Publications

Enhancing substitution of substances of concern with less hazardous alternatives will remain a key challenge for chemicals management in the coming years and is a central aim of REACH.

To date, the supply of units for the voluntary carbon market has been almost exclusively in the form of credits generated by climate protection projects elsewhere. This report analyses the merits and challenges of another possible source of supply for GHG compensation: allowances from emissions trading systems (ETSs).

Climate change will affect the frequency, intensity and regional occurrence of extreme weather events and lead to gradual climatic changes. Although climate change impacts appear locally at first, they spread beyond political borders due to the global physical and economic interconnectedness.

Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires increased global climate action, especially towards the production and use of synthetic e-fuels. This paper focuses on aviation and maritime transport and the role of green hydrogen for indirect electrification of industry sectors.

Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires increased global climate action, especially towards the transition of the energy sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic has suddenly and fiercely changed social life around the world. Besides the diverse, in part drastic negative consequences, the crisis has also produced situations and pictures that seem utopian in “normal” times. Some of these impacts will soon fade away, others are very likely to continue in the longer term.

Chemical recycling is discussed as an alternative or addition to mechanical recycling of plastic waste, which is considered to have both the possibility of removing pollutants and the potential of using waste that is difficult to recycle or heavily contaminated.

What relevance does economic growth have for achieving environmental policy goals? The report analyzes the arguments of various positions in this discourse and formulates an ideal-type " precautionary post-growth position". It also presents causes of economic growth and identifies social areas whose function could depend on economic growth.

The project “PBT - Quo vadis?” includes an examination of the concept currently valid under REACH for evaluating the PBT properties of chemicals from a scientific and regulatory point of view. A main focus of the examination was on chemicals which, despite their worrying properties, have not yet been covered by the PBT concept.

The report describes the scientific background and motivation to develop an OECD Guidance Document on the determination on dissolution and dispersion stability of nanomaterials in the environment. It presents the process and approach to develop the GD and summarizes its relevance for risk assessment and regulation of nanomaterials. The “OECD Guidance Document No.

This position paper shows why the German transport system is in urgent need of reform, not only from an environmental but also from a societal point of view. Households with low incomes, women, children or elderly people are disproportionately affected by transport-related emissions, although they contribute comparatively little to the stress caused by transport.

Electricity generation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in many countries. Most emissions trading systems (ETS) therefore address emissions from electricity generation. The de-sign of an ETS and the structure and regulation of the electricity sector have a large impact on the environmental effectiveness and the quality of the carbon price signal.