Berlin – November 03, 2026 -- German livestock farming emits 1.18 million tonnes of methane a year, the second-highest total in European animal husbandry, according to an analysis by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), the University of Oxford and the Changing Markets Foundation. Germany also ranks third in Europe for ammonia emissions, at 443,800 tonnes.
Weser-Ems emits more than twice the ammonia of Schleswig-Holstein
The study looks at methane and ammonia together to locate regions where both burdens overlap. Weser-Ems in Lower Saxony is the key German hotspot. The region emits 74,600 tonnes of agricultural ammonia a year, against 34,190 tonnes in Schleswig-Holstein.
Livestock methane in Weser-Ems reaches 149,170 tonnes, roughly half as much again as in Schleswig-Holstein (102,490 tonnes), the region with Germany's second-highest output. Cattle account for about 84 percent of Weser-Ems methane emissions.
EU Industrial Emissions Directive covers pig and poultry farms but not cattle
Pig and poultry operations fall under the directive, which provides binding ammonia limits and measures to cut methane. Cattle farming, the main source of livestock methane, is exempt. DUH wants large cattle farms brought into the directive with binding ammonia and methane reduction requirements.
DUH Federal Managing Director Jürgen Resch criticized the European Commission's environmental omnibus package. He said it would exempt further poultry farms from the directive and weaken reporting duties for large pig and poultry farms. He called on the federal government to block further rollbacks and enforce binding rules for cattle farming.
Germany must cut ammonia 29 percent by 2030 as air-quality litigation continues
Under the EU National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive, Germany must reduce ammonia emissions by 29 percent by 2030 against 2005 levels. DUH won a 2024 lawsuit over the government's inadequate national air pollution control programme. The Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenburg ordered a fundamental overhaul.
The federal government appealed instead of implementing the ruling. The case is now before the Federal Administrative Court, which has referred key questions on enforcing EU air-quality rules to the European Court of Justice.
DUH cites methane's warming effect at more than 80 times that of CO2 over 20 years. It says ammonia contributes to PM2.5 fine particulate formation, which raises respiratory and cardiovascular risk in heavily affected regions.