A leader in the European transition to a decarbonized society, Germany has set ambitious targets for its contribution to the global fight against climate change. Achieving these targets requires significant investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By compiling data from a wide range of sources, we create the most comprehensive snapshot to-date of the current state of German climate finance. Our research suggests that EUR 37 billion, or 1.5% of GDP, was invested in 2010 to support the German transition to a low-carbon economy. The private sector provided more than 95% of this finance. Corporations invested EUR 22 billion, while private households invested a significant EUR 14 billion. The public sector played an important role in supporting private investments; about half of the private investment was enabled by concessionary loans from development banks, mostly from KfW. Further public policies, such as the feed-in-tariff, have provided the underlying incentives to make private investments in climate mitigation attractive.