Expert search
Press Release
Press release No. 150 of 14 April 2023 Timber logged remaining at high level - 78.7 million cubic metres in 2022
In 2022, a total of 78.7 million cubic metres of timber was logged in German forests. The amount of timber logged dropped by 5.1% from the record high of 83.0 million cubic metres seen in 2021, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). …
Press Release
Press release No. 090 of 9 March 2023 Electricity production in 2022: coal accounted for a third, wind power for a quarter
As in the preceding years, coal was the main energy source in electricity production in Germany in 2022. Based on provisional results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that one third (33.3%) of the electricity produced in Germany and …
Press Release
Press release No. N 012 of 1 March 2023 In 2022, 87% of the imported photovoltaic power stations came from China
From Germany's perspective, China is by far the most important country of origin of photovoltaic power stations. Roughly 87% of the photovoltaic power stations imported to Germany in 2022 came from the People's Republic. The Federal Statistical …
Press Release
Press release No. 546 of 19 December 2022 New record volume of household waste generated in 2021
The volume of waste produced by households in Germany continued to rise in 2021. 483 kilograms of household waste per capita were collected according to provisional data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This was an increase by 6 …
Press Release
Press release No. 542 of 16 December 2022 Household consumption of housing energy down 0.9% in 2020
Households in Germany consumed less housing energy in the first Covid-19 year of 2020 than in 2019 although people spent more time at home on account of the pandemic. The temperature adjusted consumption of housing energy amounted to a total of 715 …
Press Release
Press release No. 530 of 13 December 2022 Energy consumption in industry up 4.6% in 2021 on the previous year
In 2021, the German industry consumed 3,918 petajoules of energy. That was an increase of 4.6% from 2020, the first Covid-19 year, and of 2.6% compared with 2019. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the major part was used for …
Press Release
Press release No. 524 of 9 December 2022 Potential greenhouse effect of fluorinated greenhouse gases used in 2021 down 9% on 2020
The potential greenhouse effect of the fluorinated greenhouse gases used in Germany in 2021 (FCs, HFCs, blends) fell by 9% on 2020. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the volume of fluorinated greenhouse gases used declined …
Press Release
Press release No. 518 of 7 December 2022 Electricity production in the 3rd quarter of 2022: coal-generated electricity up 13.3% on the same period a year earlier
More than a third (36.3%) of the electricity produced and fed into the grid in Germany in the third quarter of 2022 came from coal-fired power plants (third quarter of 2021: 31.9%). Based on provisional results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis …
Press Release
Press release No. 510 of 2 December 2022 Energy consumption in transport down by a fifth in 2020
Transport was responsible for a good fifth (21.4%, or 2,562 petajoules) of German energy consumption in 2020. Energy consumption in transport thus dropped by 18.4% compared with 2019, when it had accounted for nearly a fourth (24.1%) of total energy …
Press Release
Press release No. 460 of 31 October 2022 Household gas prices up 17.7% in 1st half of 2022
Households in Germany paid an average 8.04 cents per kilowatt hour of natural gas in the first six months of 2022. Consumers were charged an average 33.50 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity. Gas prices thus increased by 17.7% and electricity …
Press Release
Press release No. 437 of 12 October 2022 CO2 emission intensity of German businesses decreased again in 2020
The total CO2 emission intensity of all economic sectors amounted to 205 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per 1,000 euros of gross value added in 2020, which is 8.4% less than a year earlier. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports …
Press Release
Press release No. 423 of 6 October 2022 Coach industry 2020 and 2021: number of passengers down 77% from before the pandemic
Much smaller numbers of people travelled longer distances by coach in the Covid years of 2020 and 2021 than before the pandemic. The number of coach passengers (excluding regular services) was down by more than three fourths (-77%) in each of the two …
Press Release
Press release No. 418 of 4 October 2022 Electric mobility accounting for almost 30% of turnover in air quality control
In 2020, the establishments of the industry and service sectors in Germany generated a turnover of roughly 11.7 billion euros from goods and services for air quality control, or 14.8% of total turnover in environmental protection (78.9 billion …
Press Release
Press release No. 415 of 30 September 2022 Structural survey of forestry holdings, 2022: 43% of German forests privately owned
There are approximately 10.2 million hectares of wooded area in Germany, according to the first comprehensive structural survey of forestry holdings conducted in 2022. 4.4 million hectares, or 43% of the wooded area, are owned by roughly 760,000 …
Press Release
Press release No. 409 of 26 September 2022 Number of green jobs up 2.0% in 2020
In 2020, approximately 311,000 people (measured in full-time equivalents) in Germany had green jobs and produced goods and services to protect the environment. Compared with 2019, the number of green jobs rose by 6,000, or 2.0%, according to the …
Press Release
Press release No. 405 of 22 September 2022 Industry increases environmental investments by 3.6% in 2020
Enterprises in industry (excluding construction) invested just under 12.1 billion euros in environmental protection in Germany in 2020. That was 13.5% of their total investments. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that industry thus …
Press Release
Press release No. 401 of 21 September 2022 Number of bus and rail passengers up by just over a third in the 1st half of 2022
Considerably more passengers used regular bus or rail transport services in the first half of 2022 than in the same period a year earlier. Based on provisional results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the number of passengers …
