Publications

This scientific opinion paper discusses the key topics of the European Commission’s Proposal for a Recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. It shows how the proposed changes could affect wastewater treatment in Germany and highlights further refinement needs.

Dietary changes towards healthier and more sustainable diets have been highlighted as one of the key strategies for simultaneously reducing the environmental pressures of the food system and the health risks of current dietary patterns. Although there is broad consensus on the long-term need for global dietary changes, much less information is available or accessible at the national level.

This scientific opinion paper outlines existing problems related to data gaps, non-harmonized assessments, insufficient post-market control, and data transparency of pharmaceuticals, and identifies possible solutions through the introduction of a monograph system for active pharmaceutical substances.

This paper presents the results of a multicountry survey on Covid-19-induced changes in consumption habits with a focus on nonessential material consumption and mobility behavior. The survey was carried out in Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States in early 2021.

More and more countries are already implementing or considering the introduction of carbon pricing as a key instrument in order to reduce greenhouse gases. In recent years, market-based instruments in the form of emissions trading systems or CO2 taxes have been established or are currently in the process of implementation in various regions of the world.

With the new edition of this publication, we would like to respond to questions about ecological product design and life cycle thinking. It is directed towards everyone interested in contemporary design that has an eye on both design and environmental protection.

Advanced materials promise technical solutions to support sustainable transformation. They play an important role for a variety of environmental topics worked on at UBA, such as energy transition, circular economy and chemical safety. Various sectors can benefit from the use of advanced materials, but they can also face challenges.

How can projects for redistributing and repurposing public streets succeed? What can be learned from successful national and international examples? The brochure summarizes practical experiences of redesigning streets in favor of active mobility and the quality of life in cities. Good examples from Germany and Europe were examined using an evaluation matrix.

Study commissioned by the German government, through its Federal Environment Agency (UBA) with the aim to identify and describe the entities that may provide financial support to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, in order to address their challenges with the sound management of chemicals and waste.

Nitrogen emissions from almost all sectors of society lead to risks for humans and the environment. Sustainable management of nitrogen and its compounds therefore plays a major role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a milestone towards sustainable nitrogen management, the German Environment Agency proposes a upper limit of 1,000 kt nitrogen per year for Germany.

This evaluation of air quality in Germany in the year 2022 is based on preliminary data which has not yet been conclusively audited from the air monitoring networks of the federal states and the UBA, valid on 31th January 2023. Due to the comprehensive quality assurance within the monitoring networks, the final data will only be available in mid-2023.

A new version – the „Methodological Convention 3.2” – has been published and contains a partial update of the monetized environmental impacts, based on new value factors for greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions.