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Meat and non-seasonal produce with long hauling distances in particular continue to be a strain on the environment and the climate, according to data in the Umwelt, Haushalte und Konsum brochure by the German Environment Agency (UBA). UBA's President Maria Krautzberger said, "We will only be able to achieve our climate protection goals if we reconsider our consumer habits in earnest."

An event to mark the end of the International Year of Soils 2015 was hosted in Berlin by the German Environment and Development ministries jointly with the German Environment Agency and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. Under the heading “Soil – A source of life”, experts and policymakers discussed old and new soil protection tasks and challenges.

The International Year of Soils has come to an end, but soil protection is far from reaching its aim.

This year's Blue Angel Prize goes to the telecommunications service provider Telekom Deutschland GmbH. During the ceremonies for the German Sustainability Award, Mr. Ralph Caspers, environmental ambassador for the Blue Angel, conferred the award on 27 November in Düsseldorf.

16 federal authorities and institutions present study on future impact of climate change in Germany

Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks and the President of the Federal Environment Agency, Maria Krautzberger, honoured this year's winners of the German Federal Ecodesign Award. The prize is awarded to products, services and concepts that are outstanding in terms of ecology and aesthetics.

The German Environment Agency has published its Data on the Environment 2015 report. Action is needed with regard to greenhouse gases, raw material efficiency and nutrient pollution, good news in recycling and drinking water quality.

A distance-based toll makes it possible to set differentiated charges for infrastructure and other costs incurred by society as a result of road traffic. Frequent drivers pay more than occasional drivers, resulting in positive ecological and traffic steering effects. The time-based vignette is not a meaningful solution, since it amounts to a flat rate charge for frequent road users.

The Baltic Sea, a valuable and central part of our natural heritage, is under threat from nutrient inputs from agriculture. A study funded by the German Environment Agency has examined the current state of play in the introduction of nutrient accounting as a prerequisite to good agricultural practice.

Wanted: real progress in recycling efforts, boosting environmental protection and increasing security of supply – from all players

Electric steelworks, chlorine electrolysis plants and other industrial large-scale consumers could become much more flexible in their electricity consumption and thereby help in the effort to integrate renewables in the power grid. These are the findings of a study done on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA).

Extracting more and more new raw materials is unsustainable. The future ideal is a closed-loop, circular economy which, through “urban mining”, obtains many of its raw materials from end-of-life houses, piping, cables, cars and appliances rather than from mines and quarries. An UBA study has determined the types and quantities of potential secondary raw materials available in Germany.