity. Germany’s grid is tightly woven into the broader European network, and that integration is paying off in carbon terms.
There’s also an efficiency story here. Renewable power plants waste far less energy than fossil fuel plants, which shed enormous amounts as heat. As the share of wind and solar in the mix rises, the overall energy system becomes more efficient — meaning Germany can meet its needs with less total energy consumed.
A record low in overall energy use
Germany’s total energy consumption is on track to hit a new post-reunification low. AGEB projects consumption will fall to 10,453 petajoules in 2024 C.E., down 1.7 percent from the previous year and the lowest level since Germany reunified in 1990 C.E.
Some of that drop reflects hard economic reality. Germany’s manufacturing sector has contracted sharply, and declining industrial output means less energy burned. That’s not the same as clean progress — an economy in trouble uses less energy for the wrong reasons. AGEB noted that “significant declines in production in the manufacturing and processing industries could not be offset by the recent rise in energy demand in the particularly energy-intensive industrial sectors.”
Still, even accounting for the economic drag, structural changes in the energy system are doing real work. The decline in coal use would have happened regardless of GDP trends, because cheap renewables and high CO2 prices under the EU Emissions Trading System have made coal economically unattractive.
The 2038 target — and why it may come sooner
Germany has a legal commitment to phase out coal entirely by 2038 C.E. at the latest. But market forces may accelerate that timeline. As CO2 prices in the EU ETS remain elevated, burning coal becomes more expensive relative to alternatives. Several analysts expect Germany’s coal exit to happen well ahead of the legal deadline.
That said, coal still accounted for roughly 25 percent of Germany’s electricity generation in 2023 C.E. — down from more than half in 1990 C.E., but still among the highest shares in Western Europe. Germany also shut down its last nuclear plants in 2023 C.E., which removed a large source of low-carbon baseload power and has made the coal phase-out more complicated in the short term.
Beyond electricity, Germany still leans heavily on fossil fuels for heat and transport. Oil dominates as a transport fuel, and gas heats millions of homes and powers much of industry. Cutting coal from power plants is a major win — but it’s one part of a much larger transition still underway.
Why this matters beyond Germany
Germany’s energy choices carry weight across Europe. As the continent’s largest economy and one of its biggest emitters, Germany’s direction shapes EU policy conversations, investment signals, and the ambitions of neighboring states. A continued decline in German coal use sends a clear message: even in a large, industrial economy, the coal-to-renewables shift is possible and measurable.
Ember’s 2024 European Electricity Review shows Germany is not alone — coal use has fallen across the continent — but Germany’s scale makes its progress especially significant. The question now is whether the momentum holds as the economy recovers and electricity demand rises again.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Clean Energy Wire
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- U.K. cancer death rates down to their lowest level on record
- The Good News for Humankind archive on Germany
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