Dax companies are emitting more CO2 again

Dusseldorf Bad news for climate protection: The 40 Dax companies increased their CO2 emissions in 2021 by six percent compared to the previous year. This is the result of an evaluation by the Handelsblatt based on the sustainability reports. In absolute terms, the emissions rose by almost 16.5 tons – that corresponds roughly to the CO2 balance of the city of Berlin.

“With the emissions in Germany in 2021, we are roughly back to the level of 2019,” says climate researcher Manfred Fischedick, scientific director of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. In 2020, global emissions fell for the first time since 1960 due to the corona crisis.

According to Fischedick, increasing CO2 emissions are to be expected in the coming years because the economy will have to replace the gas that is becoming scarce due to the Ukraine war with energy sources that are more harmful to the climate.