Climate | Energy | Page 19 | Umweltbundesamt

Climate | Energy

Man-made climate change is a global challenge. The core task is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offset unavoidable emissions. Timely, sustainable infrastructure investments are key to climate action success. The focus is on reducing energy demand and a complete switch of the electricity and heat supply to renewable energies, taking into account interplay with other environmental challenges. The German Environment Agency supports this process with strategies, scenarios, measures and instruments as well as monitoring activities. It also implements individual instruments, such as emissions trading, guarantees of origin for green electricity or the Blue Angel ecolabel.

Federal employees continue to travel climate-friendly

Emission reduction credits (ERCs) from high-quality international climate change mitigation projects will continue to compensate the official travel by German federal employees. The Federal Government plans to purchase more than 235,000 ERCs which will then be cancelled. ERCs for emissions in 2015 were purchased earlier this year. The next compensation procedure for 2016 emissions will now follow. read more

Public health in the course of climate change: Master plan for heat waves

High temperatures and heat waves are adding up to public health problems – and the impact of climate change is becoming more noticeable also in Germany. The federal states and local authorities can draft and implement heat wave action plans to protect public health. The German Environment Agency (UBA) has developed a master plan in collaboration with many experts from various disciplines. read more

Emissions trading: Emissions reductions in Germany only minimal

The roughly 1,900 fixed installations participating in emissions trading in 2016 had emissions worth 453 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents, or 0.6 per cent less than in 2015. The lower emissions in the emissions trading sector thus did not offset the 3.8-per cent increase over 2015 in Germany’s transport sector emissions which the UBA had calculated in its short-term forecast. read more

Climate footprint 2016: Transport sector and cool weather cause spike in emissions

Nearly 4 million tons more greenhouse gases emissions than in 2015 – transport sector tops 1990 levels read more

"Wounds" have healed – Water quality of mine lakes has good status

Many mine lakes have the potential to develop very good water quality and they are often cleaner than natural lakes. However, lignite remains the dirtiest of all sources of energy. In 2014 alone lignite caused environmental damage in the amount of 16.8 billion euros. A phase-out of lignite-fired electricity is urgently needed. read more

2015 greenhouse gas emissions indicate a slight decrease for second year in a row

Germany recorded total emissions of 901.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents for 2015, which is 2.3 million tonnes (0.3%) less than in 2014 and 27.9% less than in 1990. This data is based on calculations which the German Environment Agency (UBA) has reported to the European Commission. The greatest reductions were achieved in the energy industries (11.8 million tonnes). read more

Electromobility has clear economic advantages

The goals of the Climate Action Plan can only be achieved through an energy transformation in the transport sector. Electromobility is the most economical of all greenhouse gas-neutral solutions. read more

Climate action: how to reduce emissions even before 2020

The international community resolved to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. The mitigation activities proposed by the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will not be enough to achieve that goal. An UBA report shows how the gap can be narrowed even before 2020, for example with more efficient electrical appliances and through renewable energy support. read more