Development of the specific greenhouse gas emissions of the German electricity mix in the years 1990-2021

Every year, the Federal Environment Agency calculates indicators for all interested users that characterise the climate compatibility of electricity generation and the development from 1990 onwards. Since, according to international balancing requirements, all emissions from electricity generation - i.e. including electricity trade surpluses - are to be attributed to the country in which they occur, the emissions of the German electricity mix increase in line with the electricity trade balance. The indicator "direct CO${}_2$ emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity" that takes these balance limits into account is referred to as the "emission factor for the German electricity mix". In the course of the update, specific greenhouse gas emission factors with and without upstream chain are shown for the first time for the electricity mix in the temporal development from 1990 to 2021.