Publications

The refrigerant commonly used in mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems is tetrafluoroethane, R134a for short. R134a has a high global warming potential (GWP), 1,300 times higher - according to more recent calculations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), even 1,430 times higher – than that of CO2.

It is the purpose of Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS Directive) to regulate the exclusion of certain harmful substances from being used in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

In a press release dated 15 September 2006, the WHO seemed to be indicating a new focus in its strategy on the fight against malaria in respect of the use of DDT.

This material was originally published in German and was designed for lessons for 6-12 year old pupils in Germany. It may therefore be necessary in some cases to adapt the worksheets to the situation in the countries where the material is to be used.

Please note: The chapter "Warning - Chemicals!" isn´t up to date any more!

As a Party to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), since 1994 Germany has been obliged to prepare, publish and regularly update national emission inventories of greenhouse gases. In February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol entered into force.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, adopted a global plan of action – Agenda 21 – to solve mankind's most urgent problems.

Fluxes of reactive nitrogen compounds1 caused or massively changed by human activity constitute a cross-cutting problem in environmental protection. The intensification of the nitrogen cycle makes it possible to supply a growing world population with protein-rich food, but has considerable adverse effects on the environment and human health.

After the entering into force of EU regulation (EC) No. 842/2006 and the EU directive 2006/40/EC, refrigeration systems in supermarkets remain the last big subsector and the strongest emission source of fluorinated hydrocarbons (HFC) in Germany.

Metals discharged into aquatic systems are mostly adsorbed on suspended particles and finally accumulate in sediments. Since the toxicity of metals have been recognized as important environmental hazard, extensive research was conducted on the dose-effect relationship under different geochemical conditions.

On March 12, 2008 the German Federal Environment Agency and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety held a meeting of experts entitled “Eco-Innovation, International Trade, WTO and Climate: Key Issues for an ecological industrial policy”.

The German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) presents here a summary of its Ideas on climate policies. We wish to illustrate how we foresee the next steps towards an ambitious set of policies for energy, mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity.

While it was not always possible to strictly follow the objectives of the proposal to UBA, it can be stated that the overall objectives of the project were met. A particular problem has been that CAREC had major difficulties in hiring professional staff. At one time there have been 12 openings.