50 years of the German Environment Agency: Join us on a journey through time!
The UBA will be 50 years old in 2024.
Source: UBA |
In July 1974, the German Environment Agency (UBA) became the first German environmental authority at federal level. What has been achieved for people and the environment since then? Join us on a journey through time in this Golden Anniversary – virtually or in person on 15 June 2024 at our headquarters in Dessau-Roßlau!
In the 1970s, the time had finally come: Environmental protection becomes an independent policy area in the Federal Republic of Germany under Chancellor Willy Brandt's social-liberal coalition and the German Environment Agency begins its work in West Berlin in 1974. In the same year, a cornerstone of German environmental protection comes into force: The Federal Immission Control Act immediately protects against noise, poor air quality, vibrations and radiation. In 1978, another “old acquaintance” appears on the scene; the "Blue Angel" is awarded to particularly environmentally friendly products – in the 1970s and 80s, for example, awarded to hairspray cans without CFCs, until these were banned as a propellant for spray cans in Germany in 1991 when the CFC-Halon Ban Ordinance came into force in the fight against the “hole in the ozone layer”.
Whether it was CFCs, leaded petrol, phosphate-containing detergents or the obligation to use catalytic converters for cars, Many environmental protection issues were "tough nuts to crack”. As early as 1978, for example, the UBA warned of the health risks posed by asbestos. It is not until 1993 – 15 years later – that the substance is finally banned completely in Germany. “Acid rain” and the forest dieback it caused also preoccupies the Federal Republic of Germany from the early 1980s. When the Large Combustion Plant Ordinance comes into force in 1983, emissions of sulphur dioxide in West Germany are reduced by 89 per cent within 10 years.
The year 1990 is also a turning point for the UBA. In the course of German reunification in this year, UBA is reinforced by around 200 employees from East German environmental agencies and from then on works in and for the whole of Germany. In 2005, following a decision by the Federal Government to locate more authorities in the "new federal states", it relocates its headquarters to Saxony-Anhalt. With its new ecological building in Dessau, among other things, the UBA sets a good example in environmental protection. In 2001, it becomes the first authority in Germany to be awarded the European EMAS seal of approval for its in-house environmental management.
Whether it is the fight against the hole in the ozone layer or against forest dieback caused by acid rain – many successes show that environmental protection works! But where one challenge is mastered, a new one arises. Today, forests and our health in Germany are threatened by climate change. A danger that can only be countered with global co-operation. The German Environment Agency has been warning, researching and working on this topic since the 1970s and continues to do so today and into the future, for people and the environment!
