Germany aims to be a pioneer in green energy and to fight climate change. Yet recent data suggest that the country has failed to meet its own climate goals. Following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Germany’s “National Sustainable Development Strategy” aimed at a 40 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions between 1990 and 2020. But emissions will not reach the target, having stalled at 73 percent of the 1990 level since around 2010 and even increased in many regions. The government’s latest progress report states that the 2020 goal is not reachable.