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Legal Mandate

The Council of Experts on Climate Change is an independent scientific advisory panel. Established in September 2020, it plays a key role in monitoring German climate policy and implementing the Federal Climate Action Act. The Federal Climate Action Act is designed to ensure that Germany meets its national and European climate targets. Its purpose is to limit the rise in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius and, if possible, to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, so as to protect against the effects of global climate change.

According to the Federal Climate Action Act, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by at least 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and by at least 88 per cent by 2040. Germany is to achieve net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045 and negative greenhouse gas emissions after 2050.

The contributions to emission reductions are divided among the following sectors: energy, industry, buildings, transport, agriculture, waste management and others, as well as land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF). 

 

 

 

Under Sections 11 and 12 of the Federal Climate Action Act, the Council of Experts on Climate Change has the following tasks:

  • Review reports: Each year, the Expert Council reviews the emissions data for the previous year and the projection data up to 2030, as prepared by the Federal Environment Agency in March. [The Expert Council assesses the extent to which the historical and projected greenhouse gas emissions for the years 2021 to 2030 are above or below the total annual emissions budgets for this period according to the Federal Climate Action Act.] If the Council concludes in two consecutive years that the 2030 emissions budget will be exceeded, the Federal Government, in particular the ministries responsible for the overshooting sectors, is required to adopt additional climate action measures within the same year.
  • Biennial expertise: Every two years, the Expert Council publishes an expertise on previous developments in greenhouse gas emissions, on trends in the total annual emission budgets and annual emission budgets, and on the effectiveness of measures aimed at achieving Germany’s climate targets.
  • Opinions: Before implementing various measures, such as altering emission budgets, updating the Climate Action Plan, or adopting climate action programmes, the Federal Government obtains an opinion from the Expert Council.
  • Other: The Expert Council can produce expertises on the further development of appropriate climate action measures. In addition, the Bundestag or the Federal Government can task the Expert Council with special reports.
  • In its reports, the Expert Council also comments on the Federal Government’s stipulations regarding the social distributive effects, the economic viability and the effectiveness of climate action measures. 
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The current version of the Federal Climate Action Act, which was amended in July 2024, can be found here. 

 

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