Dear Sir or Madam,
The development of carbon emissions from the German electricity mix can certainly be described as positive. While 764 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour of electricity were emitted in 1990, last year the figure was only 363 grams, less than half. Ten years earlier, in 2014, the figure was 559 grams, and in the previous year, 2023, it was 386 grams. In 2022, the figure was 433 grams, according to the German Federal Environment Agency.
This development is particularly linked to the expansion of renewable energies, but also to the significant decline in electricity consumption. While consumption stood at 479 terawatt hours (TWh) in 1990, the year of German reunification, it rose steadily to 583 TWh by 2017. However, since 2018, electricity consumption has fallen for the first time to 573 TWh. In the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020, consumption reached a temporary low of 513 terawatt hours, followed by an increase to 529 TWh in 2021.
In 2022, the year the war in Ukraine began, however, there was another decline to 516 TWh, followed by a significant drop of 12% to 454 terawatt hours in the following year. This trend continued in 2024 with a further decline to 439 TWh, despite the significant increase in e-mobility in the transport sector and the increased use of heat pumps in buildings.
Since the peak in 2017, electricity consumption in Germany has fallen by a good quarter in the past year. Some people may be pleased about this, but such a sharp decline in electricity consumption is linked to a sharp decline in demand in industrial production, which could only be offset by rising inflation, as can be seen when comparing this with the development of gross domestic product.
Only a visible increase in German electricity consumption will signal a turnaround in the German economy and an end to the downturn.
This has a monocausal impact on total emissions and, consequently, on the price of European emission allowances, given that Germany is the EU’s largest economy.
From this perspective, emission allowances have rightly fallen from their high of over 100 euros per EUA to their current level of between 60 and 70 euros per tonne.
In the past trading week, which was shortened to four days, EUAs traded in a range between 63.61 and 67.63 euros in the December 25 benchmark contract and closed with a slight gain of 0.8% at 66.43 euros.
Due to the public holiday, only three auctions will take place at the EEX this week, from Monday to Wednesday, at which 8,563,500 EUAs will be auctioned. This represents a small increase of 5.74% compared to the previous week, in which only three auctions took place due to Easter Monday.
| Instrument | 17/04/25 | 25/04/25 | Change |
| EUA (December-25-Future) | 65.89 EUR | 66.43 EUR | +0.54 EUR |
| nEZ (national Emission Allowances (D)) | 55.00 EUR | 55.00 EUR | +0.00 EUR |
| UKA (December-25-Future (UK)) | 47.16 GBP | 47.46 GBP | +0.30 GBP |
| UK Natural Gas (December-25-Future) | 98.39 GBP | 89.82 GBP | -8.57 GBP |
| ICE Brent Crude Oil (December-25-Future) | 65.11 USD | 64.40 USD | -0.71 USD |
| EURO (Forex) | 1.1372 USD | 1.1363 USD | -0.0009 USD |
(EUA. UKA, Natural Gas, Crude Oil and Euro Currency shows day-end-exchange quotes of the benchmark contract. This market information has just an informational character and are no advice or offer to trade emission allowances or their futures and options. If you want to unsubscribe, please reply to this mail.)
Please call our international carbon desk if any further questions exist: +49.2831.1348220.
With kind regards,
Your Advantag – Team