Press | Umweltbundesamt

The European Commission has given the EMAS prize 2009 for environmental management to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). UBA has received first prize for its green public procurement. The jury was won over by the fact that since 2001, UBA has complied with high standards in its procurement of goods and services as well as in awarding contracts to suppliers, and places environmental protection a... read more

Berlin, 20 November 2009. Shortly before the start of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the voices of the Federal government’s key climate and policy consultants are pressing for a successful outcome to the conference. The effects of climate change have been more tangible than predicted just a few years ago. Mankind needs an ambitious follow-up treaty to Kyoto that defines clear and... read more

A new Internet site for municipalities provides immediate and completely free access to a test of how far along they are in matters of climate protection. The web site www.benchmark-kommunaler-klimaschutz.net allows municipalities to enter their key data on energy, mobility and waste and see where their strengths and weaknesses lie in the fight against the greenhouse effect. Fully automatically a... read more

After tough international negotiations substantial progress towards an international agreement against biopiracy was achieved in Montreal, Canada on 15 November 2009. The goal of the envisaged agreement is to ensure a more equitable distribution of the economic benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. "I am happy about this breakthrough in the negotiations. It cannot be that industriali... read more

Detecting and avoiding waste of power is the purpose of the Energiesparkiste (energy savings kit), which the Federal Environment Agency developed in 2007 together with the Aktion No-Energy for use at schools. The newly updated kit is now available. read more

Schoolchildren, teaching staff and parents are looking forward to the imminent refurbishment which will take place in their schools. Funds from the federal government incentive programme have been earmarked to improve the learning environment, in particular in older school buildings. The federal funds allotted for remediation, modernisation and refurbishment work will not only make schools more be... read more

Heute und morgen treffen sich rund 200 Vertreterinnen und Vertreter aus lokalen Nachhaltigkeitsinitiativen, Verwaltung, Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft in Köln zum 3. Bundesweiten Netzwerk- und Fortbildungskongress für Nachhaltigkeitsinitiativen. Sie beraten darüber, wie Nachhaltigkeitspolitik optimiert werden kann, Nachhaltigkeitsstrategien eine höhere Verbindlichkeit erhalten und durch Umsetzung in... read more

Protecting the environment against harmful influences such as chemicals would not be possible without the United Nations. Under the auspices of the UN Environmental Programme, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) was adopted in 2006. Its objective is to foster safer management of chemicals worldwide.  24 October 2009 marks the 64th anniversary of the entry-into-forc... read more