Altmaier met his Polish counterpart Marcin Korolec at the 16th German-Polish Environment Council. Key topics discussed included climate policy, sustainable energy supply and the environmentally sound development of the border regions. more

According to the first preliminary calculations and estimations of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), greenhouse gas emissions in Germany rose by 1.6 percent in 2012. Nevertheless; Germany clearly exceeded its reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. more

On 25 January 2013, Katherina Reiche, Parliamentary State Secretary and Chinese Vice-Environment Minister Zhou Jian opened the fourth Sino-German Environmental Forum in Berlin. The forum, hosted jointly by the Federal Environment Ministry and the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, focuses on sustainable management (Green Economy). more

On 17 January, at a conference held at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and attended by over 350 national and international experts, the results of the support program “E-Energy – Smart Energy made in Germany“ were presented.  more

The Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, Ursula Heinen-Esser, opens the 5th German-Japanese Environment Forum on 15 January 2013. The main topics at the conference centres around intelligent solutions for a sustainable energy supply ranging from electric vehicles to "smart homes". more

A call for tenders for the Federal Ecodesign Award, initiated by the Federal Environment Ministry BMU and the Federal Environmental Agency UBA, has been published for the second time on 14 January 2013. more

Greenhouse gas emissions are dropping further despite the decommissioning of eight nuclear power plants in 2011. When compared with emissions from 2010, emissions in 2011 fell by 2.9 percent, mainly due to weather conditions. The greatest reductions were recorded in combustion plants for the generation of space heating and as a result private household emissions fell. more

On 14 January, on the margins of the 3rd IRENA Assembly in Abu Dhabi, Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier and deputy chair of China's National Energy Administration (NEA) Liu Qi signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding pledging future cooperation on the expansion of renewable energies between the Federal Environment Ministry and the NEA. With this agreement both countries are to work together on energy policy, the issue of system integration, environmental impacts and model projects. more

At the beginning of 2013 a new initiative for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is being launched to boost the transformation of the German energy system, the "Energiewende". Jointly introduced by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) and the German Federation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH), the initiative will provide SMEs with information and expertise on all topics relating to the "Energiewende". more

Federal Minister for Economics and Technology, Dr. Philipp Rösler, and Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier presented the first monitoring report "Energy of the Future". The federal cabinet had adopted the report earlier in the day. The report finds that the transformation of the energy system, a task for several generations, has made progress, but that some challenges are yet to be addressed.  more

Following difficult negotiations, the international Climate Change Conference in Doha agreed on a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. A work programme for the comprehensive climate agreement to be negotiated by 2015 was also adopted. more