Publications | Umweltbundesamt

Climate | Energy

International Climate Initiatives – A way forward to close the emissions gap? Initiatives’ potential and role under the Paris Agreement

Discussion Paper

In December 2015 Parties adopted the Paris Agreement at the 21st session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In its Article 2 governments agreed to limit global warming to “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and to pursue to limit it to 1.5°C (UNFCCC 2015). The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2015 showed that a gap of 14 GtCO2e exists for 2030 between the (unc...read more

Chemicals

Guide on sustainable chemicals

A decision tool for substance manufacturers, formulators and end users of chemicals

The Guide on Sustainable Chemicals helps manufacturers, formulators and end users of substances to select the more sustainable solution. The guide focusses on sustainability aspects in areas like hazardous properties for human health and for the environment; mobility of a substance, greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption as well as responsibility in the supply chains.read more

Climate | Energy, Economy | Consumption, Waste | Resources, Sustainability | Strategies | International matters

What Matters 2016

The prize of beauty: Every year, there are up to twelve new collections in the clothing stores on Germany's high streets. But this fast fashion is having a huge impact on the environment and on the people who live in manufacturing countries. /Money and the environment: A flight to Barcelona for EUR 20, a kilogram of pork for EUR 3 - we're still miles away from full ecological prices. This might co...read more

Economy | Consumption

Prevention of food waste in the catering sector

Guideline

Foods carry a significant ecological backpack. Their production requires land area, consumes water and generates greenhouse gas emissions. Sadly, private households in Germany alone incur some 6.7 million tonnes of food waste every year. About one third of all the food eaten away from home ends up being discarded. This guide gives practical, easy-to-follow advice on how to avoid food waste in the...read more

Waste | Resources

Options under public international law to increase resource efficiency (Flyer)

Assessment of the impact of the international legal framework on resource consumption and elaboration of options to anchor resource efficiency at the international level

The research project’s objective is to provide a legal and political science perspective to the Federal Government’s efforts to anchor the protection of resources more strongly at the international level. It analyses how public international law and other international governance mechanisms could be used more effectively to increase resource efficiency along the value chain. The project includes a...read more

Climate | Energy

Instruments to increase climate policy ambition before 2020 - economic and political implications in selected industry and emerging countries

Final Report

Currently there exists a gap between the emissions projected in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted by countries to the UNFCCC and the emissions that are consistent with limiting global warming to below 2°C (Climate Action Tracker, 2015a; UNFCCC, 2015). Given that the INDCs only commit countries to mitigation actions beyond 2020, there is an opportunity to further re...read more

Water

Water Framework Directive

The status of German waters 2015

The European Water Framework Directive requires that rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters, and groundwater achieve “good status” by the year 2027 at the latest. The European Union has provided a clear timetable as well as three six-year management cycles for Member States to achieve that goal. This brochure presents the results from the first management period, shows the development sinc...read more