Publications

Many chemicals for which a PBT assessment is necessary are ionized in the environment. Therefore, the project aimed to find appropriate screening criteria for ionic organic chemicals (IOCs) to estimate their bioaccumulation potential. Twenty possible parameters were examined.

Digitisation is not only transforming our society it is also having an impact on the environment: On the one hand, digitisation can improve the state of the environment for example through digitally optimised production processes.

In summer 2020, the European Commission launched the Renovation Wave Initiative as an important building block of the European Green Deal. The aim is to at least double the renovation rates of public and private buildings over the next ten years and to promote deeper renovations.

The aim of this study is to contribute to a learning process about innovative and successful approaches to overcoming problems and challenges of urban environmental protection. To this end, a detailed overview of the importance of environmental challenges, political priorities and successful solutions in selected countries and cities is given.

Resource protection and resource efficiency are an ecological, economic and social necessity. Many resources are limited and under pressure from the rising world population, production methods, consumer behaviour and the high per capita resource consumption. Using more and more resources will exceed the limits of the earth’s ecological carrying capacity in the foreseeable future.

The marine environment, subject to multiple pressures, is transboundary by nature. For ocean management and conservation, there is a need of enhanced collaboration and cross-sectoral solutions. This project aimed to develop a participatory dialogue platform that strengthens cooperation within and between marine regions in line with the 2030 Agenda.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Working Group on Renewable Energy Statistics (AGEE-Stat) takes stock of the use of renewable energies and annually prepares an official estimate of the development of renewable energies for the previous year. This background paper describes the initial findings for the electricity, heat

Conditions for investment in climate protection are quite favorable. Nevertheless, financial resources continue to flow into fossil energy sources. This is accompanied by risks. To assess these risks, UBA has had a method developed which allows financial institutions to roughly estimate transitory climate risks.

The debate on sustainability related corporate due diligence obligations in global value chains has recently gained considerable momentum, in particular at EU level. However, so far, it has been dominated by the focus on human rights due diligence. By contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to the specifics of a stand-alone environmental due diligence obligation.

Marine mammals depend largely on their sense of hearing. Underwater noise can lead to acoustic masking of biologically important sounds. Marine airguns used for scientific studies of the seabed produce this type of sound. In this project, models were developed to assess the masking potential of airguns on blue whale, fin whale, killer whale and Weddell seal communication.

The report aims at identifying deficits in the interplay of the REACH processes registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction and points out potential obstacles in meeting the regulation’s goal of achieving a high level of protection in an efficient way.

The interim report covers the status quo on the use of scrubbers (Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems, EGCS) for sulphur reduction in seagoing ships. Based on a literature study, it includes technical aspects, a market analysis, legal framework and the status of research activities. The focus is on discharge water.