Net-Zero CO₂ Germany : A Retrospect From the Year 2050

Germany 2050: For the first time Germany reached a balance between its sources of anthropogenic CO₂ to the atmosphere and newly created anthropogenic sinks. This backcasting study presents a fictional future in which this goal was achieved by avoiding (∼645 Mt CO₂), reducing (∼50 Mt CO₂) and removing (∼60 Mt CO₂) carbon emissions. This meant substantial transformation of the energy system, increasing energy efficiency, sector coupling, and electrification, energy storage solutions including synthetic energy carriers, sector-specific solutions for industry, transport, and agriculture, as well as natural-sink enhancement and technological carbon dioxide options. All of the above was necessary to achieve a net-zero CO₂ system for Germany by 2050.