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German Informative Inventory Report 2026

The Informative Inventory Report (IIR) is providing complementary information to Germany's air pollution inventories under the Geneva Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE/CLRTAP) as well as the EU's National Emission Ceiling Directive (NECD). Germany's air pollution inventory includes emission data in consistent time-series ranging from 1990 (1995 for PM10 , PM2.5 and 2000 for Black Carbon) to the latest reported year for all 26 air pollutants or groups of air pollutants (NOx , NMVOC, PCDD/PCDF) considered under UNECE reporting. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the inventory data, descriptions of the methods applied, data sources, and carried out QA/QC procedures. It follows the outline established by the latest guidelines for estimating and reporting of emission data and all data presented in this report were compiled according to those same guidelines. However, this report does not provide a comprehensive discussion on air pollution or the measures and politics dealing with it. Such information is included in the published national programs for further emission reductions, e.g. under the NEC directive or the trend and projection reports for green-house gases. Instead, it provides a detailed insight on the process of air pollution and emission inventory preparation. The focus lies on the methods and assumptions used for the German emission reporting and to underpin the “technical” review of the emission data as reported under the CLRTAP convention and its protocol. Quelle: Kotzulla, M., Vosen, T., Can, Ö., Böttcher, C., Kludt, R., Reichel, J., Zheng, J., Niebuhr, J., Schiller, S., Hausmann, K., Wernicke, T., Plickert, S., Lehmann, C., Reichart, A., Gromke, U., Döring, U., Brand, K., Hermann, T., Kessler, K., et al. (2026). Informative Inventory Report 2026. Seite 5

Anforderungen an die Innenraumluftqualität in Gebäuden: Gesundheitliche Bewertung der Emissionen von flüchtigen organischen Verbindungen (VVOC, VOC und SVOC) aus Bauprodukten

Poster Gewässertyp des Jahres 2026

Kleine stehende Gewässer, wie Tümpel, Fisch- und Löschteiche, Gruben, Moorgewässer oder kleine Seen unterscheiden sich in Größe, Entstehung und Nutzung. Sie sind beliebte Landschaftselemente und wichtige Lebensräume für viele Pflanzen und Tiere, darunter gefährdete Amphibien. Zudem wirken sie als Trittsteine im Biotopverbund und als Wasser- und Stoff Speicher. Für den Erhalt von Pflanzen- und Tierarten am und im Gewässer sind sie besonders bedeutsam.

Evaluating DBP Formation in Chlorinated Drinking Water: Effects of Contact with System Materials

Climate-driven challenges probably increase disinfection in drinking water systems. Interactions between disinfectants and infrastructure materials remain understudied. This study quantifies the consumption of chlorine, the release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the formation of regulated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) from 20 common materials: polymeric pipes, seals, fittings, epoxy resins, and cement mortar. The materials were pulverized to maximize the surface area and create a worst-case scenario. The results were compared with standardized migration tests. Chlorine depletion (>90%) was observed in the waters exposed to epoxy resins, seals, and cement. The formation of DBP, especially trichloromethane (TCM), exceeded 100 μg/L in samples of epoxy resins, cement, vulcanized fiber, and polyamide; TCM was detected in polyethylene pipe materials at concentrations between 5 and 18 μg/L. Increased temperatures enhanced DOC leaching and THM formation. Relations between DOC and DBP concentrations indicate material leachates as precursors. The results highlight the importance of material selection and testing for disinfected drinking water systems, providing critical insights for risk assessment, material certification, and regulatory development. ©2026 The Authors

Advancing environmental risk assessment (ERA) of plant protection products through a systems-based approach to strengthen biodiversity protection

In the European Union, regulated products such as plant protection products (PPPs) must undergo prospective environmental risk assessment (ERA) and obtain regulatory approval before use. ERA evaluates the potential adverse effects regulated products may pose to the environment, aiming to ensure that their use does not result in unacceptable effects. Despite ongoing improvements accumulated empirical evidence shows that current chemical ERA practices fall short of ensuring sufficient environmental protection, highlighting the need for better alignment with real-world ecological and agricultural conditions. Advancing ERA requires not only integrating a more realistic understanding of environmental contexts, but also fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and engaging stakeholders through knowledge-sharing platforms and partnerships. Within this context, the Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) is exploring new avenues to transform PPP ERA through six key actions: (1) clarifying regulatory needs to ensure regulatory relevance and facilitate regulatory uptake of project outcomes; (2) benchmarking ERA against real-world data for calibration and explore ways to simplify ERA processes; (3) improving ERA comparability to enable cross-substance comparison and ranking; (4) increasing ecological realism to deliver more realistic, context-dependent ERA predictions along with effective risk mitigation and sustainable use measures; (5) updating and modernising ERA approaches to reduce uncertainty, unnecessary complexity, and animal testing; and (6) fostering the transition toward a systems-based approach by interconnecting stakeholders and integrating data, knowledge and expertise across regulatory frameworks. In doing so, PARC aims to advance PPP ERA toward a holistic, systems-based ERA framework that supports the progressive phase-out of animal testing. Together, these efforts emphasise the urgent need for an interdisciplinary ERA platform that integrates scientific knowledge across domains, enhances biodiversity protection against chemical stressors, and drives the transition toward systems-based ERA for PPPs. © 2025 The Author(s).

