This report provides a detailed assessment of the way in which Germany calculates its emissions.
After reviewing the data, the Expert Council on Climate Issues sees no reason to assume emission values other than those calculated by the Federal Environment Agency. According to the Federal Environment Agency, German greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 amounted to 648.9 Mt CO2 eq. excluding land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF). This figure represents a decrease of 0.1%, meaning that GHG emissions (excluding LULUCF) remained almost constant year-on-year. The comparison of the early energy balance estimate with the final energy balance for 2024 shows a higher overall quality, as well as for individual energy balance lines and individual energy sources, compared to the previous year.
For the LULUCF sector, the German Environment Agency reports a fundamental change in methodology and the use of numerous new data sources.The Expert Council assumes that the estimate of GHG emissions in the LULUCF sector has been improved by the adjustments made, especially since these comply with the UNFCCC guidelines. The targets set out in the European Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) were missed for the first time in 2024, after having been met in the years 2021 to 2023 according to the reported emissions data. Particularly high shares of the greenhouse gas emissions falling under the ESR are attributable to the building sector.
