Article at a glance:

Cutting carbon, not economic growth: Germany's path

• By 2020, Germany could eliminate 30 percent of its 1990 level of greenhouse gas emissions, without curbing economic growth.
• The country has already eliminated 17 percent of its 1990 level of emissions, largely by restructuring and modernizing the high-emissions power and industrial sectors of the former East Germany.
• A study found that Germany could achieve most of the remaining cuts needed for a 30 percent reduction by increasing the use of renewable energy and implementing measures (such as better insulation in buildings) that would not only improve energy efficiency but also pay off for investors.
• Cuts of more than 30 percent, however, could involve difficult trade-offs on issues such as nuclear power and the international competitiveness of Germany’s energy-intensive industries.