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As a Party to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), since 1994 Germany has been obliged to prepare, publish and regularly update national emission inventories of greenhouse gases. Pursuant to Decision 24/CP.19, all Parties listed in ANNEX I of the ?UNFCCC? are required to prepare and submit annual National Inventory Reports (NIRs) containing detailed and complete information... read more

As a Party to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), since 1994 Germany has been obliged to prepare, publish and regularly update national emission inventories of greenhouse gases. In February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol entered into force. As a result, for the first time ever the international community of nations is required to implement binding action objectives and instrumen... read more

Heavy metals, residues of pharmaceutical drugs and plastic: just a few of the many pollutants contained in sewage sludge. Until recently most of the sludges were used as agricultural fertiliser. Nowadays more than half of it is used and combusted for energy purposes. A new UBA brochure has information on disposal practices and on the current status in sludge treatment and recycling. read more

The volume of Germany’s waste imports is much higher than its exports. According to current calculations for 2010, a total volume of 6.8 million tonnes of waste was imported to Germany. The majority is recycled and reused, for example as building material. Exports amounted to a mere 1.5 million tonnes, thus continuing the trend of previous years. On the other hand, there has been a sharp increa... read more

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Seit vielen Jahren gehört Deutschland zusammen mit Japan und den USA zu den wichtigsten Anmeldern von Umwelttechnologie-Patenten, zuletzt mit einem Anteil von 13 Prozent der weltweiten Patentanmeldungen. Auch bei den Herausforderungen der Bekämpfung des Klimawandels kann Deutschland auf seine ausgeprägten Spezialisierungsvorteile bei Klimaschutztechnologien bauen. Ein Blick auf die längerfrist... read more

While the future of humanity has always been unpredictable, major challenges⁠ — like the current pandemic — have been an inevitable part of our shared history. What is different now, however, is that human beings have become the dominant force of planetary change. In other words, the Anthropocene has arrived, and with it an unprecedented opportunity to steer our collective future. read more