Publications

The subject of this project was the preparation of substance reports for five substances or substance groups relevant for building products emissions. For these substances, the toxicological data basis were researched, compiled and evaluated, and EU-LCI values were proposed. The EU-LCI values allow the harmonisation of the health assessment of building products emissions throughout Europe.

More than ten years after the recommendation of the updated CLRTAP critical levels for ammonia, new findings on the effects of ammonia on vegetation have been discussed in a workshop in Dessau Scientists dealing with research on effects of ammonia on vegetation and ecosystems and those involved in the monitoring of ammonia in the environment were asked to present their recent research.

To systematically bring nature back to cities, the EU Biodiversity Strategy calls upon cities with over 20,000 inhabitants to develop Urban Greening Plans (UGP). Nature based solutions (NbS) are at the centre of UGPs, addressing climate resilient infrastructures and biodiversity in cities together. They should agree with existing planning instruments.

Scrubbers, exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) on seagoing vessels, are installed on about 25% of the world's merchant fleet and scrub sulphur from the exhaust gas. However, they discharge polluted discharge water into the marine environment. In the ImpEx project, discharge water samples were taken from ships and analysed in the laboratory for their harmful effects on the environment.

The Global Stocktake, a key component of the Paris Agreement’s ratchet mechanism, assesses global progress every five years with the goal of informing countries’ NDC updates.

Plant protection products, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, biocides and other chemicals can reach surface waters during their life cycles, by direct or diffuse entry routes or because they are in completely removed during waste water treatment.

The discussion paper explores several options for the political phase of the first global stocktake (GST) under the Paris Agreement, which will be concluded at the end of 2023. This phase could be organised by thematic area as defined by the GST or structured by sector.

Against the background of the new entries for plastic waste, as implemented into EU-law since 1.1.2021, this implementation guide is aimed at all companies or institutions that deal with plastic waste on a crossborder basis. In particular, this includes waste producers, waste handlers such as sorters and recyclers, transporters and enforcement and control authorities.

This report contains information that contributes to the description of plastic waste qualities in transboundary waste shipment. These support the interpretation of the new entries for plastic waste under the Basel Convention, implemented into EU-law since 1.1.2021.

On the basis of a literature review, this paper outlines the main mitigation options for agricultural activities and the broader food system on the supply and the demand side. Economic, policy/legal barriers, technical barriers, socio-cultural barriers, institutional barriers as well as biophysical or environmental barriers hinder the implementation of these options.

The European Soil Strategy for 2030 by the European Commission has set the foundations for an overarching approach to the protection of soils in Europe. In this scientific opinion paper, the German Environment Agency (UBA) lays down its key recommendations for the upcoming Soil Health Law.

Assessing the persistency of chemicals in general involves a stepwise approach. This includes cost effective and easy to conduct screening tests, that may lead to a need for more complex, lengthy and expensive tests which try to simulate conditions being more representative for the environmental compartments water, sediment and soil.