Spatial resolution of exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) and the impact on the burden of disease in Germany

Accurate estimation of the disease burden attributable to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) requires reliable exposure data with an adequate spatial resolution. While coarse-resolution models are commonly used for national assessments, the impact of spatial resolution on environmental burden of disease (EBD) estimates remains understudied. We compared two modelling approaches for PM2.5 exposure in Germany: a chemical transport model (REM-CALGRID [RCG], 2 × 2 km² resolution) and a high-resolution hybrid geostatistical land-use regression model (PMR, 100 × 100 m² resolution). EBD estimates were calculated for five health outcomes using established concentration-response functions. Across all outcomes, the PMR model consistently produced slightly higher EBD estimates—approximately 2%–3% higher disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) than the coarser RCG model. The difference is due to improved detection of local pollution hotspots and more accurate exposure assignments in the high-resolution model. A larger share of the population was classified into higher exposure categories under the PMR model. Although the added value of high-resolution modelling is limited at national level, it offers clear benefits for small-area analyses and applications in environmental justice and health equity. Our findings support the integration of fine-scale exposure data into public health surveillance and burden of disease (BoD) assessments where feasible. © The Author(s) 2026

Modeling the fate of organic micropollutants in agricultural soils: laboratory parameterization and field-scale implications

Organic micropollutants (OMP) increasingly enter agricultural soils through irrigation with reclaimed water, raising concerns about their mobility and persistence in soils and their potential to contaminate groundwater. This study investigates the fate of ten OMP in an arable loamy-sand topsoil using a combined experimental and modeling approach. Abiotic/biotic kinetic and isotherm batch experiments were performed to derive process-relevant parameters for sorption and biodegradation. An inverse modeling approach was employed to simultaneously fit the parameters for the different processes to all three data types (i.e., abiotic kinetic, biotic kinetic data, equilibrium data), allowing robust parameter estimation across varying levels of model complexity. The model incorporated equilibrium and kinetic sorption (linear and Freundlich isotherms; one- and two-site kinetic models), first-order biodegradation, and explicitly accounted for vaporization losses due to aerated vessels, extending traditional batch modeling frameworks. Four OMP (adamantan-1-amine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, and sulfamethoxazole) exhibited biphasic sorption behavior, which was best described by a two-site kinetic model. Three OMP (acesulfame, saccharin, and valsartanate) showed negligible sorption but, following lag phases between 4 and 9 days, indicated microbial adaptation. After adaption, rapid biodegradation with half-lives of 0.4, 0.9, and 3.3 days, occurred. The remaining compounds (diatrizoate, trifluoromethanesulfonate, primidone) showed neither sorption nor degradation. The necessity of applying the relatively complex modeling approaches — required to describe the lab experiments — to field conditions was investigated using Hydrus-1D simulations under realistic soil and climate scenarios. The simulations revealed that sorption kinetics and microbial adaptation phases had minimal impacts on OMP transport simulations at field-scale under matrix-dominated flow, despite their importance for laboratory-scale interpretation. The results suggest that simplified equilibrium and immediate-degradation assumptions may be sufficient for risk assessment regarding to OMP in homogeneous soils with predominantly uniform flow conditions. Overall, this study presents a comprehensive framework for bridging laboratory observations with field-scale modeling, offering new insights into OMP fate and guiding efficient parameterization strategies for environmental risk assessment for the management of reclaimed water.

Rethinking science-policy-practice interaction for transformative sustainability research and innovation in Europe

Impactful knowledge generation and utilisation, aiming at addressing environmental and sustainability challenges, requires meaningful interaction between scientists, stakeholders, policymakers and society. This study identifies key success factors and challenges at the science-policy-practice interaction, drawing on document analysis, interviews, and workshops involving experts, policymakers, and funders of environmental and sustainability research and innovation across 14 European countries. Experiences from current practices highlight the highly variable contexts for interaction and communication throughout Europe, a diverse range of tools and approaches, and differing levels of available resources. Siloed structures and the need to engage various societal sectors and levels of governance remain significant challenges. The development and employment of expertise in communication, interaction and knowledge co-creation, capable to orchestrate this variability, is essential. Greater recognition of the diverse dimensions of inclusive participation is proposed to ensure that environmental and sustainability research and innovation, aimed at societal transformation, leaves no one behind. © 2026 Lyytimäki J et al.

Research Priorities for the Coupled Arctic Land–Ocean Carbon Cycle: Integrating Scientific and Policy Perspectives

Wieviel Fläche benötigen Deutschlands Fließgewässer?

Ausgehend von der Verfahrensempfehlung der Bund/Länder-Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wasser (LAWA) zur „Ermittlung des typspezifischen Flächenbedarfs für die Entwicklung von Fließgewässern“ wurde eine Methode entwickelt, mit der für alle Fließgewässer Deutschlands allein auf der Grundlage bundesweit einheitlich vorliegender Daten der Flächenbedarf zur Erreichung der Bewirtschaftungsziele gemäß EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie ermittelt werden konnte. Daraus wurde ein bundesweites Flächenziel für die naturnahe Gewässerentwicklung abgeleitet. Die Operationalisierung dieses Flächenziels erfordert Entscheidungen, Rahmensetzungen und Handlungen auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen. Es muss entschieden werden, ob und in welcher Form der mit der Gewässerentwicklung verbundene Flächenanspruch rechtlich verankert und Flächen gesichert werden. Hier bestehen vielfältige Optionen zum Beispiel im Wasserrecht, im Planungsrecht, im Naturschutzrecht oder im Baurecht. Quelle: Kw Korrespondenz Wasserwirtschaft. 19(2026), Heft 2, Seite 69

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