Umweltbundesamt

The highest number of hot days averaged across Germany were recorded in 2003, 2015 and 2018.Despite considerable fluctuations between individual years, the overall trend is rising significantly.More hot days are expected during summer months in the coming decades due to climate change. read more

The European Nitrates Directive places Germany under the obligation to prevent exceedances of the threshold of 50 milligrammes nitrate per litre.Since 2008, the threshold has been exceeded every year at almost one in five measuring points.On June 21, 2018, the European Court of Justice found Germany guilty of violating the EU Nitrates Directive (case C-543/16).Agriculture is the most important sou... read more

The share of renewable energies in electricity consumption increased from 6.3 % to 37.8 % between 2000 and 2018.The share of renewables in final energy consumption increased from 6.2 % (2004) to 16.6 % (2018).So far, only the energy industry seems to be on track to reach the targets set by the German Government. Additional efforts are needed, especially in the areas of heating and transport. In th... read more

Renewables are increasingly replacing fossil fuels in the fields of electricity generation, heat production and transport.As a result, avoided GHG emissions today are more than six times higher than in 1990.The Federal Government intends to considerably expand the share of renewables to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. read more

In 2017, around 2.8 million people worked in environmental protection. That is 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

Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the economic performance of an economy, but does not reflect social welfare.The national welfare index (NWI) includes overall 20 activities that raise and diminish welfare.The NWI reached its peak in 1999 and declined afterwards until 2005. An upward trend has been observed since 2013. read more

Energy use in private households has fallen by 7.7 % since 2000.This development can largely be attributed to the reduction in energy consumption in the “living” sector, which has fallen by 12.7 % within the same period.Carbon dioxide emissions in private households show a similar fluctuation pattern to that of energy consumption. read more

2018 was the fourth warmest year worldwide since records began.The last five years have been the warmest years worldwide since 1850.The Paris Climate Agreement stipulates that the increase in global temperature should be limited to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and even to 1.5 °C. read more