Per capita consumption in Germany by population group

Study on consumption-related greenhouse gas emissions based on the UBA CO2 calculator

With its CO₂ calculator, the German Federal Environment Agency provides the public with a tool that allows everyone to calculate their own carbon footprint in the areas of housing, mobility, nutrition, other consumption, and public emissions. The underlying data and factors are updated by KlimAktiv and ifeu at the turn of each year. With its high usage figures, the CO₂ calculator is a widely used survey tool and can therefore provide valuable insights for science. The project “Per capita consumption in Germany by population group” includes the work program for the annual update of the CO₂ calculator until 2028 as well as the following development priorities:

Further development of the calculator

As part of the project, the UBA CO₂ calculator family will be expanded to include a household calculator so that the footprint for entire families can be calculated. In addition, the tools for estimating electricity and heating energy consumption will be revised and adapted to new realities (electromobility, heat pumps, and efficiency improvements in household appliances). The composition of district heating and the allocation of emissions from the manufacture of buildings and vehicles will be better represented in the future. Currently, the CO2 footprints of some products from the “Other consumption” category can be calculated individually. An extension of this function to other product groups is being examined as part of the project.

Comparative data (with other population groups)

It is important for users of the CO2 calculator to compare themselves with people in similar circumstances. To this end, we are developing comparative values for specific population groups. Certain living conditions have a significant impact on the footprint: income, household size, place of residence, and others. These should be taken into account when developing personas.

The Environmental Awareness Study could be used for this purpose. It compares socioeconomic and sociocultural factors and surveys on environmental behavior with a carbon footprint. The latter has previously been collected separately as part of the Environmental Awareness Study. This project examines whether the CO2 calculator can be used to quantify the carbon footprint as part of the Environmental Awareness Study. Two survey phases are intended to generate sufficient data sets to allow the development of personas as a basis for comparison.
 

Influence of people with higher incomes

Another aspect examined in the project concerns the average carbon footprint of the German population in the CO2 calculator. We are investigating the hypothesis of whether and to what extent the average value is statistically distorted, as the average CO2 emissions are derived from environmental economic data and population groups with exceptional consumption behavior thus have a greater influence on the value than people with average expenditure.
 

Time series of per capita emissions

For the years since 1950, the average per capita emissions for the various sectors of the CO2 calculator are compiled, determined, and, if necessary, estimated. The time series thus also enables calculations over many years, including estimates of how many CO2 emissions a person has caused in the course of their life.