Greenhouse-gas neutral Germany 2050
The German Climate Protection Plan 2050, adopted in November 2016, confirmed Germany's 2050 target of reducing emissions by 80 to 95% to enable extensive greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. Under the interim target for 2030, Germany's total greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by at least 55 percent compared to 1990 by 2030 at the latest - with detailed sectoral targets: energy sector (61-62% reduction by 2030 compared to 1990), buildings (66-67%), transport (40-42%), industry (49-51%), and agriculture (31-34%). The Climate Action Plan introduces a paradigm shift. In the future, renewable energies and energy efficiency will be the standard for investments. In this way, the Climate Action Plan 2050 creates the necessary conditions to keep Germany's economy competitive in a decarbonising world.
Dr. Ursula Fuentes Hutfilter was one of the architects behind the German Climate Protection Plan 2050. In this seminar, Dr. Fuentes Hutfilter will provide an insight regarding the state-federal interactions, the inclusion of municipalities, associations and citizens and the merit and approach towards sectoral targets. The english summary of the German Climate Protection Plan 2050 is available here.
Dr Ursula Fuentes Hutfilter, on leave from senior German climate official position, currently researching climate and energy transition strategies at Climate Analytics Australia and Murdoch University in Perth. She leads a project under the Australian-German Energy Transition Research Hub. From 2013 until January 2017 she was Head of Unit for “Strategic Aspects of Climate Policy and the National Climate Plan” at the German Ministry for the Environment. In this role she was responsible for general and strategic aspects of climate policy, and for the development of the German domestic climate plans and programmes at national level, covering energy, buildings, transport, industry, agriculture, and forestry. Previously she was in charge of German National Climate Initiative, a funding programme for innovative climate technologies and projects for local communities, small-scale businesses and consumers; held positions on international climate policy with the German government; and was a research analyst for the German Advisory Council on Global Change.