Climate investment in the business sector in Germany fell by just under 8% in real terms to EUR 80 billion in 2024. This is one of the findings of the 2025 KfW Climate Barometer. The decline in investment was driven by large enterprises. Compared with the previous year, they reduced their climate investments by 18.5% on an inflation-adjusted basis. The difficult global economic environment, growing international competitive pressure and changed priorities likely put the brakes on large enterprises’ climate commitments. SMEs, on the other hand, expanded their total investment in climate action last year (+7.8% in real terms). The survey shows that economic and financial aspects as well as lengthy approval procedures continue to pose the most urgent barriers to companies’ investments in climate-related measures. Businesses’ main plea to policymakers is to lower electricity prices to support climate investment.

KfW Climate Barometer 2025(PDF, 877 KB, accessible)

Further information of the KfW Climate Barometer

Press release