This report contains the scientific background to the review and revision of the empirical critical loads of nitrogen (CL emp N) that had been established for Europe in 2011 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. This review uses for the first time gradient studies to evaluate and determine the Cl emp N. The results, as presented in Table 1 of the Executive Summary, show that in many cases the outer ranges of the CL emp N have decreased compared to the 2011 values. The outcomes of this report are of major importance for the protection of N-sensitive natural and semi-natural ecosystems across Europe. This knowledge is used to support European policies to reduce air pollution. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 110/2022.
Internationale UBA-Konferenz berät über nachhaltige Wohlstandsmodelle Konzepte für Grüne Zukunftsmärkte und eine ‘Green Economy‘ stehen im Mittelpunkt der internationalen UBA-Konferenz „Green Markets - World of Sustainable Products“ am 29. und 30.09.2011 in der Urania Berlin. ‘Green Economy‘ steht für ein energie- und ressourceneffizientes Wirtschaften. Damit soll weltweit eine nachhaltige Entwicklung initiiert werden, die Armut abbaut und ökologische Grenzen einhält. Einen wichtigen Schritt dazu bilden Investitionen in grüne Zukunftsmärkte. Die Tagung findet im Vorfeld der Rio+20-Konferenz im Juni 2012 statt, bei der die internationale Staatengemeinschaft über Wege zur ökologischen Modernisierung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft verhandelt. „Green Economy ist eine Schlüsselstrategie um Hunger und Armut in der Welt erfolgreich zu bekämpfen und die weltweite wirtschaftliche Entwicklung in den Grenzen der ökologischen Belastbarkeit unseres Planeten zu halten“, sagt UBA-Präsident Jochen Flasbarth. The pathway to a green economy provides industrial and developing countries with the prospect of ensuring prosperity without encroaching on the limits of the environment. In June 2012 – 20 years after the 1992 Rio Conference – the international community will gather at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). At this so-called ‘Rio +20’ Conference the parties to the conference will discuss how the global community can move towards becoming an environmentally friendly, resource-saving and energy-efficient ‘green economy.’ Flasbarth comments, “Environmental protection may not be regarded as a niche policy. Development towards a green economy not only affects green sectors, but the very core of the economy“. Investment in green future markets lays the groundwork for a green economy. The Federal Ministry of Environment and the Federal Environment Agency have identified six green lead markets for Germany: environmentally friendly energy production, energy efficiency, material and resource efficiency, sustainable mobility, sustainable water management, and waste and recycling management. On a global scale these markets alone hold enormous potential valued at up to 3.1 trillion euros by 2020. The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe, published on 20 September 2011, details the key components for a transition to an energy and resource-efficient economy in Europe. European Commissioner for Environment Janez Potočnik comments, “In a cooperative effort of Member States and interest groups in industry and civil society, we must create the conditions in which our economy can undergo fundamental changes in the coming years. We must send the right market signals, abolish subsidies harmful to the environment, and promote sustainable production and consumption.” Resource efficiency must be borne in mind in all policy-making areas- from waste management, research and innovation, to energy and transport. If nothing else, a true green economy will help to reduce absolute poverty in developing countries. The UN Environment Programme-led Green Economy Initiative of 2008 launched has made several proposals to this end. UNECE General Secretary Ján Kubiš comments, “Investment in natural capital—water, soil, ecosystems- not only makes an important contribution to global climate protection and the preservation of biodiversity, it also represents an investment in the economic viability of billions of people“. Dessau-Roßlau, 29.09.2011
The European Green Deal, published by the European Commission in 2019, represents a new and ambitious approach to put environment and sustainability at the heart of European policy. Its ambitions are high, yet the planned measures might not be sufficient to actually meet them. The report analyzes the European Green Deal from the perspective of the German Environment Agency and places it in the context of the global challenge of achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals. In addition to necessary measures in the thematic fields of the European Green Deal, the report also addresses the structural adjustments needed as key levers to achieve the desired goals. The report concludes that the European Green Deal is an important step forward, but that further efforts beyond those described there are still needed in order to achieve a sustainable Europe. Quelle: www.umweltbundesamt.de
