Science

The roughly 1,900 fixed installations participating in emissions trading in 2016 had emissions worth 453 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents, or 0.6 per cent less than in 2015. The lower emissions in the emissions trading sector thus did not offset the 3.8-per cent increase over 2015 in Germany’s transport sector emissions which the UBA had calculated in its short-term forecast.

Air pollution, noise, traffic jams, too few green spaces – these are the problems that plague many people living in cities. In a new publication UBA paints a picture of how the future-fit city might look.

An area of 66 hectares of new land is consumed every day in Germany, with severe negative effects on the environment. UBA recommends a fixed quota regime for land and a certificate trading system.

Nearly 4 million tons more greenhouse gases emissions than in 2015 – transport sector tops 1990 levels

Many mine lakes have the potential to develop very good water quality and they are often cleaner than natural lakes. However, lignite remains the dirtiest of all sources of energy. In 2014 alone lignite caused environmental damage in the amount of 16.8 billion euros. A phase-out of lignite-fired electricity is urgently needed.

The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and the Germany Environment Agency (UBA) are campaigning for systematic environmental protection in deep sea mining. At an expert workshop event in Berlin, the two authorities made an appeal for a comprehensive assessment of both the chances and risks of future deep sea mining.

Complaints about low-frequency noise – the so-called humming phenomenon – have risen sharply in recent years. A new guide by UBA provides advice on the ideal installation of heat pumps and the like.

The German Environment Agency, with support from the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, supported and advised a three-year Advisory Assistance Project entitled "Environmentally sound concepts of maritime spatial use for the Baltic Sea Area of the Russian Federation".

The EU Commission is providing funding worth more than 74 million euros to the “European Human Biomonitoring Initiative – HBM4EU” project to harmonize and align the database on human biomonitoring in the EU Member States and to enhance our understanding of the health impact of exposure to pollution. The aim is to consolidate existing data and to implement joint research projects.

The air in Germany’s cities continued to have excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution in 2016. This is according to an evaluation of preliminary measurements made by the federal states and the German Environment Agency. The threshold value of 40 micrograms per cubic metre on a yearly average was exceeded at about 57 per cent of all the measuring stations located near major thoroughfares.