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Daniel Wetzel of online German daily Die Welt here writes Germany is hosting 1200 experts from 93 countries at its Foreign Affairs Ministry in Berlin to discuss reductions in global “climate gas” emissions and “climate protection”.

But there is one small, highly embarrassing problem with the event: host Germany has not been able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the past 8 years, despite tens of billions invested in green energy. Last year German CO2 emissions in fact rose by some 6 million tonnes, from 902 million tonnes in 2015 to 908 million tonnes.

Die Welt’s Wetzel reports that the timing of the news “couldn’t be worse” and that it is “embarrassing” for host Germany which was once considered a shining example of how to transition over to a clean energy economy.

The reality id that most of Germany’s reductions since 1990 resulted from the shutting down the filthy communist-run industries in former East Germany — something that was achieved by modern industry. Very little progress has in fact been made since 2000, when the renewable energy drive began in earnest — despite the now over 1 trillion euros committed thus far.

German skeptic site Science Skeptical here presents Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 tonnes since 1990, when german reunification took place:

German greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent in millions of tonnes) have not fallen since 2009. Source: Science Skeptical, German Office of Environment, UBA

Die Welt’s Wetzel not only writes that Germany’s progress in reductions is embarrassing, but that the country will also surely miss its 2020 reductions target of 40%. Currently Germany has cut reductions by 27.6%, and that has not gone anywhere since 2009. Again, the lion’s share of reductions came from shutting down East German communist-run industry.

The Berlin climate summit will be joined by leading German federal ministers from Angela Merkel’s government, such as Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Economics Minister Brigitte Zypries and Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, all from Merkel’s coalition SPD socialist partner. There’s no mention if any minister from Merkel’s CDU party will bother attending.

Wetzel writes that if the global community wishes to meet its 2050 targets, the rate at which renewable energy gets installed will have to increase 7-fold!

As Science Skeptical writes that is likely not going to happen as the planet continues to gallop from one emissions record to another.

Global emissions set a new record in 2015. Source: German Office of Environment, UBA.

The claim by climate activists that the world can wean itself off fossil fuels is nothing more than a pie-in-the-sky illusion.