Germany: presentation of the national roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels by 2045

Germany has become the third country, after France and the Netherlands, to present a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, a goal it aims to achieve by 2045, according to a statement from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment on 23/09/2026.

“We hope to set an example on the international stage with our roadmap. I am convinced that many other countries will follow,” said Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider, who presented the document at the United Nations in New York.

The roadmap sets out that Germany will achieve climate neutrality by 2045 and will be able to operate efficiently and economically without relying on fossil fuels, by relying on renewable energy to generate electricity and on the electrification of transport, heating and industrial processes.

In 2024, fossil fuels still accounted for 65 per cent of Germany’s energy consumption: oil (36 per cent), natural gas (24 per cent) and coal (5 per cent). 98 per cent of oil and 95 per cent of natural gas were imported, at a total cost of €76 billion, a figure that has been rising since the Iranian crisis.

Target…