The trend in Germany's air pollutant emissions continues on a slight decline, says the annual report by the German Environment Agency (UBA) submitted to the European Commission. In 2018, sulphur (SO2) compounds decreased by nearly 4.2 percent compared to 2017, bringing levels to 95 percent below 1990.
The 8th Global Nitrogen Conference of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI 2020) follows up on the previous nitrogen conferences that have been held since 1998. This year’s theme is “Nitrogen and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. Most of the SDGs are closely related to the nitrogen cycle.
A research project by the German Environment Agency (UBA) tested 44 potential substitutes for bisphenol A (BPA) for a number of different applications and products. The result: 43 of these substances are not recommended for use, either because they have a hormone-mimicking effect or a lack of data has not conclusively disproved evidence of such an effect.
Measured concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2019 exceeded the annual mean limit of 40 µg/m³ of air at nearly 20 percent of measuring stations located near road traffic, compared to 42 percent in 2018. Nitrogen dioxide pollution overall continues to decline throughout Germany.
Protecting the environment and climate action are hot topics for young people in Germany. A clear majority of the young population is interested in politics, willing to take action and places their trust in democracy. They expect policy makers to do more for the climate and environment and to be mindful of social justice. They also perceive potential in each and every person to do more.
The new award for sustainable buildings, neighbourhoods and ecological innovation will be awarded in 2020 for the first time and aims to distinguish projects that are exemplary role models of sustainability, not only in the classic areas of building stock and new build, but also in five further categories. All stakeholders in the building sector are eligible to enter.
Packaging which is product at the same time? An app that helps users save resources? A new concept for environmentally friendly mobility in rural areas? Businesses, students and unorthodox thinkers are once again called upon to enter the contest with their innovative services, concepts and products by 6 April 2020.
Power production from renewable sources energy grew significantly by eight percent in 2019 and now covers 42 percent of power consumption. It was the first year in which the share of electricity from renewable energy was greater than that of all the lignite and hard coal power plants together. But: An historic low in wind power expansion does slow future growth.
The Federal Government offsets all of its business travel greenhouse gas emissions. It tracks the emissions of the car trips and air travel of the staff of 116 ministries and federal agencies and offsets their impact through high-standard international climate action projects.
Minimizing cumulative emissions is essential for reducing the risk of overshooting the warming limit of 1.5 degrees. This study commissioned by the German Environment Agency analyses the implications for the EU ETS and presents different scenarios for this goal. The authors conclude that the cap reduction factor should be increased to 4 percent starting from 2021 or 5.8 percent starting from 2026.
The standard requires a significant cut in pollutant emissions.
The agriculture sector has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to reducing its nitrogen inputs, say the latest nitrogen soil surface budgets of the German Environment Agency (UBA) which are based on data up to 2017. The average nitrogen surplus of the nitrogen soil surface budget is 77 kg per hectare (kg/ha) and has remained virtually constant for more than 20 years.
