Umweltbundesamt

Participation rights play a major role in environmental protection. The public can add weight to environmental protection and nature conservation as subjects of public interest and serve as a counterweight to economic interests. This brings more balance to government decision-making. read more

The environmental administration in Germany is deeply rooted in the German tradition of federalism. Due to this specific tradition, German environmental administration might seem rather complex from an outside view. Therefore the German Environment Agency has developed a guide in English to provide a concise introduction to the German environmental administration for an international readership. read more

Environmental issues and goals must be integrated into the substantive requirements of specific law to strengthen environmental protection. The German Environment Agency explores ways to reinforce environmental protection in specific law and makes proposals for reform. read more

Germany’s farming sector uses the largest amount of land, but is at the same a lynchpin of our economy – one that provides a reliable food supply and produces sustainable raw materials. The farming sector also plays a key role when it comes to preservation and development of the man-made environment. But increasingly intensive farming brings with it a host of eco-unfriendly effects. read more

Every industrialised economy is dependent on a secure supply of raw materials. Manufacturing industry and the energy sector in particular require immense amounts of such materials. It is for this reason that Germany extracts its own deposits and also imports significant amounts of those raw materials which are not available domestically. read more

Approximately 6 % of industrial production in Germany can be used to protect the environment, e.g. for noise protection or climate mitigation.In 2017, potential environmental protection goods worth nearly 86.8 billion euros were produced in Germany.The production of environmental protection goods has slightly increased since 2013. read more

316,700 people worked in the renewable energy sector in 2017. That is three times as many as in 2000.After strong employment growth until 2011, there has been a clear decline since.This was initially due to the widespread collapse of the domestic photovoltaic industry.Since 2017, production in wind energy has also been declining heavily. The main drivers are losses in foreign trade and unfavourabl... read more

In 2017, around 2.8 million people worked in environmental protection. That was 6.4 % of all employees.Of this, over half are environment-related services.Since 2002, employment in environmental protection has risen steadily and environmental protection has established itself as an important factor for the labour market. read more