Germany has seen a second year of significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, as coal use fell by more than 20 percent and renewables production increased, preliminary calculations by energy research group AG Energiebilanzen show. While the country’s overall energy use declined more than 2 percent compared to 2018, energy-related CO2 emissions even fell by about 7 percent. The data confirms projections from earlier this year and means Germany is edging closer to fulfilling its 2020 climate target than widely expected, according to Clean Energy Wire.

Germany’s primary energy consumption has declined by 2.3 percent in 2019 and a “particularly strong decline” in coal use and rising renewables production has significantly pushed down greenhouse gas emissions for the second year in a row, according to preliminary calculations by energy research group AG Energiebilanzen (AGEB).

“We expect CO2 emissions to fall markedly by a good 7 percent or 50 million tonnes, adjusted for temperature effects and changes in stocks,” the researchers wrote.