Topics | Umweltbundesamt

Energy consumption in manufacturing hardly changed at all between 1995 and 2022.In 2022, energy consumption in the industry sector amounted to 3,767 Petajoules, which was roughly the same level than in previous years. Since a peak in 2017, the values have fallen every year.Germany’s primary energy consumption should fall by 50 % by 2050. The manufacturing sector will have to contribute to it. read more

Greenhouse gas emissions of the manufacturing industry fell by around 35 % between 1995 and 2023.Over the same period, productivity in the manufacturing industry grew by about 46 % (adjusted for price).Germany is aiming for greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. read more

According to the data of the German Federal Statistical Office, the share of area under organic farming of agricultural land increased from 2.9 % to 11.2 % from 1999 to 2023.The Federal Government aims to increase the proportion of organically cultivated areas in agricultural land to 30 % by 2030.At the growth rate of recent years, this aim is expected to be missed in 2030. read more

The basic pollution levels in German conurbations significantly exceed WHO recommendations from 2021 for particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).In the vicinity of pollutant sources, pollution levels can even be significantly higher.The situation for NO₂ and PM2.5 has improved considerably since 2000, but the WHO recommendations for 2021 are still clearly exceeded.Ozone and PM2.5 pol... read more

Too high phosphorus concentrations are measured at more than half of all river measurement stations in Germany.The share has declined by around one third since the beginning of the 1980s. Extreme levels of pollution are very rare nowadays.Aim of the Sustainability Strategy is to meet the requirements for good status for phosphorous in all water bodies by 2030 at the latest.This requires a change i... read more

All bathing waters in the EU were supposed to be of at least sufficient quality by 2015.97.9 % of inland bathing waters had excellent water quality in 2023. With that the target has been missed only slightly.Considering only those bathing waters that were explicitly assessed, 99.7 % of the bathing waters met the requirements in 2023.About 91 % of inland waters and almost 88 % of coastal bathing wa... read more

In 2021, around 3.2 million people worked in environmental protection. That was 7.1 % of all employees.Of this, over half are environment-related services.Since 2002, employment in environmental protection has risen steadily and environmental protection has established itself as an important factor for the labour market. read more

Approximately 6 % of industrial production in Germany are used to protect the environment, e.g. for noise protection or climate mitigation.In 2021, potential environmental protection goods worth nearly 90.6 billion euros were produced in Germany.At 43 billion, climate protection accounts for the largest share. read more