Germany Presents Roadmap to Phase Out Fossil Fuels by 2045

Germany has presented a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels by 2045.

Germany's Environment Minister Carsten Schneider told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that the plan "combines independence, affordability, and climate protection."

Europe's largest economy is now the third country to have provided a solid plan for the phaseout — to which nearly 200 countries committed at the 2023 COP28 climate conference in Dubai — following France and the Netherlands.

What did Berlin say about the fossil phaseout plan?

Schneider, of the center-left Social Democratic Party, said the decision was linked to the Iran war and its impact on fuel supplies worldwide.

"It is not just extreme weather events around the world that demonstrate how urgently we need to do more to protect the climate," he said. "If the situation in the Strait of Hormuz determines whether people can still afford their daily commute to work, that is not a good state of affairs."

He said he believed the 19-year deadline was feasible.

"Our roadmap is intended to set an international example. I am sure that many other countries will follow."

Schneider said that fossil fuels accounted for 65% of Germany's energy consumption in 2024.

The majority of that — 98% of its oil and 95% of its natural gas — was imported at a cost of €76 billion ($86.5 billion). The minister stressed that the figure has since risen sharply due to the Iran war.

How have environmental organizations reacted to the plan?

Several environmental organizations welcomed Berlin's plan, though some highlighted that it contradicted some recent government decisions.

"With this announcement, Germany is showing a sign of life in international climate policy," said Greenpeace energy expert Mira Jäger.

However, she noted that "at the same time, the federal government is subsidizing the oil industry, breaking the heating transition, and slowing down the expansion of renewables."

Fentje Jacobsen, a climate policy advisor at the World Wide Fund for Nature, argued that the roadmap largely rehashed existing initiatives without adding "new ideas or additional ambitions."

"The current government is meanwhile planning to rely less on renewables and more on gas," she added.

Energy Minister Katherina Reiche of the conservative Christian Democrats has advocated building new gas-fired power plants, arguing that this would help stabilize the electricity grid and highlighting the intermittent nature of renewable sources such as wind and solar.

Reiche has also demanded preserving a larger role for combustion-engine vehicles using alternative fuels, a position that contradicts the phaseout plan, which foresees battery-electric cars accounting for 100% of new passenger car registrations by 2035.

Germany's car industry is a pillar of the country's economy, and the recent struggles it has faced have naturally been reflected in the broader economy.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar