Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said, "Solid data is the basis for many economic and social developments. In order for these developments to benefit people and the environment and to be sustainable, we need better, faster and easier access to environmental data and information for citizens and businesses. That is why we want to turn Merseburg into a source of innovation with open access to information. Environmental information, data and services will be readily accessible, freely available, valid and transparent. The information can be used specifically to improve environmental and mitigation measures, for example when it comes to new business models for companies, university and non-university research or the environmental management of administrative authorities."
Reiner Haseloff, Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, welcomed the decision to establish the environmental information centre in Merseburg, saying, "Its vicinity to a university and its good transport connections make for Merseburg being able to offer the best conditions for the location of the Environmental Information Centre of the Federal Ministry for the Environment. The establishment of an environmental information centre will also further promote the Central German coal mining district in Saxony-Anhalt in its transformation towards a sustainable industrial society."
"We are taking an important step towards digitization in establishing the National Environmental Information Centre. The portal will create the conditions that make it easier to find environmental data that is accessible and available to the public over the long term. Citizens, science and research, businesses and industry will have access to information and services of real benefit. We will link the new data centre with the laboratory for artificial intelligence (AI) for sustainability solutions which is being set up. We will also link the new information centre with our 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) Laboratory for Sustainability Solutions', which is currently being set up and will use AI methods to evaluate environmental data and thus provide even better support for environmental policy," said UBA’s President Dirk Messner.
Citizens should no longer have to dig through databases intended for specialists. They should be able to find answers to their questions about environmental issues or services provided by the environmental administration in a simple, open and accessible way. Smart search functions, voice assistants, customised newsletters and dashboards are the tools that will help them.
Science, research, environmental associations and other non-governmental organisations can use the portal to find the relevant data sets and information to answer important questions for the future. Companies should be able to develop new business models that promote environmental protection and nature conservation. It will be easier for them to integrate environmental and sustainability-relevant aspects into their offers, to comply with environmental regulations and to find information needed for approvals. Besides, data provide the basis for digital technology use and innovative applications for the protection of the environment, climate and resources.
Standardised interfaces can also be used to feed data into the management of environmental infrastructures, for example in the area of water management, and from these networked systems back into the environmental databases. Policy-makers and administrators also benefit from better processing, provision, linking and evaluation of environmental data.
Background information
The aim of collecting environmental information and making it available to third parties (especially for interested citizens) has been a strong driving force in the field of environmental management for many decades. Access to this environmental information is highly fragmented in Germany. The European Commission has criticised this fragmentation and suggested that a central national access point to environmental information be established. In addition, technological progress has led to a situation where data on the condition of nature and the environment is no longer collected exclusively by the public sector. Private households, individuals or companies - consciously or unconsciously - also gather environmental data that could contribute to improving the data situation on the environment. As a result, there is a very large and extensive amount of data for environmental information. The task of the new Environmental Information Centre is therefore also to investigate, together with other UBA offices, which measures such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to make this large amount of information and data manageable and, above all, more accessible.
Click to enlarge