Net-zero CO2 Germany - A retrospect from the year 2050

Summary, in English

Germany 2050: For the first time Germany reached a balance between its sources of anthropogenic CO2 to the atmosphere and newly created anthropogenic sinks. This backcasting study presents a fictional future in which this goal was achieved by avoiding (∼645 Mt CO2), reducing (∼50 Mt CO2) and removing (∼60 Mt CO2) carbon emissions. This meant substantial transformation of the energy system, increasing energy efficiency, sector coupling and electrification, energy storage solutions including synthetic energy carriers, sector-specific solutions for industry, transport and agriculture, as well as nature-based and technological carbon dioxide removal. All of the above was necessary to achieve a net-zero CO2 system for Germany by 2050.

• Author: Nadine Mengis; Aram Kalhori; Sonja Simon; Carina Harpprecht; Lars Baetcke; Enric Prats; Cornelia Schmidt-Hattenberger; Angela Stevenson; Christian Dold; Juliane El Zohbi; Malgorzata Borchers; Daniela Thrän; Klaas Korte; Erik Gawel; Tobias Dolch; Dominik Heß; Christopher Yeates; Terese Thoni; Till Markus; Eva Schill; Mengzhu Xiao; Fiona Köhnke; Andreas Oschlies; Johannes Förster; Knut Görl; Martin Dornheim; Thorsten Brinkmann; Silke Beck; David Bruhn; Zhan Li; Bettina Steuri; Michael Herbst; Torsten Sachs; Nathalie Monnerie; Thomas Pregger; Daniela Jacob; Roland Dittmeyer
• Publishing year: 2022-02-01
• Language: English
• Publication/Series: Earth's Future
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002324
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
• Topic: Engineering and Technology; Natural Sciences; Social Sciences
• Keywords: net-zero; Germany; Climate Change Mitigation
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 2328-4277