Press | Umweltbundesamt

The ministries and federal offices for environment in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are strengthening their ties as they aim to step up exchange of knowledge on strategies in sustainable resource management, with a special focus on waste management. The first joint ”Re-source 2009” symposium on resources and recycling strategies is scheduled to take place on 23-24 June 2009. It will expose the... read more

Germany must identify and implement potential heretofore untapped to reduce emissions if it is avoid the far-reaching consequences of global warming.  ”We must become bolder in our efforts to protect ourselves and our environment in the long term from the impact of climate change”, said Dr. Thomas Holzmann, Vice President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). This is the message of a new UBA ba... read more

Mr Michael Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, opened a conference on air quality in indoor spaces in Berlin today, saying, ”Environmental protection means preventative healthcare. We must become active in all areas where environmental factors may have adverse impact on health. Since we spend around 80 to 90 per... read more

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has been awarded the certificate of the ”audit berufundfamilie®” (workandfamily audit) for the second time today in Berlin in recognition of its status as a family-friendly employer. Minister for Family Affairs Ursula von der Leyen and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ms Dagmar Wöhrl, handed over the certificate of the... read more

The bathing waters in Germany were monitored for the first time during the 2008 bathing season according to the new EC Bathing Water Directive. The new directive requires Member States to switch from passive monitoring of bathing areas to active management and thereby ensure better protection of bathers. Furthermore, the new directive promotes comprehensive information and involvement of the publi... read more

Import levels of waste subject to authorisation broke a record high of 6.9 million tonnes (mn t) in 2008. On the other hand exports declined to 1.6 mn t. The greatest volumes of waste imports consisted of treated wood and contaminated soils (1.1 mn t each); in exports, the largest proportion consisted of 500,000 t of residual waste from sorting facilities. Wastes subject to authorisation are prima... read more

Global warming is changing our oceans. Polar bears who can no longer hunt on isolated icepacks are but one sad consequence that global warming might have on the complex interdependencies that exist in marine ecosystems. Oceans are warming up, with the measuring site at Helgoland Reede registering a 1.5 °C increase in water temperature since recording began in 1962. The mean sea level worldwide is... read more

The Federal Ministry for Environment has expanded its free service for teachers: new educational materials on the environment and health are now available on the Internet. The materials, developed with the cooperation of the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), are intended for use at primary schools. read more