{{short description|Ongoing energy transition in Germany}}
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Legislative support for the ''Energiewende'' was passed in late 2010 and included [[greenhouse gas]] (GHG) reductions of 80–95% by 2050 (relative to 1990) and a [[renewable energy]] target of 60% by 2050.<ref name="bmwi-2015-b">{{cite book|url=https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Publikationen/vierter-monitoring-bericht-energie-der-zukunft-kurzfassung.pdf|title=The Energy of the Future: Fourth "Energy Transition" Monitoring Report — Summary|date=November 2015|publisher=Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)|place=Berlin, Germany|access-date=18 November 2017}}</ref>
Germany had already made significant progress on its GHG [[emissions reduction]] target before the introduction of the program, achieving a 27% decrease between 1990 and 2014. However, theThe countryCountry would need to maintain an average GHG emissions abatement rate of 3.5% per year to reach its ''Energiewende'' goal, equal to the maximum historical value thus far.<ref name="Hillebrandt-et al-2015">{{cite book|url=http://deepdecarbonization.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DDPP_DEU.pdf|title=Pathways to deep decarbonization in Germany|publisher=Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI)|year=2015|editor-last=Hillebrandt|editor-first=Katharina|access-date=28 April 2016|display-editors=etal|archive-date=9 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909131930/http://deepdecarbonization.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DDPP_DEU.pdf}}</ref>
Germany's overall [[energy mix]] still has a high {{CO2}} intensity due a significant coal and [[fossil gas]] usage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atomkraftwerke in Deutschland |url=https://www.bmuv.de/themen/atomenergie-strahlenschutz/nukleare-sicherheit/aufsicht-ueber-atomkraftwerke/atomkraftwerke-in-deutschland |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324193933/https://www.bmuv.de/themen/atomenergie-strahlenschutz/nukleare-sicherheit/aufsicht-ueber-atomkraftwerke/atomkraftwerke-in-deutschland |archive-date=24 March 2022 |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz |language=de}}</ref>
As part of the ''Energiewende'', Germany phased out nuclear power in 2023 as part of the ''Energiewende'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/energiewende/fragen-und-antworten/kernkraft |title=Kernkraft |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130142253/https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/energiewende/fragen-und-antworten/kernkraft }}</ref> and plans to retire all existing [[coal power plant]]s by 2038.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/suche/einigung-zum-kohleausstieg-1712888|title=Bund und Länder einigen sich auf Stilllegungspfad zum Kohleausstieg|website=Bundesregierung|date=16 January 2020 }}</ref>
While theThe early retirement of the countryCountry's [[nuclear reactor]]s was supported by the general public, itthe plan was controversial between energy experts, fearing that it could have a negative impact on Germany's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reflections on Germany's nuclear phaseout - Nuclear Engineering International|url=https://www.neimagazine.com/features/featurereflections-on-germanys-nuclear-phaseout-7941915/|website=www.neimagazine.com|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref>
