Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will be meeting staff of the Federal Environment Agency in Dessau today on his tour of Germany. Talks will focus on international environmental protection issues such as marine litter and the continuing loss of fertile soils. The new role of the UNEP after its status was upgraded as agreed by the UN Member Sta... read more
Tonnes of waste in the wrong place
The volume of waste in the world's oceans has grown to over one hundred million tonnes. Some 600,000 cubic metres are thought to be on the seabed of the North Sea alone. The major type of waste is plastic. Many marine animals either ingest or become entangled in these plastics, leading to injury or even death. Germany and the European Commission want to drastically reduce waste deposition to the s... read more
Material efficiency in production saves resources and lowers costs
Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier presented the Federal Ministry for Environment's new funding priority "Material efficiency in production" at the Hannover Messe trade show today. The BMU is supporting the initiative under the Environmental Innovation Programme with a funding volume of up to 20 million euros. The objective of the funding priority is the optimisation of production process... read more
Emissions trading: CO2 emissions in 2012 slightly higher than 2011
The CO2 emissions of the 1,627 energy and industrial installations in Germany that are subject to compulsory emissions trading were somewhat higher in 2012 than the previous year. The total volume is 452.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, compared to 450.3 million tonnes in 2011. There was a notable difference between coal and natural gas. Whereas the energy sector's carbon dioxide emissions from... read more
Water type of the year - Watercourses in the southern Alpine foothills
The environmental condition of many of the streams and rivers in the southern Alpine foothills of Germany is ranked 'good'. These water bodies flow in the depositions of the last ice age, in the immediate vicinity of the large lakes in the foothills. They include the tributaries of Lake Ammer, the Attel or the lower reaches of the Loisach, and the Argen and Schussen tributaries to Lake Constance.... read more
Successful nanotechnology research strategy protects man and the environment
Nanotechnology is considered the progressive technology of the 21st century. It is highly innovative and dynamic, and it opens up new ways to conserve resources and save energy. As with every new technology, however, its potential impact on the environment and the health of consumers and those who handle the materials raises a number of questions. The Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and... read more
Blue Angel for Energy-Conscious Data Centers! Come see us at the CeBIT
Many of the data centres in German companies hold great savings potential. It has been proven that most of data centres operate inefficiently in terms of energy consumption even though energy costs account for 50 per cent of overall expenditure. In spite of this, companies are making relatively little investment in boosting energy efficiency. The Blue Angel ecolabel seeks to reverse the trend. The... read more
Emissions trading: Federal Administrative Court throws out RWE action
The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has declared the cuts in allocations for the energy sector in the 2nd trading period lawful and has dismissed the action brought by the energy supply utility RWE against these cuts in the energy sector. The Federal Administrative Court thereby affirmed the judgment reached by the lower courts and its own judgments of October and December 2012 on this bas... read more
