In a new online campaign the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is providing information to all Internet junkies. The http://fuer-mensch-und-umwelt.de/ website is the starting point for a virtual journey through the 36-year history of the Federal Environment Agency and environmental protection. The website, easy to navigate and chock full of original audio and visual materials, explains why for exam... read more
Climate bonus for household budgets: 35 percent energy savings on washing possible
“Optimal use of wash cycles and detergents will add up to energy savings. It will relieve the strain on the environment as well as the household budget. The costs of electricity and detergents can be reduced considerably,” said Jochen Flasbarth, President of the Federal Environment Agency, on this year’s Day for Sustainable (dish) Washing. Clothes are often washed at higher temperatures than neces... read more
Made possible by bottle deposit: less pollution, more recycling
Anyone returning deposit bottles is doing his bit for the environment. The same goes for reusable as well as one-way bottles and packaging. These are the findings of a study done by bifa environmental institute GmbH on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency, according to which the compulsory deposit on one-way packaging does indeed amount to less litter on streets and in public areas. Furthermor... read more
Environmental Specimen Bank: Looking for evidence in Germany’s environmental archive
Have human and environmental exposure to lead been reduced since the ban on leaded petrol? Why has there been no sustainable decline in the PCB count in fish in the lower course of the Rhine? What to make of the concentrations of mercury in young shoots of spruce, seagull eggs, and bream? The federal Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB), Germany’s archive documenting environmental quality, provides e... read more
Federal administration declares ‘GreenIT RZ-Benchmarking’ the lighthouse project of 2010
The Federal Government IT Commissioner, State Secretary Cornelia Rogall-Grothe, awarded the Leuchtturm-Projekt Green-IT 2010 prize to the Federal Environment Agency’s GreenIT RZ Benchmarking project. This first-time prize recognises outstanding projects that help to improve the energy efficiency of information and communication technology (ICT) in the federal administration. read more
Emissions trading: Class-action suits against Federal Environment Agency dismissed
On 13 April 2010 the administrative court of Berlin threw out the suits filed against the Federal Environment by three energy supply utilities. The utilities did not succeed in gaining a retraction of the implementation of the Allocation Act 2012 (ZuG 2012) which foresees a cut in allowances and application of a single coal benchmark, as well as non-application of allocation regulations pursuant t... read more
Environmental Research Plan 2010 now online
The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has now gone online with its schedule of planned projects for the 2010 Environmental Research Plan (UFOPLAN 2010) of the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU). read more
Emissions trading: 9.4 percent lower CO2 emissions in 2009
Operators subject to emissions trading in Germany emitted a total volume of 428.2 million tonnes of climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2009. As compared to the previous year, emissions sank by 44.3 million tonnes CO2, or 9.4 percent, which is the lowest level since introduction of emissions trading in Europe in 2005. The installations engaged in emissions trading were thus responsible again... read more
