Publications

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.

Bioconcentration tests with the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca (HYBIT) have been proposed as alternatives to fish tests, and the respective experimental BCF values show promising correlations. It is still unclear whether the HYBIT test is also suitable for highly hydrophobic chemicals, such as the UV stabilizers UV-234 and UV-329.

On 30 November 2022, the Commission proposed an EU carbon removal certification framework (CRCF). The proposed framework could undermine the environmental integrity of EU climate policies. This risk is aggravated by the fact that the EU has not agreed on the role of removals for the time past the year 2030.

The forest sector contributes to high emissions worldwide through the loss of historically built-up carbon stocks, mainly from deforestation and forest degradation. The REDD+ approach aims at compensating developing countries for efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, to maintain and increase forest carbon stocks or to manage forests sustainably.

This paper presents possible urban Article 6 activities in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Kampala (Uganda).

This report develops concrete structures for the use of urban carbon market approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement for Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Kampala (Uganda). It takes into account both ongoing and planned emission reduction measures so that the results can be used effectively.

The subject of this project was the preparation of substance reports for five substances or substance groups relevant for building products emissions. For these substances, the toxicological data basis were researched, compiled and evaluated, and EU-LCI values were proposed. The EU-LCI values allow the harmonisation of the health assessment of building products emissions throughout Europe.

More than ten years after the recommendation of the updated CLRTAP critical levels for ammonia, new findings on the effects of ammonia on vegetation have been discussed in a workshop in Dessau Scientists dealing with research on effects of ammonia on vegetation and ecosystems and those involved in the monitoring of ammonia in the environment were asked to present their recent research.

To systematically bring nature back to cities, the EU Biodiversity Strategy calls upon cities with over 20,000 inhabitants to develop Urban Greening Plans (UGP). Nature based solutions (NbS) are at the centre of UGPs, addressing climate resilient infrastructures and biodiversity in cities together. They should agree with existing planning instruments.

Scrubbers, exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) on seagoing vessels, are installed on about 25% of the world's merchant fleet and scrub sulphur from the exhaust gas. However, they discharge polluted discharge water into the marine environment. In the ImpEx project, discharge water samples were taken from ships and analysed in the laboratory for their harmful effects on the environment.