Topics | Umweltbundesamt

The Alps are the largest natural and cultural space in Central Europe. The mountains shape the landscape and lifestyle of the population in eight different countries. In addition, holiday makers from all over the world are attracted to their fascinating beauty. The international Alpine Convention treaty was adopted to protect the region and its unique climatic, ecological and natural features. read more

How do climate change and environmental degradation affect human health? What can people in the health professions do to promote climate protection and adaptation to climate change? This and much more is covered by experts in 15 video lectures, many of which are recorded online. UBA provided support for the lecture series from the funding programme for associations (Verbändeförderung). read more

Climate change will affect the frequency, intensity and regional occurrence of extreme weather events and lead to gradual climatic changes. Although impacts appear locally at first, they spread beyond political borders due to the global physical and economic interconnectedness. A new UBA report provides an overview of the potential impact chains of global climate change on the German economy. read more

How to prevent chemical accidents due to natural hazards, like earthquakes or floods, in installations containing hazardous substances which may cause harm to humans or the environment? Below you will find Good Practice Examples in Natech Risk Management which were collected in the Natech-II-Project. read more

Examples like the earthquake and tsunamis 2011 in Japan and the devastating hurricane Harvey 2017 in the USA, make aware that natural hazards not just cause destruction of private houses but also led to accidents at installations containing hazardous substances. They can cause releases of hazardous substances, fire, and explosions endangering people and significantly pollute the environment. read more

Sources of natural hazards, such as heavy rainfall, flooding, winter storms or lightning, can cause major accidents. Climate change can change the intensity, frequency and local distribution of such sources of hazards. Operators of installations in which large quantities of hazardous substances are present and the authorities responsible for them must therefore adapt their risk management. read more

UBA President Dirk Messner on the response to the coronavirus crisis: “Over the months to come, decisions will be taken that determine our lives in the 2020s.” read more

The RESCUE study is based on in-house research by the German Environment Agency (UBA) as well as research carried out by external institutions. A central part of this is the following study: „Transformationsprozess zum treibhausgasneutralen und ressourcenschonenden Deutschland“ (FKZ: 3715 41 115 0). For this a combination of five quantitative models was used. read more