Decarbonization and Emission Reduction in Germany: Goals and Implementation Paths

To achieve the goals of decarbonization and emission reduction set by the German government, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure of Germany (hereinafter referred to as the BMVI) has developed a transport transformation strategy with the railway as the main solution and proposed two implementation paths therein: one is to shift transport to green mobility modes such as railway and waterway; the other is green energy shift in the transport industry.

(I) Goals of decarbonization and emission reduction

In 2000, the federal government of Germany listed energy shift as one of the major national strategies, aiming to shift the traditional energy system based on fossil fuels and nuclear energy to an energy system based on renewable energies, and finally achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction. In 2019, the transport industry in Germany accounted for 30% of the total energy consumption and 20% of the total carbon dioxide emissions of the country. According to the forecast in the 2030 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (FTIP), the total freight turnover of the country in 2030 will increase by 38% compared with that in 2010, and the passenger turnover will increase by 13%. In this context, the German government and academia reached a consensus that achieving transport transformation, i.e. energy shift in the transport sector, is a prerequisite for achieving the government's final emission reduction objectives.

In a series of documents issued by the German government, emission reduction quantitative indicators to be achieved in multiple fields by 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 are specified. The Climate Protection Act adopted on November 15, 2019 for the first time legally defined the medium and long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of Germany: 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 compared with 1990, and carbon neutrality by 2050; and, in the transport industry specifically, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in 2030 compared with 1990, and carbon neutrality by 2050. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) proposed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in two steps: reducing carbon dioxide emission to half of that in 2006, and increasing the proportion of green power in traction power supply to 80% by 2030. By 2038, the traction power supply will be 100% green in the country.

(II) Implementation 

To reduce the transport-induced environment hazards, and cut CO2 emission for modal shift, the BMVI issued the Mobility and Fuel Strategy in 2013, which was then revised in 2016. The document identifies two ways to get started, namely modal shift and energy shift, where the first means the shift to environment-friendly passenger and freight models. At the passenger front, bicycles public transport (railways included) and high speed railways are recommended for short-, medium- and long-distance travel while at the freight front, water and rail are recommended for long-distance transport. That aside, it is important to rely on renewable energy to power the transport sector. That is to replace gasoline and diesel fuels with green electricity or electronic and biofuels produced by green electricity, and focus on better efficiency.

(1) Modal shift to rails. The increased investment in German’s railway network focuses on expanding the transport capacity of trunk railroads, eliminating traffic bottlenecks, and improving the overall efficiency of the transport network. Solutions to the under-sufficient freight transport of railways have been proposed. The government is committed to continuously increasing its investment in railway infrastructure, and the federal government's grants for new and expansion projects will grow from the current EUR 1.5 billion per year to EUR 3 billion and above in the medium term, and will reach EUR 4 billion per year and above after 2030. As for passenger and freight transport, the government will alleviate the heavy burden of railway - energy tax, carbon emission transaction, track access charges included - and reduce the value-added tax against the long-distance passenger transport. The six measures rolled out - digitization and the pulse project (“deutschland-takt”) for instance – are expected to double the passenger capacity of German railways and increase the market share of railway freight from 19% in 2018 to 25%.

(2) Energy shift of railway system. Although the railway industry is already an environmentally friendly mode of transport driven by the energy shift strategy, it is expected to continue to explore the potential of energy conservation and emission reduction, and maintain environmental advantages. The main approaches are as follows:

First, continuously improve the electrification rate. 61% of DB railway are electrified in 2020. Given that the railway turnover completed by electric traction accounts for more than 90% and the train kilometers achieved by electric traction account for 74%, the German government is expected to determine further electrification transformation of heavy-loaded trunk lines after the soon comprehensive evaluation on the costs and benefits of railway electrification, so as to increase the overall electrification rate of DB railways to 70% by 2025 and 75% by 2030.

Second, develop alternative driving technologies for non-electrified railways. In recent years, the German government has awarded grants to the research and development and testing of alternative driving technologies for rolling stock under the National Innovation Program (NIP), focusing on the key research projects such as "battery power system for rail transit", "fuel cell drive system" and "railway hydrogen energy infrastructure", and significant achievements have been made by the international mainstream producers including Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier and Stadler in the development and testing of new vehicles. However, there are still risks for the transformation of the research results to products on the market.

Third, improve the energy consumption efficiency of railway operation. Railway undertakings are encouraged to install new braking systems, automatic couplers and braking energy feedback systems, with the purpose of energy conservation and emission reduction. The high energy efficiency technology funding program was launched. The government will grant up to 50% subsidies for high energy efficiency measures to the railway undertakings that has achieved a 1.75% year-on-year increase in energy efficiency.