Policy Brief: Setting and Implementing Sectoral Climate Targets in Germany

Most major emitting countries around the world have ratified the Paris Agreement and communicated emissions reduction targets in their nationally determined contributions (NDC). While the international climate policy discourse mainly relates to national level targets, implementation of climate action largely takes place at the sectoral and subnational levels. Countries take different approaches to translate national targets to the sectoral and/or subnational level to ensure climate policy implementation. Different methods and principles can be applied when disaggregating national targets to ensure fairness and effectiveness. Approaches to determine shares of emission targets or carbon budgets can be based on criteria such as economic capacity (GDP), population, or historic responsibility or be derived from greenhouse gas emissions pathways. In China, the national government sets overarching emissions reductions targets for the country and distributes it to its 31 provinces. In contrast, in Germany the national target is distributed to the sector level, with monitoring, compliance and flexibility mechanism in place to ensure targets are met, even in extraordinary, unforeseen circumstances such as the current energy crisis. The objective of this policy brief is to outline how Germany distributes its national target to the sector level, including the monitoring, compliance and flexibility mechanisms that underpin the process. The overarching aim is to derive key lessons to inform the Chinese climate policy governance approach as insights from Germany’s target setting system are considered to be useful for both the national and subnational governments in China. Provincial governments in particular could benefit from Germany’s experience with distributing economy-wide targets to its sectors.