Public authorities

May 11 2020 marks the launch of this year's "Biowaste Bin Campaign” (Aktion Biotonne Deutschland). The initiative supports municipalities in providing waste disposal advice at local level. Private households in Germany are to improve the separate collection of biowaste for energy recovery or use as fertiliser.

Some 2.8 million people in Germany were employed in the environmental protection sector in 2017, says a recent report by the German Environment Agency (UBA). The importance of environmental protection for the labour market has continued to grow in recent years. In 2010, 5.9 percent of the labour force was employed in the environmental protection sector, rising to 6.4 percent in 2017 .

Due to the present circumstances, the deadline for the first-ever federal environmental building award called "UMWELT & BAUEN" has been extended. Contestants now have until 22 May 2020 to submit project entries.

The specific CO2 emission factor of Germany's electricity mix continues to be on the decline, say the latest calculations done by the German Environment Agency (UBA) for 2019. The main relevant factors which contributed to this were increased electricity generated from renewables and less from coal firing as well as prices in emissions trading.

A general speed limit on German federal motorways would allow reductions of greenhouse gas emissions ranging between 1.9 and 5.4 million tonnes annually, depending on the actual limit imposed. These are the results of new calculations by the German Environment Agency (UBA).

Measured concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2019 exceeded the annual mean limit of 40 µg/m³ of air at nearly 20 percent of measuring stations located near road traffic, compared to 42 percent in 2018. Nitrogen dioxide pollution overall continues to decline throughout Germany.

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.

The Paris Agreement set the international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. To achieve this, it is essential to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions towards zero. Additional measures are needed to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, such as reforestation. However, UBA advises against betting on untried, risky technologies.