environmental protection

Umwelt-Indikator

Indicator: Employment in the renewable energy sector

Graph: After a strong increase since 2000, employment has been declining since 2012 due to the sharp job losses in solar energy. There was a slight increase from 2015 to 2016. Most jobs were created in the wind energy and biomass sectors. Between 2016 and 2019, there were sharp declines. By 2023, there were significant increases again, especially in solar energy and heat pumps.

In 2023, approximately 276,000 people worked in the renewable energy sector.This represents an increase of approximately 2.3 % between 2010 and 2023.The field of intelligent energy systems and grids registered the highest proportionate increase in employment. read more

Indicator: Environmental protection goods

A graph shows the value of environmental protection goods produced between 2009 and 2021 as well as the share of these goods in the overall industrial production.

Approximately 6 % of industrial production in Germany are used to protect the environment, e.g. for noise protection or climate mitigation.In 2021, potential environmental protection goods worth nearly 90.6 billion euros were produced in Germany.At 43 billion, climate protection accounts for the largest share. read more

Sustainability | Strategies | International matters

Mining law

The extraction of lignite from opencast mines is also subject to mining law

Every industrialised economy is dependent on a secure supply of raw materials. Manufacturing industry and the energy sector in particular require immense amounts of such materials. It is for this reason that Germany extracts its own deposits and also imports significant amounts of those raw materials which are not available domestically. read more

News on Sustainability | Strategies | International matters

English-language Guide to the German Environmental Administration

Arial photo of a city with a river

The environmental administration in Germany is deeply rooted in the German tradition of federalism. Due to this specific tradition, German environmental administration might seem rather complex from an outside view. Therefore the German Environment Agency has developed a guide in English to provide a concise introduction to the German environmental administration for an international readership. read more

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment