Publications

The Horizon Scanning report presents nine emerging issues that could become relevant for environmental policy, environmental research and administration in the coming years. The 2022–2023 cycle aimed to identify new developments with high environmental relevance at an early stage and to provide knowledge for anticipatory environmental policymaking.

PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants regulated under the EU POP Regulation. Due to their similar toxicological properties, both groups are subject to common, stricter limit values introduced in 2019. This report provides German data on their occurrence in ash from small-scale and biomass combustion plants.

This report compares three downstream policy options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EU agrifood sector, all of which require regulated entities to cut farm-level emissions embedded in the products they handle or sell. It evaluates their design, efficiency, costs, and carbon leakage risks, highlighting key trade-offs.

This exploratory study assesses whether the potential integration of landfills into the EU-ETS 1 could be a viable strategy to prevent waste streams from being diverted from municipal waste incineration (MWI) to landfills. Such a diversion could result from the potential and currently discussed inclusion of MWI in the EU-ETS 1, leading to additional methane emissions.

The report examines the challenges and methodologies for verifying the origin and emissions of imported goods under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

The EU taxonomy and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) are central instruments in the EU Sustainable Finance Framework.

The European Union has introduced the EU Taxonomy and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) as key regulatory frameworks to enhance transparency and direct capital flows towards environmentally responsible investments.

This technical documentation is an annex to the final report „Überarbeitung des Luftqualitätsindex des Umweltbundesamtes nach der Herausgabe der Luftqualitätsleitlinien der WHO 2021", which is written in German. This present documentation explains the methodological derivation of the risk-based air quality index.

This fact sheet outlines the different scrubber technologies and describes their environmental impacts. These exhaust gas cleaning systems are used on seagoing vessels to comply with sulphur limits and to continue operating on more cost-effective, high-sulphur fuel oils. The fact sheet examines in depth the environmental impact of discharge water when discharged into the sea.

This study by analyses the relevance, regulation, and potential pricing of emissions along the natural gas supply chain within the EU climate policy framework, without making definitive policy recommendations. In addition to combustion emissions, supply-chain emissions of CO₂ and methane can increase the climate footprint of natural gas by up to 35%.

The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS 1) and the United Kingdom Emissions Trading System (UK ETS) are cornerstones of the respective jurisdiction’s climate mitigation policy.

For the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–34, the system of intervention areas (IA) with their climate and environmental coefficients is central to financing environmental and climate-related measures. The Commission’s proposal is analyzed for selected IA, and policy options are outlined.