Topics | Umweltbundesamt

In the sector of products with official eco-labels, 12.2% of turnover was generated with particularly environmentally friendly and socially responsible products in 2022.The Federal Government has set the target of increasing the market share of these products to 34% by 2030.More efforts are needed to achieve this goal, particularly in the food, clothing and mobility sectors. read more

The five-year average of nitrogen surplus of the total balance per hectare of utilized agricultural land has decreased by 34 % since 1992.The Federal Government aims to reduce the average nitrogen surplus of the total balance of the years 2028 to 2032 to 70 kilogrammes per hectare of agricultural land.If the trend of the last 10 years continues, the target will be reached. read more

Power generation, heat generation and transport activities pollute the environment, among other things, through the emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.This results in high subsequent costs for society, for example through environmentally-induced diseases, damage to ecosystems or even buildings.For Germany, these environmental costs are estimated to amount to almost 301 billion euros i... read more

The highest number of hot days averaged across Germany were recorded in 2003, 2015, 2018 and 2022.Despite considerable fluctuations between individual years, the overall trend is rising significantly.More hot days are expected during summer months in the coming decades due to climate change. read more

The most important environmental taxes are energy, motor vehicle and revenues from national emissions trading.In 2022, environmental taxes amounted to a total of 66.5 billion euros.The share of total taxes has been on a downward trend since 2005 and now stands at 7.4 %. read more

69 % of vulnerable ecosystems in Germany are threatened 2019 by excess nitrogen deposition.With the revised German Sustainable Development Strategy 2016, the Federal Government aims to reduce the proportion of these areas by 35 % until 2030. According to the current calculation basis, this results in a target value of 52 % by 2030.This target is feasible only if efforts to reduce air pollution are... read more

According to the 2022 noise mapping, about 17.9 % of the total population was adversely affected by night-time noise.They further showed that 26.3 % of the population was exposed to a noise level of above 55 decibels during the day.The main source of noise is road traffic. Aircraft noise hardly plays a role in the area assessment.Noise that exceeds exposure limits can lead to health problems. read more

The recycling rate for municipal waste rose from 56 % in 2002 to 67.7 % in 2022.The target set by the Federal Government of increasing the recycling percentage for municipal waste to 65 % by 2020 has therefore been achieved.However, there is still a need for action for individual subgroups of municipal waste. read more