Publications | Umweltbundesamt

Chemicals

Improving environmental protection in EU pharmaceutical legislation

Recommendations for reducing adverse environmental impacts from human pharmaceuticals

In preparation of the revision of Directive 2001/83/ EC and Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the German Environment Agency (UBA) proposes legal changes to reduce pharmaceutical residues in the environment. The proposals are based on UBA’s experiences as competent authority for the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of pharmaceuticals. Our overall aim is to ensure a comprehensive risk management syste...read more

Luft

Review and revision of empirical critical loads of nitrogen for Europe

This report contains the scientific background to the review and revision of the empirical critical loads of nitrogen (CLempN) that had been established for Europe in 2011 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. This review uses for the first time gradient studies to evaluate and determine the ClempN. The results, as presented in Table 1 of the Executive Summary, show...read more

Climate | Energy

Regulatory Framework for the Certification of Carbon Removals – Remarks on the EU Commission’s Roadmap

A brief assessment by the German Environment Agency

On 15.12.2021, the European Commission announces to create a legal framework in a communication on "Sustainable carbon cycles" according to which procedures for natural carbon sequestration and technical CO2 extraction and storage can be certified. By the end of 2022, the European Commission wants to make a legislative proposal.In this short position, the German Environment Agency points to gaps i...read more

Chemicals, Soil | Land

PROSOIL – Protection of soil organisms: Development of toxicity criteria for soil organisms in the framework of classification of substances and PBT assessment

The European ⁠CLP⁠ Regulation as well as the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) only provide criteria for aquatic toxicity with regard to environmental hazards. Legal requirements for the use of terrestrial toxicity data are missing, although data from substance regulations (pesticides, pharmaceuticals, biocides or ⁠REACH⁠ chemicals) are available. The goal was to develop...read more

Climate | Energy, Economy | Consumption, Water

Staying on course in a crisis - accelerating progress forward towards industrial decarbonisation!

Impacts of the Ukraine war on industry

Germany is an industrialised country with a strong production and export sector in the heart of Europe. However, German industry is dependent to varying degrees on imports of energy sources, raw materials and semi-finished products. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is having many consequences - from the break-up and rebuilding of previous supply chains to possible and already implemented...read more

Climate | Energy, Sustainability | Strategies | International matters

Promoting transformational change through carbon markets

Strengthening the transformational impact of carbon market cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

The research project explores how carbon market approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement can contribute to the transformational change required by these global agreements. The project names insights and recommendations for how to design and implement Article 6 rules and activities to promote transformational change through carbon markets. In this regard a definition of transformational ch...read more

Chemicals, Health, Water

Steroid hormones in the aquatic environment - Insights from new analytical methods for corticosteroids and progestogens

Endocrine active substances such as steroid hormones gain increasing focus in environmental research as they cause endocrine disruption in aquatic organisms exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations. Data about occurrence and fate of steroid hormones are scare. Based on the recently published method (FKZ 3715 67 413) the occurrence of 60 steroids in wastewater treatment plant effluents an...read more

Chemicals, Health, Water

Trends of pharmaceutical residues in rivers, suspended particular matter and fish – New insights by new analytical methods for active substances, their metabolites and transformation products

Environmental research is detecting ever more pharmaceutical residues in the aquatic environment as analytical methods become increasingly sensitive. The physicochemical properties of some active substances suggest an accumulation in sediment, suspended matter and biota. Hence, these matrices could be interesting alternative matrices for monitoring of pharmaceutical residues in surface waters. Aga...read more