Under the current legal situation, pesticides are authorised in Germany even though scientific findings show that they are harmful to the environment. The German authorities are currently unable to effectively protect the environment from harmful pesticides. This should be re-regulated under European law.
2023 Monitoring Report on the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change
2023 Monitoring Report on the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change
In 2013, the Common Agricultural Policy was reformed with the aim of reducing negative environmental impacts of agriculture. Accordingly, farmers had to comply with certain environmentally friendly farming measures, the so-called "greening", to receive the EU subsidies. Despite high costs, however, the effects of the reform have remained small. This has been shown by a recent paper by UBA.
The reuse of treated waste water can help to reduce water shortages. Reused water can contain pathogens and harmful substances, however. On 28 May 2018, the EU Commission proposed a regulation, on minimum requirements concerning the reuse of water. It aims to protect health and the environment. The UBA considers there to be a need for improvement.
More than half of Germany's surface area is used for agriculture. Agriculture thus is the largest land user in Germany and a significant contributor to environmental stress. On the other hand, agriculture is also affected, for example, by the effects of climate change. In the flyer "Environment and agriculture 2018" UBA presents key facts about agriculture and environment.
