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A sluggish economy saw primary energy consumption in Germany fall to a historic low in 2023, according to from energy data service AG Energiebilanzen (AGEB). Germany consumed 10,791 petajoules (PJ) of energy, a drop of more than one quarter compared to 1990 levels, and down 7.9 percent on last year. Energy-related CO2 emissions fell by 10 percent this year as the country produced more of its power from renewables and overall consumption went down. The fall was largely in economic output– and a drop in energy-intensive production in particular – but warm weather and high energy prices also played a role, AEGB found.

The last German nuclear power plants went offline in April 2023, resulting in a drop of nuclear power consumption of almost 80 percent. Hard coal consumption was down nearly 17 percent, while electricity generation from renewable energies grew by around 5 percent. The fall in energy-related CO2 emissions this year amounted to 66 million tonnes, according to the AEGB figures.