The European Climate Law (ECL) mandates the European Commission to propose an emission reduction target for 2040 within six months following the first global stocktake referred to in the Paris Agreement, i.e. by May 2024. The ECL obliges the European Commission to take into account the latest and best scientific findings and to take the recommendations by the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (Advisory Board) as a point of reference for setting the 2040 climate target. This recommendation was published in the Advisory Board's comprehensive report, published in June 2023, and advises a net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction by 90-95% for the EU by 2040, relative to 1990, corresponding to a 2030-2050 budget of 11-14 Gt CO2eq. The report provides extensive reasoning and scientific evidence how this target range was derived. The German Environment Agency (UBA) welcomes the timely publication of this report and urges the European Commission and European policy makers to follow scientific advice, aim for the most plausible climate ambition and set an intermediate domestic 2040 net GHG emission reduction target of 95%, compared to 1990. However, a discussion that focuses only on the final figure of the 2040 target would not adequately address the intricate nature of GHG reductions and the essential prerequisites for successfully achieving the target. Therefore, the proposal for the 2040 climate target needs to be supplemented with additional information by the European Commission, allowing politics and stakeholders to evaluate the ambition of different target options, to provide clear guidance on the architecture of the target, in particular regarding the relation of emission reductions and carbon sinks, and to address the burden sharing between sectors and member states. Moreover the 2040 target should not be understood as a single-year target only, but rather as a process of continuous ratcheting up of climate ambition with regular reviews and updates. Quelle: Bericht
We are exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals in our daily lives through the environment, consumer products, food and drinking water and at work. The 'Phthalates' video is part of a series of interviews with experts on different chemical substances that are studied under the HBM4EU project to help citizens to understand better how chemicals impact in our life. Which are the main routes of exposure and health impacts of phthalates? What do we know about the current human exposure? What new knowledge are we producing at HBM4U? Watch the video and find all the answers. Additionally, you can learn how to avoid exposure to phthalates and what are the main policy action done at the European level to prevent human exposure. Special acknowledgment should be given to Dr Marike Kolossa-Gehring, Head of section Toxicology, Health Related Environmental Monitoring at the German Environment Agency. The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) is a joint effort of 30 countries, the European Environment Agency and the European Commission, co-funded under Horizon 2020. The initiative is coordinating and advancing human biomonitoring in Europe. HBM4EU is generating evidence of the actual exposure of citizens to chemicals and the possible health effects in order to support policy making. More information at www.hbm4eu.eu/ This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 733032. © European Environment Agency
Noise belongs to the severest environmental impairments in towns, with road traffic being the most annoying noise source. The reduction of these impairments and the precaution against new noise impacts is an important task of the communities. However, many of the potential abatement measures are not in the responsibility of the communities. In most European countries, noise emission regulations for road and rail vehicles and outdoor machinery are nowadays enforced by the European Union. Noise reception limits are generally enforced by national laws. Therefore, efficient noise abatement in towns has to be coordinated with the regional, national and supranational, i.e. European noise policy. The most important fields of action for the urban noise abatement are the roads, railways and airports with heavy traffic. For the avoidance of health risks due to noise here short-term reductions are needed, which can generally be achieved only by a combination of measures for which different stakeholders are responsible. This underlines the importance of integrated and coordinated noise abatement concepts. Quelle: http://link.springer.com
