Topics | Umweltbundesamt

To achieve the objectives for the protection of the marine environment, Germany has committed to achieve target values for total nitrogen at the limnic-marine transition points.For the flow-weighted 5-year moving average of all rivers, these target values are achieved for the North Sea, but are still exceeded for the Baltic Sea.Some of the North and Baltic Sea tributaries still have very high conc... read more

In the 2024 representative survey, 15 % said they were actively involved in environmental protection and nature conservation. In 2022, the figure was 17 % and in 2020 19 %.The indicator shows that the positive trend of previous years has not continued.Considering the single-digit percentages for active engagement from 2006 to 2016, the 15 % from 2024 represents a relatively large share in a long-t... read more

Primary energy consumption (PEC) in Germany has fallen significantly since the end of the 2000s. It fell by 26 % between 2008 and 2023.According to the Energy Efficiency Act of 2023, PEC is to be reduced by 39 % by 2030 compared to 2008. The ‘Greenhouse Gas Projections 2025’ by the German Environment Agency indicate that the measures taken so far will likely be insufficient to achieve this targetT... read more

The total raw material productivity grew by 15 % between 2010 and 2021.According to the German government, an average growth of 1.6 % of total raw material productivity must be achieved between 2010 and 2030.With annual growth averaging around 1.3 %, the current development is below this target.Total raw material productivity is a measure of the efficiency of raw material use and also includes raw... read more

A water exploitation index of 20 % or above indicates the threshold of water stress.Water stress means an increasing risk of environmental problems and economic difficulties.Since 2007 the water exploitation index has been below the critical level of 20 %; in 2022 it was at 10,1 %.Germany is causing water exploitation in other parts of the world by importing goods. In some regions this can contrib... read more

According to the 2022 noise mapping, about 17.9 % of the total population was adversely affected by night-time noise.They further showed that 26.3 % of the population was exposed to a noise level of above 55 decibels during the day.The main source of noise is road traffic. Aircraft noise hardly plays a role in the area assessment.Noise that exceeds exposure limits can lead to health problems. read more

The efficiency with which an economy uses energy can be measured by the "final energy productivity" indicator.Between 2008 and 2023, final energy productivity increased by 32 %.Reducing energy consumption is more important than increasing energy productivity.The European "Energy Efficiency Directive" and the German "Energy Efficiency Act" set ambitious targets for reducing final energy consumption... read more

The use of energy resources (energy consumption) is associated with many negative environmental impacts.The figure "final energy consumption" excludes the consumption of the energy system itself and reflects the energy consumption of end consumers.The Energy Efficiency Act sets the target that final energy consumption should be 1,867 Terawatt hours by 2030.The German Environment Agency's "Projecti... read more