Germany is deleting over 500,000 emissions certificates: a climate milestone!

Germany is deleting over 500,000 emissions certificates: a climate milestone!

On June 25, 2025, Germany took an important step towards climate protection: for the first time, over 514,000 tons of CO2 certificates were deleted as part of the European Emissions Trading System. This measure was taken to sustainably secure the positive climate effect of the statutory coal phase-out, which is scheduled to take place by 2038. The deletion of the certificates is directly linked to the decommissioning of two power plant blocks in Neurath A and Frechen in 2022, which saved a total of around 890,000 tons of CO2 emissions. Windmesse reports that the deletion process is scheduled to take place from September to the end of 2025.

The measure complements the market stability reserve (MSR) in European emissions trading, which controls the auction volumes and has already withdrawn some of the certificates that are released. This is a deliberate attempt to prevent the so-called “waterbed effect”, where savings in one area could be offset by emissions in another country or sector. According to previous estimates, 55% of the CO2 savings could be negated by emissions in other countries.

The role of the coal phase-out

In a study by the CLICCS Cluster of Excellence at the University of Hamburg, the climate impact of the planned coal phase-out by 2038 is comprehensively analyzed. Study author Prof. Grischa Perino highlights that many national climate protection measures are often not properly coordinated with EU emissions trading. The coal phase-out could actually reduce overall emissions in the EU, but only if the federal government continues to delete emissions rights. In keeping with the analysis, Perino says: “The coal phase-out is a good example of overlapping climate policies.” [CLICCS reports that close coordination between national and European initiatives is urgently needed.

The challenges are manifold: There is a risk of an “internal CO2 leak”, whereby other countries may compensate for the closed coal-fired power plants in Germany by increasing production, which reduces the positive effects of the savings. A simultaneous fall in the price of emissions rights can also lead to other sectors recording higher emissions. This highlights the importance of the market stability reserve, which can currently limit the waterbed effect but may soon be deactivated. [IDW highlights that](https://nachrichten.idw-online.de/2025/04/14/neue-studie-zum-eu-emissionshandel-was-bring-der-kohleausstieg- aktuell-fuers-klima) national measures would be significantly less effective without the MSR.

Practical measures for climate protection

What can citizens do to support the climate? According to the experts, simple things like eating less meat or being conscious about electricity consumption are already helpful steps. They also recommend four important rules of thumb for effective climate protection measures: checking the activity of the MSR, implementing measures quickly, reducing the demand for dirty electricity and ultimately deleting emissions rights as soon as the MSR is no longer active. This is the only way the coal phase-out can actually have its intended effect.

The coming months will be crucial in adapting the auction calendar to the deletions of emissions rights, with an announcement to this effect expected in July. The coal phase-out is well on the way, but without coordinated measures and adherence to extinction strategies, success is at risk.