Topics | Umweltbundesamt

2024 was the warmest year worldwide since records began 1850.The last ten years have been the warmest years worldwide since 1850.The Paris Agreement stipulates that the increase in global temperature should be limited to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and even to 1.5 °C. Due to historical data availability, the comparative period used by WMO for this purpose is 1850 to 1900. read more

Compared with 2010, energy consumption by private households and associated carbon dioxide emissions decreased overall.Raw material use stagnated at the level of 2010.In its Sustainability Strategy the German government sets the goal of reducing the global environmental footprint of private household consumption in all three areas. read more

According to initial calculations, greenhouse gas emissions in Germany declined by 48.2 % between 1990 and 2024.Germany aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 % by 2020 and by at least 65 % by 2030 compared to 1990 emission levels. Complete greenhouse gas neutrality is to be achieved by 2045.With the ‘amended Federal Climate Protection Act’ in 2024, the allowed sectoral emission quantities... read more

To achieve the objectives for the protection of the marine environment, Germany has committed to achieve target values for total nitrogen at the limnic-marine transition points.For the flow-weighted 5-year moving average of all rivers, these target values are achieved for the North Sea, but are still exceeded for the Baltic Sea.Some of the North and Baltic Sea tributaries still have very high conc... read more

In the 2024 representative survey, 15 % said they were actively involved in environmental protection and nature conservation. In 2022, the figure was 17 % and in 2020 19 %.The indicator shows that the positive trend of previous years has not continued.Considering the single-digit percentages for active engagement from 2006 to 2016, the 15 % from 2024 represents a relatively large share in a long-t... read more

Primary energy consumption (PEC) in Germany has fallen significantly since the end of the 2000s. It fell by 26 % between 2008 and 2023.According to the Energy Efficiency Act of 2023, PEC is to be reduced by 39 % by 2030 compared to 2008. The ‘Greenhouse Gas Projections 2025’ by the German Environment Agency indicate that the measures taken so far will likely be insufficient to achieve this targetT... read more

The total raw material productivity grew by 15 % between 2010 and 2021.According to the German government, an average growth of 1.6 % of total raw material productivity must be achieved between 2010 and 2030.With annual growth averaging around 1.3 %, the current development is below this target.Total raw material productivity is a measure of the efficiency of raw material use and also includes raw... read more

A water exploitation index of 20 % or above indicates the threshold of water stress.Water stress means an increasing risk of environmental problems and economic difficulties.Since 2007 the water exploitation index has been below the critical level of 20 %; in 2022 it was at 10,1 %.Germany is causing water exploitation in other parts of the world by importing goods. In some regions this can contrib... read more