For 2022, Germany managed a 39 per cent reduction from 1990 levels, Agora calculated.
The setback comes despite a record 4.7 per cent drop in energy consumption last year, partly in response to soaring fuel prices because of the war in Ukraine.
But the energy saving gains were wiped out by the government’s decision to burn more coal and oil to make up for the loss of Russian natural gas deliveries, Agora said.
The turn to fossil fuels also overshadowed another milestone: renewables accounted for 46 per cent of Germany’s power supply mix last year, an all-time high.
The increase was mainly down to favourable weather conditions for wind and solar power, Agora said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed repeatedly that the return to fossil fuels is a temporary measure sparked by an energy crisis, and that his government remains committed to combatting global warming.
Germany still aims to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2045.
But Agora said Berlin needed to drastically ramp up the expansion of renewables this year.
To meet key targets set for 2030, Germany would have to double its solar energy production and more than triple wind power capacity.
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