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Last changed: 28/03/12
UBA is in a position to become even more environmentally friendly and continues to optimize operations, even after 10 years of environmental management. In the future, business travel will increasingly be replaced by video conferencing, the CO2 emissions of its official cars will be reduced by ten percent. More staff will opt for green modes of transport such as bus, rail, bicycle or foot. Nesting and brooding place for birds, beehives and rare domestic sheep species are already doing their bit for the environment.
A new Federal Environment Agency study examines the role which sinks and emissions in the sector of land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) play in existing and future emissions trading systems. Harmonised standards are important to ensure that the different regional emissions trading systems will be able to form an effective and efficient international carbon market in future.
Energy renovation of buildings would save up to 30 percent of greenhouse gases in the construction industry by the year 2030. However, a mere one-third of economically feasible and energy-saving potential is being tapped. One reason is that there is a lack of qualified personnel. “We need an education and training offensive campaign to promote energy renovation in building stock,” says UBA President Jochen Flasbarth.
Emissions trading systems have been or are being established in many countries and regions around the world to curb climate-damaging emissions of greenhouse gases. Most of these systems include measures to safeguard the competitiveness of industries under an emissions cap. A study commissioned by UBA has examined and compared various approaches, with the aim of an early identification of potential barriers to the linking of emissions trading systems to a global carbon market.
Measures to increase energy efficiency benefit both the climate and the job market. Investment in energy efficiency and emissions reduction measures will bolster the position of Germany as a business location in the long term. According to a new study, these measures could create some 630,000 new jobs by 2020.
Serious efforts to mitigate climate change would reduce annual global economic performance by only around 1.5 per cent in this century. This means that the goal of limiting global warming to no more than two degrees Celsius can be achieved at moderate costs. This study shows that energy saving and use of renewable energy provide cost-efficient alternatives to the use of nuclear energy.
Germany is on the road to a green economy, using less resources, land and energy than just 10 years ago to obtain the same yield. At the same time, the importance of environmental protection as an economic factor is growing. As shown by the environmental economy report, major opportunities for employment exist in particular in the fields of climate protection, increasing resource efficiency, and export of environmental and efficiency technologies.
The EN 16001 standard of 2009 sets uniform EU-wide criteria for structured energy management systems. By implementing the standard, companies and organisations can improve their energy efficiency and identify energy saving potential. The new guideline published by UBA and BMU shows in a clear and practice-oriented way just how it is done and that doing so is worthwhile in both environmental and economic respects.
The emission reduction targets of the world’s major CO2 emitters are not yet sufficient to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Doing more will not necessarily cost us more, however. A new study commissioned by UBA shows that economic costs in terms of reduced gross domestic product (GDP) compared to baseline GDP in 2020 are no higher than 0.25 percent, assuming that emission allowances are traded globally. If the EU reduces its emissions by 30 percent (instead of by 20 percent) by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, the reduction in GDP growth will be marginal.
Unfortunately, this trend is on the rise. Even worse, nearly half the subsidies which harm the environment promote the use of oil, coal or gas, thus thwarting environmental protection efforts. In times of record debt environmentally harmful subsidies must be subjected to serious review. A UBA background paper illustrates financial policies that could make savings.
The debate over economic growth and welfare and the link between the two has re-intensified both nationally and internationally. Deficits exist, for example, in the inclusion of the costs of environmental changes and of maintaining social cohesion, which gross domestic product (GDP) does not cover. A research project commissioned by UBA has analysed possible complementary indicators and proposes a “National Welfare Index” (NWI) composed of 21 sub-variables. This project was a follow-up to a project in which visions for the further development of the German national sustainability strategy were discussed in interdisciplinary technical dialogues.