Press | Umweltbundesamt

The European Commission has presented a draft regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides, which aims to drastically reduce their application. The German Environment Agency (UBA) welcomes the proposed regulation but believes its guidelines could be improved to ensure it works in practice. read more

The German Environment Agency (UBA) has been awarded the audit berufundfamilie certificate on 21 June 2022 in recognition of its efforts to foster a healthy family- and life-phase-conscious culture at the workplace. An online event to celebrate the award was attended by well-wishers. read more

Germany's roughly 1,730 fixed installations included in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) emitted around 355 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂-eq). This represents an 11% increase compared to 2020, meaning that the 2019 pre-pandemic level was only undercut by about 8 million tonnes of (CO₂-eq). read more

The German Environment Agency (UBA) has proposed aligning VAT more closely with ecological and social criteria. The core of the "Climate and Environment Relief Package" is to exempt plant-based staple foods such as fruit, vegetables, grain products and vegetable oils and public passenger transport from VAT altogether. read more

The German Prize for Nature Writing 2022 goes to Levin Westermann. Katharina Mevissen and Hannah Zufall each win a scholarship to attend the international Nature Writing Seminar by Stiftung Kunst und Natur in Bad Heilbrunn in autumn 2022. The award ceremony will take place in Berlin on Sunday, 28 August 2022. read more

Over 96 percent of German bathing waters were rated "excellent" or "good" by the EU Commission in the 2021 season. Overall, 98 percent of bathing waters on lakes, rivers and coasts in Germany met the minimum requirements of the EU Bathing Water Directive. read more

The Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) aims to help reorient and prioritize the application of digital technologies to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and waste. read more

The competition for the federal "Blauer Kompass" award for exemplary climate change adaptation projects has set a new record number of participants this year. Of the 240 entries received by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and German Environment Agency (UBA), 20 outstanding projects have now been nominated for the award. read more