German energy consumption falls in 2023 – and with it, CO2 emissions
Clean Energy Wire
A sluggish economy saw primary energy consumption in Germany fall to a historic low in 2023, according to preliminary figures from energy data service AG Energiebilanzen (AEGB). Germany consumed 10,791 petajoules (PJ) of energy, a drop of more than one quarter compared to 1990 levels, and down 7.9 percent on last year. Energy-related CO2 emissions fell by 10 percent this year as the country produced more of its power from renewables and overall consumption went down. The fall was largely down to a recession in economic output– and a drop in energy-intensive production in particular – but warm weather and high energy prices also played a role, AEGB found.
The last German nuclear power plants went offline in April 2023, resulting in a drop of nuclear power consumption of almost 80 percent. Hard coal consumption was down nearly 17 percent, while electricity generation from renewable energies grew by around 5 percent. The fall in energy-related CO2 emissions this year amounted to 66 million tonnes, according to the AEGB figures.
