Germany greenhouse gas emissions from buildings
Germany greenhouse gas emissions from buildings stood at 103.37 million t CO₂e in 2025, according to German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA). It is one of the indicators in the Greenhouse gas emissions table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 1990 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Greenhouse gas emissions table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total greenhouse gases excluding LULUCF | 648.87 | 649.77 | 669.58 | 749.27 | 762.77 | 730.97 | 798 | 850.14 | 886.28 | 899.03 | |
| Buildings | 103.37 | 100 | 102.36 | 111.31 | 117.96 | 121.56 | 123.48 | 117.69 | 122.98 | 124.16 | |
| Transport | 146.31 | 144.18 | 144.48 | 148.07 | 146.81 | 145.9 | 163.62 | 162.64 | 167.28 | 163.89 |
Understanding germany greenhouse gas emissions from buildings
On-site fossil fuel burning for space heating, domestic hot water, and cooking in residential households and commercial properties constitutes the scope of this indicator. Covered energy sources include natural gas, heating oil, liquefied gas, and solid mineral fuels burned inside on-site furnaces and boilers. It excludes indirect emissions resulting from electricity consumption and municipal district heating, which are attributed to the energy industry row where generation takes place. Industrial production halls and agricultural facilities with separate heating installations are likewise omitted, as they belong to the industry and agriculture sectors respectively.
Winter temperature severity strongly dictates annual movements in this series, making unadjusted figures prone to masking efficiency trends whenever mild winters occur. Heating degree day adjustments are helpful for interpreting the numbers because an unusually cold winter elevates heating fuel combustion despite improvements in building insulation. Preliminary releases utilize fuel delivery statistics and temperature measurements, which can misalign with actual consumption when households adjust their storage tank inventories ahead of heating seasons. Final revisions incorporate dealer inventory adjustments and definitive household energy consumption surveys. Consequently, multi-year assessments provide a far more dependable reflection of thermal renovation progress than single-year comparisons.
Frequently asked questions
- Are heat pumps included in the building sector emissions row?
- Because heat pumps operate on electricity, their operational emissions are accounted for at the power plant level under the energy industry sector rather than in this row.
- How do fluctuations in heating oil purchases affect annual building emissions figures?
- Deliveries of heating oil to residential tanks are recorded when purchased, meaning inventory stockpiling can cause reported figures to diverge from actual fuel burned during that calendar period.
- Why should building emissions figures be considered alongside weather data?
- Cold winter conditions require greater fuel combustion for space heating, which can temporarily obscure structural improvements in building insulation and heating technology.