International cooperation is an important part of the Federal Environment Agency’s work. Environmental protection is a global task today, which is why policy advice in this field must also be directed towards international developments and actors .
Experts from the Federal Environment Agency are active in a multitude of bodies concerned with environmentally relevant issues, including bodies of the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) und the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO). Participation in the implementation of international agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has come to play a major role. Another priority is multilateral and bilateral cooperation with other countries, particularly countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, enhanced general awareness that all states share responsibility for a viable world; and since then, numerous multilateral environmental agreements have entered into force. Yet, global environmental problems continue to pose a threat to the natural resources on which human life depends. They include climate change, overuse of resources, biodiversity loss, the risks chemicals pose to human health and the environment, growing emissions from transport.
The distribution and use of resources like oil, timber, metals or minerals can lead to conflicts between groups within the population of a country or between the government and its people. Against this backdrop, the conservation of resources and sustainable development should be viewed as also being key elements of a comprehensive peace policy.
The Federal Environment Agency is a partner and Germany’s contact point to a wide range of international institutions, such as the World Health Organisation and the European Environment Agency. The task of the European Environment Agency (EEA) is to process data and information on the environment and make it available to policy-makers and the general public in Europe. Advancing environmental goals and issues at European level is also the aim of the EPA Network (Network of the Heads of Environmental Protection Agencies), of which UBA is a member.
The UBA’s motto, For our environment (“Für Mensch und Umwelt”), sums up our mission pretty well, we feel. In this video we give an insight into our work.
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