The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-23 · by Fiona Harvey Environment editor
Germany has officially committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045, marking the first time the government has set an explicit goal beyond carbon neutrality. The roadmap includes increasing renewable energy sources to 80% of electricity generation by 2030 and reducing methane emissions by 30%. Despite these goals, there is internal conflict over expanding natural gas use for economic reasons, with environmental activists criticizing the economic ministry's pushback against rapid transitions away from fossil fuels.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 23, Germany published a roadmap committing to phase out fossil fuels by 2045, becoming only the third country to do so after France and the Netherlands. The plan includes increasing renewable energy from 55% to 80% of electricity generation by 2030, with an additional 12GW of onshore wind and a target of 215GW of solar energy by 2030. Additionally, emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, will be reduced by 30% by 2030 as part of the global methane pledge signed in 2021. Andreas Sieber from 350.org praised this move as a significant step towards explicitly phasing out fossil fuels, though he noted concerns about simultaneous efforts to increase gas usage.
Written for “Germany Phases Out Fossil Fuels” on 2026-10-11,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, has committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045, despite fierce debate about its green policies.
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economy → commit → policies
In a roadmap published on Wednesday, the German government set out for the first time an explicit promise of “transitioning away” from fossil fuels.
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government → publish → fuels
The plans include ramping up renewable energy from 55% to 80% of electricity generation by 2030, with an additional 12GW of onshore wind, and a target of 215GW of solar energy by 2030.
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plans → include → 2030
The previously stated target of winding down coal use in the next decade, with a view to an exit from coal in 2038, was also reaffirmed, with the potential for an earlier target of 2035.
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target → state → 2035
Emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, will be cut by 30% by 2030, in accordance with a global methane pledge signed in 2021.
Andreas Sieber, head of global political strategy at 350.org, said the plan marked a “notable shift” in making the phaseout of fossil fuels an explicit policy goal.
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phaseout → cut → fuels
But he warned that Germany’s ministry for economic affairs and energy was also pushing intensely for greater use of gas.
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ministry → warn → gas
“The economic ministry keeps sabotaging the transition away from fossil fuels,” he said.
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he → keep → fuels
“This year has shown in the starkest terms that fossil-fuel dependence is a risk for everyone as it exposes households and businesses in Germany and around the world to price shocks, volatility and geopolitical insecurity.”
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it → show → shocks
Germany’s former climate envoy Jennifer Morgan said the government must put more effort into electrifying transport and heating.
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government → say → transport
“Accelerating the shift from coal, oil and gas to clean renewables will bolster energy independence and insulate consumers from price shocks at a critical moment,” she said.
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she → accelerate → moment
“However, a roadmap is only the starting line.”
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roadmap → start → ?
She said the strategy must be paired with a faster, more deliberate rollout of green electrification.
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strategy → say → electrification
The push for heat pumps to replace gas boilers came under attack from the far-right wing of German politics after a heating law was passed in 2023 that would have banned the installation of most oil and gas heating.
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that → replace → heating
Alternative für Deutschland made the issue a key campaigning point and forced a watering down of the rules earlier this year, while the party’s co-leader Alice Weidel has described wind turbines as “windmills of shame”.
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Weidel → make → shame
Heat pumps now make up about half of all new domestic heating systems.
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pumps → make → systems
Germany is the third major developed economy to publish such a roadmap, after France and the Netherlands, after a major international conference in Colombia in April at which all participants promised to set out plans for a full phaseout of fossil fuels.
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participants → develop → fuels
It comes after nations debated how to expand their currently inadequate efforts to tackle the climate crisis at the UN general assembly in New York.
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nations → come → York
António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, has been a strong advocate of climate action for his 10 years in office, but the end of his term this December has raised fears that his successor may be less firm.
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successor → raise → fears
The UK has still not published its pledge to phase out fossil fuels, and will take up the presidency of the G20 group of developed and developing economies in December, for which the climate and the soaring costs of oil and gas are expected to be key issues.
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climate → publish → oil
The Aporia
