by Bob Ciesielski, Energy Committee Co-Chair
During the presidential debate with Vice-President Kamala Harris in September, Donald Trump made several misstatements in one sentence which were not fact checked at the time. Trump said “Germany tried that (ending fracking and building renewable energy projects), and within a year, they were back to building normal energy projects.” The next day, the German government rebutted Trump.
Germany currently supplies more than 50% of its electricity from wind, solar, and hydropower renewable sources. During the first half of 2024, renewables provided over 57% of the nation's electricity. In its official statement, the German government confirmed that it closed its last nuclear plants last year, and is working to end all coal dependence by 2038. Despite having closed all its nuclear plants, the country has still reduced greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide and methane) more than 40% below 1990 levels. The government believes it will achieve its goal of a 65% GHG reduction by 2030.