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Some 2.8 million people in Germany were employed in the environmental protection sector in 2017, says a recent report by the German Environment Agency (UBA). The importance of environmental protection for the labour market has continued to grow in recent years. In 2010, 5.9 percent of the labour force was employed in the environmental protection sector, rising to 6.4 percent in 2017 .

Due to the present circumstances, the deadline for the first-ever federal environmental building award called "UMWELT & BAUEN" has been extended. Contestants now have until 22 May 2020 to submit project entries.

The specific CO2 emission factor of Germany's electricity mix continues to be on the decline, say the latest calculations done by the German Environment Agency (UBA) for 2019. The main relevant factors which contributed to this were increased electricity generated from renewables and less from coal firing as well as prices in emissions trading.

UBA President Dirk Messner on the response to the coronavirus crisis: “Over the months to come, decisions will be taken that determine our lives in the 2020s.”

A large amount of petroleum- and coal-based chemicals is used as intermediates. A research project recently launched by UBA is intended to clarify, whether intermediate product applications result in the transfer of constituents of concern in the value chain or their release into the environment.

The German Environment Agency (UBA) has nominated 15 climate change adaptation projects to compete in the Blauer Kompass contest. Many exemplary actions are included, ranging from educational training modules in agriculture and climate-adapted housing, to heat protection for day care centres, schools and nursing homes.

The German Environment Agency (UBA) declared the coarse substrate-dominated, calcareous small highland river as the water body type of 2020 on the occasion of World Water Day on 22 March 2020. Streams of this type occur primarily in the limestone regions of the central highlands , for example in the Swabian Alb and Frankish Alb. Only eight percent achieve 'good' ecological status.

Renewable energies accounted for 17.1 percent of gross final energy consumption in 2019. This is compared to a share of 16.5 percent in the previous year. This puts the target of 18 percent which Germany must achieve by 2020 under the EU Renewable Energy Directive within sight. These are conclusions based on current data from the German Environment Agency (UBA).

Germany generated some 805 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 – 54 million tonnes (6.3%) less than in 2018. These are the results of a preliminary inventory of greenhouse gas emissions taken by the German Environment Agency (UBA), which continues the positive course of development of the previous year. With the exception of the global crisis year 2009, emissions reductions in 2019.

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.

A general speed limit on German federal motorways would allow reductions of greenhouse gas emissions ranging between 1.9 and 5.4 million tonnes annually, depending on the actual limit imposed. These are the results of new calculations by the German Environment Agency (UBA).

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.