How should we deal with the multitude of PFAS in soil, air, and water? What joint research is being conducted on human biomonitoring? The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) traveled from Bilthoven, near Utrecht, to Dessau to discuss these questions with experts from the German Environment Agency (UBA).
Every five years the Global Stocktake (GST) evaluates the progress in global climate action. It is the core element of the ambition mechanism of the Paris Agreement, according to which new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) need to be more ambitious than previous ones. The results of the GST are to set the direction of the new NDCs. An UBA project analyses how the GST is reflected in NDCs.
Starting on November 10th — 10 years after the Paris Agreement—the international community will once again negotiate the future of global climate action. This time, the talks will take place on the banks of the Amazon in Belém, Brazil, a symbolic location. The focus will be on new national climate action contributions and the measurability of adaptation progress.
Every five years the Parties to the Paris Agreement have to submit new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). In 2023 Parties agreed that the new NDCs should be aligned with the 1.5 degrees climate target. However, with the NDCs submitted in 2025, the world is heading for a global warming of 2.3 to 2.5 degrees by the end of the century.
As part of an in-house research project, UBA is working on the use and further development of an integrated assessment model (IAM) developed by the independent research institute IIASA. IAMs combine economic, social and ecological aspects for the development of climate action scenarios and are central to the IPCC process. The cooperation between UBA and IIASA is now official.
The outcomes of the World Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29) have caused disappointment both in Baku and worldwide. Nevertheless, they still contribute to the international climate action process – an achievement that cannot be taken for granted given the current geopolitical situation.
On 11 November 2024, this year's UN Climate Change Conference COP29 will start in Baku (Azerbaijan). The main topics are climate finance and progress in implementing ambitious climate action. UBA experts are also part of the German delegation and are supporting the German government and the EU in the negotiations.
At the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2024, the International Academy Transformation for Environment and Sustainability (TES Academy) at UBA, the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM) and the Global Diplomacy Lab showcased an innovative dialogue model for international collaboration on sustainability-related challenges.
