An Introduction to Environmental Institutions in Germany and the Federal Environmental Agency

Christina Pykonen, Umweltbundesamt, I 1.2 – International Environmental Protection

Content

1. Responsibilities for environmental management

5. Cooperation and coordination

2. Administrative structures

3. Environmental institutions

4. Federal Environmental Agency

6. European Union

Responsibilities for environmental management

• Environmental management shared between the

Federation, the Länder, and municipalities

• Environmental responsibilities are laid down in constitution, laws and regulations.

• Federation has lead role and Länder take part in legislative process through the

Bundesrat.

• Länder have main responsibility for enforcing environmental laws. German Länder

Responsibilities for environmental management

Atomic Act

General administrative regulations• TA Air• TA Noise• TA Waste• EIA

Framework legislation• Water budget• Nature conservation• Landscape mgt.

Concurrent legislative powers• Waste management• Air quality control• Noise abatement• Chemicals Act

FEDERATION

Enforcement responsibilities

• Authorizations for

- Building and operation of industrial plants, power plant, waste disposal site and treatment plants

- hazardous waste transport

- waste water discharge

• Establish and certify inspection and monitoring stations

• Monitoring and controlling

• Create emission and emission register

• Determine air, nature, landscape, and water protection areas

• punish offences

LÄNDER

Typical responsibilities:• Building and landscape

planning• Urban sanitation• Water supply• Sewage disposal• Upgrade waste recovery and recycling• Clean-up contaminated

sites• Sanitation of old sewage system• Noise protection measures• Implement nature and

landscape protection• Observe environmental

compatibility of energy supply

• Advise citizens and supply of information

MUNICIPALITIES

Division of environmental responsibilities

Fed. law presides over Länder law

Elaborate and implement

Consent of Länder

Executed by order of Federation

Administrative structures

Inter-mediate authority

Lower authority

Superior authority

Superior authority

Superior authority

Superior authority

Su-perior au-thority

Intermediate authority (special administration)

Lower authority (special administration)

Intermediate authority (general administration, e.g. District Government)

Ministry Ministry

Federation

Ministry Ministry Ministry

Länder

Counties

Municipalities Major county towns

Towns not belonging to a county

Lower authority (special ad-ministration)

Municipalities

Structure of the Administration in Germany

Environmental institutions

A profile of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety - Bundesumweltministerium

• Established in 1986, offices in Bonn and Berlin

• There are some 830 employees in six departments

• Areas of responsibility include: environmental protection, health-related aspects of environmental protection, nature conservation, nuclear safety and radiation protection

• Environmental Minister since 1998 – Jürgen Trittin, Parliamentary State Secretaries – Margareta Wolf and Simone Probst, State Secretary – Rainer Baake

• Three federal agencies in portfolio: Federal Environmental Agency, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, and

Federal Office for Radiation Protection

Environmental institutions

Directorate General IGEnvironmental Health, Immission Control, Safety of Installations and Transport, Chemical Safety

Directorate General RSSafety of Nuclear Installations, Radiological Protection, Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Organizational chart of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

Directorate General GStrategic and Economic Aspects of Environmental Policy, Cross-sectional Environmental Legislation, International Cooperation

Directorate General ZCentral Functions

Directorate General WAWater Management, Waste Management, Soil Conservation, Contaminated Sites

Directorate General NNature Conservation and Sustainable Use of Nature

State SecretaryParliamentary State Secretary

Parliamentary State Secretary

Minister

Environmental institutions

Government spending on the environment in 2004 (in Million €)

Ministry of Environment 789

Foreign Office 93

Ministry of Finance 439

Ministry of Economics and Technology 473

Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture 235

Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing 451

Ministry of Defense 341

Ministry of Health 1

Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth 34

Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development 771

Ministry of Education and Research 600

general financial management 57

environmental protection loans from the ERP special funds 900

environmental protection loans from the federal banks 1.300

Source: BMU Website- www.bmu.de/en/1024/js/tasks/ausgaben/main/htm Total 6.484

Federal Environmental Agency

A profile of the Federal Environmental Agency - Umweltbundesamt

• Established in 1974

• Largest environmental scientific authority operating at the federal level

• Covering diverse spectrum of responsibilities including classic and interdisciplinary areas

• The Agency has 5 functions: advise and support BMU and other ministries, implement legislation, collect and provide data on the environment, inform and educate the general public,

international activities

• Headquarters located in Berlin and in 2005 Dessau

• Operates 23 measuring stations throughout Germany

• Employs nearly 1200 people with annual budget of 100 Million €

Federal Environmental Agency

Division IIIEnvironmentally

Compatible Technologies – Processes and

Products

Department EGerman Emissions

Trading Agency

Division IEnvironmental Planning and

Strategies

Administrative Division Z

Administration, information and documentation

Division IVSafety Chemical and

Gene Technology

Division IIEnvironment and

Health: Water, Soil and Air Hygiene,

Ecology

President

Vice- President

President‘s officePress Office

Secretariat of the Council of Environmental Advisors

Organizational chart of the Federal Environmental Agency

Cooperation and coordination

• Federal government has stepped up efforts to address environmental protection as a cross-sectional task

• Joint Rules of Procedure (GGO) of the Federal Government determine the cooperation between the federal ministries

• § 19 of GGO, ministries cooperate on areas with overlapping jurisdiction to achieve common position

• When diverging opinions between ministries, lead ministry requires consent of other ministries

• Inter-ministerial working groups established

• Examples of areas where consent sought:

1) Clement and Trittin in CO2 trading for NAP

2) German Sustainable Development Strategy (long-term targets)

European Union

Development and facts about the European Union

• Established in 1992 with the Treat of Maastricht, formally comprised of ECSC (with „The Six“ founding members), EEC

(“four freedoms”) and Euratom (promoting nuclear energy) which existed since the 1950’s

• 25 member states with some 454 million people

• First environmental policy adopted in 1972: precautionary principle, principle of prevention, polluter-pays principle,

principle that environmental damage should be rectified at its source

• First Action Programme in 1973

• 1986 Single European Act (SEA passed)

• Over 300 environment-related directives and regulations – Acquis Communautaire

European Union

Recent EU environmental legislation and priorities

6th EAP - 4 priority areas until 2010:

• Climate change – 8% emission reduction target, call for structural changes in transport and energy sectors, call for energy-efficiency and energy-saving, established EU-wide emissions trading

• Nature and bio-diversity – Establishment of Natura 2000 network, focus on protecting landscapes via agricultural and

regional policies

• Environment and health –Launch of Environment and Health Action Plan in June this year, focus on managing risks from chemicals and pesticides, Water Framework Directive

• Sustainable use of natural resources and waste – Decoupling waste generation from economic growth, heightened focus on recycling improved resource efficiency