Publications | Umweltbundesamt

Air

Review of internationally proposed critical levels for ammonia

Proceedings of an Expert Workshop held in Dessau and online on 28/29 March 2022

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. In total 19...read more

Climate | Energy

Tackling the climate and biodiversity crises in Europe through Urban Greening Plans

Recommendations for avoiding the implementation gap

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. This paper points towards the need for enablin...read more

Water

Environmental Impacts of Discharge Water from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems on Ships

Final report of the project ImpEx

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 results...read more

Climate | Energy

Greenhouse gas emission distributions

Informing the Global Stocktake (2021-2023)

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. The analysis demonstrates how global progress across a range of sectoral emission indicators can be assessed using performance distributions to allow for a detailed and nuanced analysis without singling out individual countri...read more

Climate | Energy

Options for the political phase of the Global Stocktake

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. Organising the political phase by thematic area possibly facilitates high-level participation and visibility, while organising th...read more

Waste | Resources

Transboundary waste shipments and the new plastic inputs

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. It is an aid to the correct c...read more

Waste | Resources

Interpretation of the new entries for plastic waste in transboundary waste shipments

Executive summary

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.The technical foundations for the description of plastic waste qualities as well as relevant specifications, standards and regulations...read more

Climate | Energy

Barriers to mitigating emissions from agriculture

Analysis of mitigation options, related barriers and recommendations for action

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 identified barriers are cl...read more