No.: 3/2022Newsletter "UBA aktuell"
Dear readers,
Recently the European directive on the common system of VAT was amended. It states “Member States should be given the possibility to contribute to a climate-neutral and green economy by means of applying reduced rates on environmentally friendly supplies while, at the same time, preparing the phasing out of the existing preferential treatment of environmentally harmful supplies.” Before this background, UBA developed proposals for a reform of the German VAT system. In this newsletter, we lay out our proposals for ensuring that the German VAT system takes environmental aspects into account going forward, and that citizens get some relief in the face of rising prices.
We also include the action plan for the sustainable digital transformation of the CODES global network, which involves stakeholders from more than 100 countries. Noteworthy, too, are the results of HBM4EU, the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative, coordinated by the German Environment Agency, which were presented at an international final conference in Brussels. According to the findings, people in Europe are sometimes exposed to worryingly high levels of pollutants.
Wishing you an interesting read,
The Press Office of the German Environment Agency
