Germany emitted less carbon dioxide in 2011 than a year earlier, even as Germany accelerated its planned exit from low-carbon nuclear power generation and saw high industrial activity in a booming economy, said the country's emissions authority Monday.

In a written statement the emissions watchdog said that the 1,640 plants from the industrial and energy sectors that are subject to the European Union's emissions trading scheme, known as ETS, emitted around 450 million metric tons of CO2 in 2011, around 1% less than in the year before.

Citing preliminary calculations, the watchdog said that emissions from energy generation plants in particular fell last year.

The decrease in emissions comes despite Germany 's drastic nuclear energy policy shift after the Fukushima reactor accidents in Japan . The decision to accelerate the nuclear exit resulted in the immediate shut-down of nearly half of Germany 's reactors. Industry observers had feared that CO2 emissions would rise as a result as nuclear reactor operators had to switch to fossil-fueled power plants to cover the shortfall in nuclear power production.

"With a view to the strong growth of the German economy of around 3% in 2011 it becomes clear that the emissions trading sector has helped improve [ Germany 's] carbon intensity," said Jochen Flasbarth, president of the Federal Environment Agency that is in charge of the CO2 emissions watchdog.
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