At its first meeting on May 25, 2021, the newly formed Resources Commission at the German Environment Agency (UBA) was constituted for the appointment period 2021 to 2024. The Resource Commission consists of 18 experts from science, industry, administration, and civil society, who were personally appointed by the President of UBA.
If climate change continues unchecked, the risks from heat, drought and heavy rainfall throughout Germany will increase sharply in the future.
The third PMT Workshop entitled " Getting control of PMT and vPvM substances under REACH" took place as an online conference on the 25th and 26th of March 2021. It was organized by the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI).
In the context of the EU Green Week, UBA organised a partner event on the need to finally include biocides in Directive 2009/128/EC on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides or similar legislation. Contributions from stakeholders showed the need for regulatory provisions and also highlighted the opportunities this would bring to foster innovation towards sustainability.
The German Environment Agency proposes a national cap on nitrogen emissions. By 2030, no more than 1 million tonnes of nitrogen per year is to be emitted into the environment. Only then can existing protection goals for water bodies, terrestrial ecosystems and human health be achieved.
The 2020 data for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) are available for all air monitoring stations in Germany. Six cities exceeded the air quality limit of 40 micrograms NO₂ per cubic metre of air (µg/m³) as an annual average.
Apart from aligning the cap with the new climate target for 2030, the upcoming EU ETS reform also includes a review of the market stability reserve (MSR). A research project commissioned by the UBA proposes to adjust central MSR parameters in order to strengthen its function to stabilize the market in the event of external shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Better supra-regional flood protection is possible, say the results of a five-year research project carried out by the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA). Simulations indicate severe flooding along Danube, Elbe and Rhine rivers could be considerably reduced in the event of a future emergency.
Current rainwater measurements commissioned by the German Environment Agency (UBA) show that TFA concentrations have risen sharply since the 1990s.
Sulphur dioxide is a colourless, water soluble gas with a pungent smell. It is produced from combustion of fossil fuels, for example coal and oil.
The main sources of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide are combustion processes in the industrial and energy production sectors, and road transport. Nitrogen dioxide affects the respiratory mucous membrane and influences the respiratory function.
In 2013, the Common Agricultural Policy was reformed with the aim of reducing negative environmental impacts of agriculture. Accordingly, farmers had to comply with certain environmentally friendly farming measures, the so-called "greening", to receive the EU subsidies. Despite high costs, however, the effects of the reform have remained small. This has been shown by a recent paper by UBA.
