The European Methane Regulation came into force on 5 August 2024. It is part of the EU's ‘Fit for 55’ package, which aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by at least 55 percent by 2030. Moreover, Germany committed to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2020 levels at the 26th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC.
For the EU27 and Germany, the climate protection potential of the circular economy was examined for municipal waste, industrial & commercial, construction & demolition and food waste for 2017 and 2030 using the life cycle assessment method. The study shows the sector's GHG mitigation potential, including food waste prevention, in the context of the EU legal framework and the energy transition.
A research project for the German Environment Agency investigates options for multilateral initiatives of G20 countries to close the climate ambition gap between insufficient current policies and contributions and the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2030. The policy fields energy transition, synthetic e-fuels, sustainable food systems and forest protection are at the spotlight of the analysis.
What is the greenhouse effect and which gases are involved? How do man-made greenhouse gas emissions cause change in the earth’s atmosphere and what can still be done to limit global warming?
In 2018, the European Commission published its communication “A clean planet for all”, which calls for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A thorough study commissioned by UBA assessing the underlying scenarios for policy making shows, that central aspects for building an adequate ambitious long-term climate strategy, such as socio-economic, fiscal and technological, had been considered.
