This was mainly due to the early and intensive use of coal for generating electricity and smelting ore. All previous emissions from German soil contributed to global CO₂-137 ppm increase with 5 to 6 ppm on. That’s a high score. And still a lot of carbon dioxide added. At the planned zero point in 2045, the most optimistic federal government plans still predict emissions of 7.8 billion tonnes. If we take the previous ratio as a basis, this would be enough to increase another 0.5 ppm worldwide.

“But China and India…”

It is true that Germany is in the top ten of CO at the moment₂polluters are lagging far behind countries such as China, India, and the United States. China is responsible for about 30 percent of emissions, the United States 12 percent, India seven percent and Russia almost five percent. In India and China in particular, emissions have increased dramatically since 1990, and in China they have more than quadrupled over that period. Global climate protection is not possible without these countries reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

However, no one has ever claimed that Germany can save the global climate on its own and achieve the goals formulated in the Paris climate agreement of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees whenever possible, but below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. . period. Germany has only very limited possibilities to force China or the United States to do something on climate policy. But the opposite also happens – each country is responsible for its own policies.

It’s also important to put the numbers in perspective. China and India each have a population of 1.4 billion people, while Germany has only 84 million people. When opponents of climate protection use the 2 percent argument in this country, Indians and Chinese can show that 35 percent of the entire population live together in both countries, while in Germany only one percent. India could also argue that the country’s per capita emissions of 2.5 tonnes are three and a half times lower than Germany’s. At 57 billion tons, India’s total historical emissions from burning oil, coal and natural gas was only 61 percent of Germany’s previous total. With per capita emissions of 9.9 tons, China could argue that Germany’s value has only fallen below that number since 2019.

And we must not forget: the German economy imports large quantities of goods from China and other countries, the production of which releases carbon dioxide there. Germany buys more goods from China than vice versa. When only industrial goods are considered, Germany exports more CO2, according to an analysis by the Federal Statistical Office₂-Emissions than imported ones. However, if you add agricultural imports, for example soybeans from South America, Germany’s total CO increases₂-Emission a third, according to calculations by sustainability researcher Marco Schmidt of the University of Pforzheim. On a table in a tavern in São Paulo, it is rightly said that part of Brazil’s emissions should be attributed to Germany.

Many countries and regions can use the 2 percent argument

Many countries, states, and regions of the world also account for only a few percent of global CO₂-Emission. Of all countries, Germany is the best compared to Japan. This island nation is one of the leading industrialized nations and, with a slightly larger population, emits around 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2.₂ per year free. Opponents of Japan’s climate protection measures could give a slightly different argument: »But Japan produces only three percent of global emissions!«