Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Energy-related CO2 Emissions
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1990
1995
2000
2005
2007
2008
2009
Germany
950.4
869.4
827.1
811.8
800.1
04.1
750.2
World
20966.3
21971.6
23492.9
27188.3
29047.9
29454
28999.4
Figure 5.1
. German Progress in Reducing Energy-Related CO
2
Emissions
Source
: IEA. 2011.
CO
2
emissions from fuel combustion: Highlights
. Paris: International Energy Agency.
Unfortunately, Germany's seemingly stellar track record is tempered
somewhat when placed into context. he comparison in Figure 5.1 is
slightly disingenuous in that the uniication of East and West Germany
catalyzed a technological transition in East Germany, which resulted in
major energy eiciency improvements. he comparison in Figure 5.1 is
also misleading in that the global CO
2
emission growth trend is heav-
ily skewed by ampliied emissions in developing nations such as China
and India, which were not subject to the same CO
2
emission reduction
obligations that Germany has been subject to since ratifying the Kyoto
Protocol. Nevertheless, there has been progress. he data enable one to
conclude that over the past decade, demand for energy has remained
static in Germany while the energy infrastructure has improved tech-
nologically, reducing CO
2
emission intensity. his is not an insignii-
cant achievement given Germany's historical reliance on coal as a major
source of energy.
For centuries, coal has been an important resource in Germany. Evidence
of coal mining dates back as early as the fourteenth century in the Ruhr area.
By the eighteenth century, the use of coal as a preferred source of heating
was advocated by the German government as a way to avoid deforestation.
hanks to abundant coal reserves, with the advent of modern electricity
transmission networks, coal-ired power came to dominate the German
electricity supply. As Figure 5.2 illustrates, despite eforts on the part of
the German government to wean itself from thermal electricity technolo-
gies, as late as 2000, coal-ired (black and brown) power still accounted for
52% of the national electricity mix. hanks in large part to expansion of
renewable energy capacity, by 2010 contribution from coal-ired power had
fallen to 41% of the national electricity.