We introduce the INSPIRATION bottom-up approach for the development of a strategic research agenda for spatial planning, land use and soil-sediment-water-system management in Europe. Research and innovation needs were identified by more than 500 European funders, endusers, scientists, policy makers, public administrators and consultants. We report both on the concept and on the implementation of the bottom-up approach, provide a critique of the process and draw key lessons for the development of research agendas in the future. Based on identified strengths and weaknesses we identified as key opportunities and threats 1) a high ranking and attentiveness for the research topics on the political agenda, in press and media or in public awareness, 2) availability of funding for research, 3) the resources available for creating the agenda itself, 4) the role of the sponsor of the agenda development, and 5) the continuity of stakeholder engagement as bases for identification of windows of opportunity, creating ownership for the agenda and facilitating its implementation. Our derived key recommendations are 1) a clear definition of the area for which the agenda is to be developed and for the targeted user, 2) a conceptual model to structure the agenda, 3) making clear the expected roles, tasks, input formats regarding the involvement and communication with the stakeholders and project partners, 4) a sufficient number of iterations and checks of the agenda with stakeholders to insure completeness, relevance and creation of co-ownership for the agenda, and 5) from the beginning prepare the infrastructure for the network to implement the agenda. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Ecosystem service (ES) spatial modelling is a key component of the integrated assessments designed to support policies and management practices aiming at environmental sustainability. ESTIMAP ("Ecosystem Service Mapping Tool") is a collection of spatially explicit models, originally developed to support policies at a European scale. We based our analysis on 10 case studies, and 3 ES models. Each case study applied at least one model at a local scale. We analyzed the applications with respect to: the adaptation process; the "precision differential" which we define as the variation generated in the model between the degree of spatial variation within the spatial distribution of ES and what the model captures; the stakeholders' opinions on the usefulness of models. We propose a protocol for adapting ESTIMAP to the local conditions. We present the precision differential as a means of assessing how the type of model and level of model adaptation generate variation among model outputs. We then present the opinion of stakeholders; that in general considered the approach useful for stimulating discussion and supporting communication. Major constraints identified were the lack of spatial data with sufficient level of detail, and the level of expertise needed to set up and compute the models. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
The aim of EKLIPSE is to develop a mechanism to inform European-scale policy on biodiversity and related environmental challenges. This paper considers two fundamental aspects of the decision-support mechanism being developed by EKLIPSE: 1) the engagement of relevant actors from science, policy and society to jointly identify evidence for decision making; and 2) the networking of scientists and other holders of knowledge on biodiversity and other relevant evidence. The mechanism being developed has the potential not only to build communities of knowledge holders but to build informal networks among those with similar interests in evidence, be they those that seek to use evidence or those who are building evidence, or both. EKLIPSE has been successful in linking these people and in contributing to building informal networks of requesters of evidence, and experts of evidence and its synthesis. We have yet to see, however, significant engagement of formal networks of knowledge holders. Future success, however, relies on the continued involvement with and engagement of networks, a high degree of transparency within the processes and a high flexibility of structures to adapt to different requirements that arise with the broad range of requests to and activities of EKLIPSE. Quelle: https://www.ingentaconnect.com
Ubiquitous use of plasticizers has led to a widespread internal exposure of the European population. Until today, metabolites are detected in almost every urine sample analysed. This raised the urgent need for a toxicological interpretation of the internal exposure levels. The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) contributes substantially to the knowledge on the actual exposure of European citizens to chemicals prioritised within HBM4EU, on their potential impact on health and on the interpretation of these data to improve policy making. On that account, human biomonitoring guidance values (HBM-GVs) are derived for the general population and the occupationally exposed population agreed at HBM4EU consortium level. These values can be used to assess phthalate exposure levels measured in HBM studies in a health risk assessment context. HBM-GVs were derived for five phthalates (DEHP, DnBP, DiBP, BBzP and DPHP) and for the non-phthalate substitute Hexamoll® DINCH. For the adult general population, the HBM-GVs for the specific metabolite(s) of the respective parent compounds in urine are the following: 0.5 mg/L for the sum of 5-oxo-MEHP and 5-OH-MEHP; 0.19 mg/L for MnBP, 0.23 mg/L for MiBP; 3 mg/L for MBzP; 0.5 mg/L for the sum of oxo-MPHP and OH-MPHP and 4.5 mg/L for the sum of OH-MINCH and cx-MINCH. The present paper further specifies HBM-GVs for children and for workers. Quelle: © 2021 The Author(s)
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