Press Release
Press release No. N 057 of 12 September 2022 Petrol and diesel fuel cost more in Germany again than in all neighbouring EU countries
As the fuel discount ended, motor fuel prices in Germany went up once more, with filling stations in Germany again charging more for petrol and diesel fuel recently than the petrol stations in all EU countries neighbouring Germany. Drivers in Germany …
Press Release
Press release No. 377 of 8 September 2022 9-euro ticket no longer on offer: rail travel back to pre-crisis level
When the 9-euro ticket for all of Germany was available from June to August 2022, people much more frequently took the train to travel distances of 30 kilometres and over than in the same period of 2019. The number of rail journeys recorded per day …
Press Release
Press release No. N056 of 8 September 2022 Gas heating planned for just under 16% of residential buildings approved in the 1st half of 2022
Gas for heating is becoming less important when new residential buildings are planned in Germany. 16.2% of the approximately 60,200 residential buildings approved in the first six months of 2022 will be heated primarily with gas, according to the …
Press Release
Press release No. 374 of 7 September 2022 Electricity production in the 1st half of 2022: coal-generated electricity up 17.2% on the same period a year earlier
Just under a third (31.4%) of the electricity produced and fed into the grid in Germany in the first half of 2022 came from coal-fired power plants. Based on provisional results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that coal-generated …
Press Release
Press release No. 352 of 18 August 2022 Good apple yield expected for 2022: ten-year average likely to be exceeded by 8.2%
Apples remain by far the largest group of orchard fruit harvested in Germany. The fruit growers expect a good apple yield of approximately 1,051,000 tonnes in 2022. Based on an estimate of July 2022, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports …
Press Release
Press release No. N 050 of 2 August 2022 13.7 million employees used the tax break for commuters in 2018
In the debate about providing relief for rising petrol prices, consideration is also being given to increasing the tax break for commuters. Based on tax declaration data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that roughly 13.7 million …
Press Release
Press release No. N048 of 29 July 2022 June 2022: number of air passengers more than tripled compared with June 2021
Approximately 16.3 million air passengers arrived at, or departed from, the 23 largest commercial airports in Germany in June 2022. Their number has more than tripled (+215.1%) compared with June 2021, according to the Federal Statistical Office ( …
Press Release
Press release No. N 044 of 21 July 2022 Facts on gas supply: natural gas is major energy source for industry and households
Since war broke out in Ukraine, attention has focused on the gas supply in Germany. This is the more so as hardly any natural gas from the Russian Federation has been delivered to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline since 11 July. Maintenance work …
Press Release
Press release No. 293 of 11 July 2022 Environmental industry: protection of species and landscapes accounting for only 0.4% of total turnover in 2020
Establishments of the industry and service sectors in Germany generated a turnover of approximately 305 million euros in 2020 from goods, services and construction operations for the protection of species and landscapes. The Federal Statistical …
Press Release
Press release No. 269 of 28 June 2022 Environmental protection as an economic factor: turnover up 7.2% in 2020
The establishments of the industry and service sectors in Germany generated a turnover of 78.9 billion euros from goods, services and construction operations for environmental protection in 2020. That is a 7.2% increase on a year earlier. The number …
Press Release
Press release No. N 039 of 27 June 2022 Petrol and diesel fuel currently more expensive in most countries neighbouring Germany
Petrol and diesel fuel cost less at German petrol stations recently than in most of the countries neighbouring Germany, or roughly the same, although motor fuel prices had been rising again after the “fuel discount” was introduced on 1 June 2022. …
Press Release
Press release No. 263 of 23 June 2022 Strongest greenhouse gas: purchases of sulphur hexafluoride up 1.4% in 2021
Substances affecting the climate have an impact on global warming and contribute to climate change. The strongest greenhouse gas known is sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), whose greenhouse potential is about 23,500 times the climate impact of carbon …
Press Release
Press release No. N 037 of 21 June 2022 2.2 million photovoltaic power stations installed in Germany
Increasing numbers of enterprises and households use solar energy for electricity production. In March 2022, there were 2.2 million photovoltaic power systems installed on roofs or the ground, providing a total net capacity of 58,400 megawatts. The …
Press Release
Press release No. 233 of 8 June 2022 Electricity production in the 1st quarter of 2022: coal again most important energy source
The major part of electricity produced and fed into the grid in Germany in the first quarter of 2022 came again from conventional energy sources. Based on provisional results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports, however, that the …
Press Release
Press release No. N 035 of 7 June 2022 25% less plastic waste exported in 2021 year on year
Germany exports markedly less plastic waste than a few years ago. In 2021, just over 766,200 tonnes of plastic waste was exported from Germany – that is one quarter less (-25.2%) than in 2020. At the time, just over one million tonnes had been …
Press Release
Press release No. 229 of 3 June 2022 Volume of waste slightly down in Covid year 2020
In the Covid year of 2020, 414.0 million tonnes of waste was disposed of in Germany, according to provisional results. This was a decline of 0.6% or 2.5 million tonnes compared with 2019. To coincide with the World Environment Day on 5 June 2022, the …
Press Release
Press release No. N 031 of 23 May 2022 Ticket prices in short-distance transport up 19% on 2015
