Education

The landscape water balance is out of equilibrium: Straightened rivers, sealed soils, and drained peatlands retain too little water in the landscape. The consequences: drought, declining groundwater levels, and flooding. The solutions: retain water through adapted land management, give rivers more space, allow floodplains to flood, and manage land and soil in a climate-resilient way.

The majority of people in Germany continue to perceive both the environmental protection and climate change mitigation efforts as important. However, the topic continues to decline in relative perceived significance for the public

For almost eight out of ten young people in Germany, protecting the environment and the climate is an important issue. This was the result of the representative study “Future? Ask young people! 2023”, which was conducted on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV). This is less than in the last survey two years ago.

Germany regularly experiences heatwaves, is getting warmer overall and is losing water. This is demonstrated by the new monitoring report on the Federal Government's German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS), which Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and UBA President Dirk Messner presented in Berlin.

Sustainable mobility saves energy – and in many different ways. As part of the European Mobility Week (EMW), which takes place from 16 to 22 September, municipalities together with local actors are demonstrating that being sustainably mobile can also save energy.

A coalition of policymakers, business and associations is running “Action weeks for organic waste bins in Germany” to advocate for improvements in the collection of organic waste. For four weeks from 7 November 2022, the spotlight will be on local authorities in Germany as they run campaigns on the ground to promote the separate collection of organic waste.

A national emissions trading scheme for heating oil, petrol and other fuels was launched in Germany on 1 January 2021, but how exactly does it work? Our short film explains it in just over 3 minutes.

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).

The German Environment Agency (UBA) has drafted some helpful guidance for the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in Germany (KMK) on proper airing practices in schools. The handbook reflects the UBA experts' recommendations on indoor air hygiene and how proper ventilation in schools can reduce the risk of infection with the novel coronavirus.

Why is there a trade in or with emissions? Who specifies the framework conditions and how does emissions trading actually work? An explanatory film gives short and concise answers to these questions and explains the contribution of emissions trading to climate protection.