Germany plans to end use of fossil fuels in energy sector by 2045

**Germany wants to stop using fossil fuels in the energy sector by 2045 at the latest, with plans for how to do that set out in the country’s transition roadmap published today on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. **

The blueprint focuses on electrifying transport, home heating and industry, while gradually replacing fossil fuel power generation with renewables. Renewables supplied about 55% of Germany’s electricity last year and the government wants that to reach at least 80% by 2030.

All coal-fired power stations – which generated almost a quarter of Germany’s electricity last year – must close by 2038 at the latest. That deadline has been set in German law since 2020, but the roadmap says the government is exploring the possibility of bringing the end date forward to 2035.

New gas-fired plants that receive state funding must be “hydrogen-ready” and run on climate-neutral fuels by 2045. The roadmap doesn’t specify what those fuels are but they generally include biofuels and green hydrogen.

At the same time, Berlin wants to install 2,000 more wind turbines and reduce the need for power plants by boosting the use of batteries.

At the UN General Assembly in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres urged all countries to submit national roadmaps to end the consumption and production of fossil fuels with “clear timelines and protection for affected workers and communities”.

A group of around 80 countries led a failed push at last year’s COP30 in Belém to create a global roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels. While the initiative was not adopted in the summit, some countries like France and the Netherlands opted for moving forward with their own national plans.

Subsidies for EVs and heat pumps

To cut reliance on petrol for transport, the German government says it will make available 2.8 billion euros to subsidise the cost of buying electric vehicles for lower and middle income households.

Official projections suggest that by 2035 every new car sold in Germany will be electric, according to the document. Freight, shipping and aviation are expected to shift to a mix of electric vehicles, “sustainable” biofuels and hydrogen-based fuels.

For homes, the roadmap relies mainly on replacing gas and oil boilers with heat pumps, backed by state subsidies. Anyone who installs a new gas or oil heating system will have to use a rising share of “climate-neutral fuels” from 2029, reaching 60% by 2040. A proposed quota would require fuel suppliers to switch entirely to climate-neutral heating fuels from 2045.

Industry is expected to decarbonise by switching to electricity and hydrogen, becoming more energy efficient, and capturing carbon where emissions are hard to avoid.

Environment minister Carsten Schneider said the roadmap doesn’t just represent a climate strategy, but also an economic policy strategy. “The money we currently spend on importing oil and gas will increasingly flow into local value creation,” he added in a written statement. “Moving away from fossil fuels combines independence, affordability, and climate protection”.

In 2024, Germany spent about 76 billion euros to import fossil fuels. Around two-thirds of that went on oil and petroleum products, and the rest on gas and coal.

Campaigners call for faster phase out

Reactions to the roadmap from analysts and campaigners have been mixed, both praising the country’s initiative for launching this plan voluntarily but also calling for an even faster fossil fuel phase out.

Jennifer Morgan, former German climate envoy, said that, while the roadmap is a “welcome step”, to truly deliver the strategy must be backed by “a faster, more deliberate, and just phase-out paired with the rollout of green electrification”.

Laurie Van Der Burg, public finance lead at campaigning group Oil Change International, said Germany deserves credit for publishing the roadmap, but its efforts are “not commensurate with the reality of the crisis, or its responsibility as a wealthy, historic emitter”. She urged Germany to end its fossil fuel finance, strengthen the roadmap and redirect public money toward renewable energy.

Germany is the third European country to set out a national fossil fuel transition roadmap following France and the Netherlands. France has set end dates for coal (2030), oil (2045) and gas (2050), though its plan mostly brings existing policies together. The Dutch government has failed to set a binding end date for the country’s fossil fuel production and use, only indicating that should be “minimised” by 2050.

Linda Kalcher, executive director at Strategic Perspectives, said the targets in the three national roadmaps still fall short of what is needed to improve energy security, but they still send a powerful message to fossil fuel exports: “a huge share of the European market is planning for a future in which demand for coal, oil and gas declines”.

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