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Renewable Energy Made Up 62.7% of Germany’s Electricity in 2024

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09 Jan, 2025

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

Renewables are now making up a majority of the net public electricity generation in Germany, according to a new report by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE).

As Fraunhofer ISE reported, renewable energy sources accounted for 62.7% of the net public electricity generated in Germany in 2024. Wind energy made up the most of this share, comprising 33% of net public electricity generation at 136.4 terawatt hours (TWh). While onshore wind energy declined slightly, offshore wind power increased to 25.7 TWh compared to 2023’s 23.5 TWh.

Meanwhile, solar power in Germany reached a new record of 72.2 TWh in 2024 and exceeded the country’s photovoltaic target to install 13 gigawatts (GW) of solar for 2024, with 13.3 GW installed by November 2024 and an estimated 15.9 GW installed by the end of the year. 

Total solar power production increased by 18% compared to 2023, and solar energy made up 14% of the total net public electricity generation, according to Fraunhofer ISE. 

Solar expansion and production increased rapidly last year, despite weather conditions that were often not ideal for solar power generation, PV Magazine reported. While Germany experienced its hottest year on record, as Yahoo! reported, the country experienced heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in July, which was also the month with the most solar energy production of 2024. Heavy rain and storms continued into the fall.

The Odervorland wind farm in Brandenburg, Germany on Oct. 24, 2024. Patrick Pleul / picture alliance via Getty Images

In addition to rising renewables, reliance on hard coal and lignite for public electricity generation declined by 27.6% and 8.4%, respectively. Lignite, or brown coal, is one of the most polluting and carbon-emitting types of coal to use for power generation, according to Greenpeace. Reducing the combustion of lignite and hard coal in favor of renewables is helping to lower emissions in Germany.

“Due to the increasing share of renewable energies and the decline in coal-fired power generation, electricity generation is lower in CO2 emissions than ever before; since 2014, emissions from electricity generation have halved (from 312 to approx. 152 million tons of CO2 per year),” Fraunhofer ISE stated. “Carbon dioxide emissions from German electricity generation were 58 percent lower than at the start of data collection in 1990.”

While renewable energy expansion and generation is on the rise in Germany, the country still has more targets to meet to reach its overall clean energy goals. According to Fraunhofer ISE, onshore wind expansion, which met 2.44 GW installed for 2024, fell behind schedule of the 7 GW planned. Further, while lignite consumption declined, it still provided 71.1 TWh for net public electricity generation, nearly the same amount as solar. Natural gas consumption for electricity also increased 9.5% in 2024 compared to 2023.

To boost the continued increase in renewable energy capacity and reduce the use of fossil fuels, Germany has worked to expand battery storage. In 2024, the country increased installed battery capacity from 8.6 GW to 12.1 GW. Storage capacity increased from 12.7 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 17.7 GWh.

The German Federal Government has set a target for carbon-neutrality by 2045 as well as goals to end coal-fired power generation and meet 80% of gross electricity consumption with renewable energy sources by 2030, as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reported. In June 2024, the government’s climate advisors announced the country was not on track to meet its 2030 goals, Reuters reported.

The post Renewable Energy Made Up 62.7% of Germany’s Electricity in 2024 appeared first on EcoWatch.

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Strengthening Community Resilience through Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products

Strengthening Community Resilience through Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products

Strengthening Community Resilience through Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products
jschoshinski
Thu, 01/16/2025 – 18:32

In Zimbabwe, deforestation and habitat loss are not only threatening the country’s biodiversity and ability to mitigate climate change, but also threatening individuals’ livelihoods and their ability to adapt to climate change. Of the nearly 6,000 species of indigenous plants found in the country, some 900 of them are traditionally used as food, cosmetics, or medicine. These non-timber forest products (NTFPs) serve as supplemental sources of income for approximately 60 percent of rural households, providing an important source of income diversification as changes in rainfall—in part due to climate change—threaten traditional agricultural activities. By generating income for rural communities, Zimbabwe’s NTFPs offer a market-led approach to boosting climate resilience. 
The Economic Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products in Zimbabwe 
In the landscapes where the USAID Resilience ANCHORS Activity works, one in six people, mostly women, rely on forests and wilderness areas for their livelihoods. Resilience ANCHORS supports community-led initiatives and locally prioritized interventions, including conserving forests and developing value chains for key NTFPs, such as Ximenia, mongongo nuts, wooden banana, marula, Kalahari melon seed, and rosella. Forest-based resources from remote, semi-arid regions can contribute up to 35 percent of rural incomes, while NTFP products like thatching grass, wild plant foods, mushrooms, honey, and mopane worms have an estimated annual subsistence value (i.e, the value associated with people using the products to support themselves rather than selling the products) of $294.3 million. Conserving these natural resources leads to strengthened livelihoods and healthier, more stable communities by supporting income diversification, which helps agricultural communities adapt to the impacts of climate change on crop yields.
Using Laws and Regulations to Strengthen Community Resilience
While NTFPs are vital resources for local communities, the lack of transparent laws and regulations has led to overexploitation and missed business opportunities. Limited awareness of the regulatory framework among stakeholders and community members exacerbates this issue. Resilience ANCHORS has supported the formation of NTFP collector groups that have developed formal governance structures, but the next objective is creating long-term sustainability through a robust legal framework that protects the environment and promotes community wellbeing. 
Sustainable harvesting remains critical for the long-term viability of Zimbabwe’s NTFPs, forests, and environment. Resilience ANCHORS, in collaboration with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Local Government and the Environmental Management Agency, conducted workshops to build awareness of the legislative challenges and foster dialogue. This resulted in the drafting of NTFP Model Bylaw, which seeks to address three key goals:

Fill gaps in the legal framework: Outline benefit-sharing mechanisms to foster fair trade practices, as community ownership and management of NTFPs ensures equitable distribution among stakeholders. 
Promote sustainability: Develop permits to control harvesting, trade volumes, and fees to generate revenue for conservation efforts and capacity-building initiatives.
Provide clear guidelines for NTFP harvesting and benefit-sharing: Specify sustainable harvesting quantities and methods to prevent over-harvesting and safeguard resources for future generations. 

The NTFP Model Bylaw will result in:

Enhanced community resilience through sustainable NTFP management by promoting sustainable livelihoods, environmental conservation, and social cohesion. 
Clarified benefit-sharing mechanisms to reduce exploitation and promote transparency, fairness, and community ownership. 
Informed climate-resilient natural resource management by promoting sustainable harvesting, conserving biodiversity, and enhancing ecosystem resilience. 

Effective implementation of these regulations requires collaboration, capacity-building, and regular monitoring. If adopted and implemented successfully, these regulations could help grow NTFP activities in a way that increases livelihoods and builds community resilience to climate change in Zimbabwe.

Teaser Text
By generating income for rural communities, Zimbabwe’s NTFPs offer a market-led approach to boosting climate resilience.

Publish Date
Thu, 01/16/2025 – 12:00

Author(s)

Itayi Usaiwevhu

Hero Image
Rosella harvest (1).JPG

Blog Type
Blog Post

Strategic Objective

Adaptation

Region

Africa

Topic

Adaptation
Agriculture
Biodiversity Conservation
Deforestation and Commodity Production
Economic Growth
Forest/Forestry
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
Natural Climate Solutions
Resilience
Rural

Country

Zimbabwe

Sectors

Adaptation
Agriculture and Food Systems

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