In view of sharp rises in energy costs, the Federal Government intends to make public short-distance passenger transport more attractive by introducing a temporary 9-euro ticket. Significant rise in short-distance passenger transport prices since …
Press Release
Press release No. N 028 of 16 May 2022 Retail turnover with bicycles at high level also in 2021
Popular leisure activity in Covid-19 times or a contribution to the mobility transition – the trend towards cycling continues to produce high levels of turnover in retail trade. The all-time high of 2020 was however not exceeded in 2021, one of the …
Press Release
Press release No. N 025 of 9 May 2022 Upward trend for meat substitutes continued: production increased by 17% in 2021 year on year
Tofu sausage, seitan steak and veggie burger – the market for vegetarian and vegan alternatives to meat is booming. In 2021, businesses in Germany produced nearly 17.0% more meat substitute products than a year earlier and the production increased by …
Press Release
Press release No. 170 of 14 April 2022 All-time high of timber logged in 2021
In 2021 a total of 83.0 million cubic metres of timber was logged in German forests. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the volume of timber logged rose by 3.2% compared with the previous record high of 80.4 million cubic metres …
Press Release
Press release No. N 018 of 6 April 2022 Skin cancer led to 81% more hospital treatments in 2020 and 53% more deaths than in 2000
Climate change is not only a danger to nature and the environment but can also be a growing health risk for humans. In the context of a changing climate, excessive UV radiation and sunburns, for example, can be possible causes of diseases such as …
Press Release
Press release No. 120 of 18 March 2022 International Day of Forests: large quantities of timber damaged by draught and insects in 2020
The amount of timber logged in Germany because of forest damage was 60.1 million cubic metres in 2020, three fourths (75%) of the total volume of 80.4 million cubic metres. To coincide with the International Day of Forests on 21 March 2022, the …
Press Release
Press release No. 116 of 17 March 2022 Electricity production in 2021: markedly higher proportion of conventional energy sources
The major part of electricity produced and fed into the grid in Germany in 2021 came from conventional energy sources. Based on provisional results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the production of electricity from …
Press Release
Press release No. 108 of 14 March 2022 Per capita packaging waste up by 6 kilograms in Covid year 2020
78 kilograms of packaging waste per capita were collected from households in Germany in the Covid year of 2020. That was an average increase of 6 kilograms per person on 2019. According to provisional results of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis …
Press Release
Press release No. N 007 of 16 February 2022 Building permits: two thirds of new residential buildings to be heated with renewable energy
Nowadays builders in Germany much more often opt for renewable energies as the main energy source when planning new residential buildings. Two thirds (65.5%) of the 118,000 residential buildings for which building permits were issued between January …
Press Release
Press release No. 058 of 11 February 2022 Recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment up 11.2% in 2020
In 2020, 1,037,000 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment were recycled, otherwise recovered or disposed of in Germany. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the quantity of waste equipment that was accepted for …
Press Release
Press release No. 022 of 17 January 2022 Potential greenhouse effect of fluorinated greenhouse gases used in 2020 down 14% on a year earlier
The potential greenhouse effect of the fluorinated greenhouse gases used in Germany in 2020 (FCs, HFCs, blends) fell by 14% on 2019. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that approximately 6,262 tonnes of these greenhouse gases were …
Press Release
Press release No. 012 of 10 January 2022 Apple yields again at a high level, plum yields down by 14% in 2021
Apples remain by far the largest group of orchard fruit harvested in Germany. Based on final harvest results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that approximately 1.0 million tonnes of apples were harvested in 2021. The harvested …
Press Release
Press release No. 584 of 20 December 2021 Per capita household waste up by 19 kilograms in Covid year 2020
The volume of waste produced by households in Germany rose considerably in the Covid year of 2020. According to provisional data of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), a total of 39.6 million tonnes of waste were collected from households.That …
Press Release
Press release No. 572 of 14 December 2021 Electricity production in the 3rd quarter of 2021: coal again most important energy source
The major part of electricity produced and fed into the grid in Germany in the third quarter of 2021 came again from conventional energy sources. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the production of electricity from conventional …
Press Release
Press release No. 568 of 13 December 2021 Average proceeds from sales of electricity and gas to households up 5.4% and 2.3%, respectively, in 2020
In 2020, energy suppliers in Germany received an average 26.6 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity they sold to household customers. According to provisional results of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this was a 5.4% increase compared …
Press Release
Press release No. 526 of 18 November 2021 New digital atlas shows ecosystems in Germany
There is a wide variety of ecosystems in Germany whose sizes vary considerably between regions. Their great importance for climate protection and biodiversity is increasingly a focus of public attention. The Ecosystem Atlas (only in German) of the …
Press Release
Press release No. N064 of 26 October 2021 Industrial investments in climate protection grew more than twofold within ten years
The German industry increasingly invests in climate protection. Enterprises in industry (excluding construction) spent a total of 3.46 billion euros in 2019 on systems which prevent emissions or enable resources to be used more carefully. As a …