Net public electricity generation reached a record share of 59.7 per cent in 2023. The share of the load was 57.1 per cent. This is the result of an analysis presented today by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. New records were set for wind and solar power in 2023. In contrast, generation from lignite (-27 per cent) and hard coal (-35 per cent) fell sharply. Photovoltaics stood out in the expansion of generation capacity: at around 14 gigawatts, the expansion was in double digits for the first time and significantly exceeded the German government's statutory climate protection target.

Germany can still achieve its climate targets by 2030. This is shown in a new analysis by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). This would require, among other things, more rail transport, a reform of the motor vehicle tax and the restriction of fossil heating. In addition, all emissions would have to be priced and charged to the polluter. In the so-called Climate Protection Instruments Scenario 2030 (KIS-2030), the UBA has examined how additional emissions can be saved in the building, mobility, energy and industry sectors. "The model calculation clearly shows that we have a lot of catching up to do in some sectors," says UBA President Dirk Messner. "We now urgently need a constructive dialogue about where emissions can be reduced, otherwise we will miss the legal savings targets. We also need to talk honestly about how to cushion the financial burden on lower-income groups and distribute it more fairly. Currently, low-income households are often asked to pay disproportionately. Understandably, this does not exactly increase acceptance for more climate protection.

15 % of deaths in Europe are due to environmental risks, the WHO estimates. Health hazards arise, for example, from air pollutants, noise, chemicals and the spread of antibiotic resistance. New burdens, such as those caused by climate change and biodiversity loss, are also emerging. 

This is a great success for the expansion of renewables: The planned expansion of renewable energies by 2030 will thus be roughly doubled. For the new targets, more than 100 GW of new wind turbines and solar plants will be installed in the EU every year. For Germany, this means that the greatly increased expansion targets for wind and solar energy in 2022 will be underpinned by European targets and become binding. The higher EU targets also provide the framework for more far-reaching measures and goals in the EU, for example the EU solar strategy, which envisages roughly tripling PV capacity to 600 GW by 2030.

Today, Federal Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck presented the second PV-The aim is to significantly accelerate the expansion of solar energy in Germany. The goal is to significantly accelerate the expansion of solar energy in Germany. To this end, the strategy identifies measures in a total of eleven fields of action. The spectrum ranges from measures in the area of energy policy to the topics of securing skilled labour, industrial value creation in Europe and technology development. This was preceded by a first photovoltaic summit in March 2023. Since March, the PV strategy has been consulted. More than 600 comments were received.