greenhouse gas neutrality

The International Organization for Standardizations (ISO) last year published the first standard on carbon neutrality of organizations and products. In a new factsheet, the German Environment Agency (UBA) outlines its strength and shortcomings and draws some conclusions relevant to companies, verifiers, courts and policymakers.

“Public administrations must pioneer and be a role model in climate protection”, said Dirk Messner, President of the German Environment Agency (UBA) at an online meeting of the Network of Heads of European Environmental Administrations (EPA Network) on November 25th. He presented UBA’s guide on greenhouse gas neutral administrations, now also available in English.

RESCUE shows that until 2050 greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 95 to 97 percent (in comparison to 1990). Through the use of sustainable agriculture and forestry practices, even net-zero emissions can be reached. At the same time, primary raw materials consumption can be reduced by 56 to 70 percent. However, the transformation also results in additional demands for single raw materials.

In the RESCUE project, the German Environment Agency (UBA) explores the nexus between climate protection and associated resource requirements. Using six scenarios, different development paths are explored and insights gained on how to reduce future resource use and greenhouse-gas emissions in Germany.

Since the Paris Agreement invites parties to provide their low carbon development strategies by 2020, the European Union is currently preparing its respective mid-century long-term climate strategy. Within a public consultation the German Environment Agency (UBA) provided recently its submission on key priorities relevant for the new EU strategy.