In brief - List of technical terms

In 1994, Article 20a of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany enshrined conservation of the natural foundation of life as a national policy aim. Article 20a states: "Mindful also of its responsibility toward future generations, the state shall protect the natural foundations of life and animals by legislation and, in accordance with law and justice, by executive and judicial action, all within the framework of the constitutional order."

Biodiversity or biological diversity is the foundation of life for all humans and is disappearing at an alarming rate. Biodiversity includes not only diversity of species and habitats but also genetic diversity within the individual plant and animal species. Biodiversity ensures people have food, drinking water, fuels and medicine and also ensures fertile soils and provides fuels. Humans, in particular, are responsible for the dramatic decline in biological diversity. In 1992 the international community of states adopted the International Convention on Biological Diversity in order to advance the conservation of biological diversity.

Biogas is a gas produced through the fermentation of biomass. It can be used for electricity and heat production or as a fuel. The use of biomass in Germany has become increasingly important as a result of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). Nature conservation requirements must be respected when dealing with large scale cultivation and harvesting of suitable plants. Biogas can also be extracted from slurry. Biogas can be delivered directly to block power stations for energy production or fed into and stored in the public natural gas network.

Biomass is organic matter extracted from plants, plant parts and bio waste. It can be used to produce electricity, heat and fuel. Energy generated from biomass falls into the category of renewable energy as the organic substance extracted can grow again. In Germany, forestry and agriculture are important sources of biomass. Nature conservation requirements must be respected when dealing with large scale cultivation and harvesting of suitable plants. The Federal Environment Ministry promotes projects that aim to optimise the use of biomass. The German Biomass Ordinance regulates more specific conditions related to the production of energy from biomass.

The CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) is a comprehensive international agreement on nature conservation and sustainable development. The three main objectives of the agreement are: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components so that as many people as possible can profit from the benefits arising from them. Moreover, access to a country's genetic resources, such as raw materials for medicine will be regulated; the benefits arising from the use of such resources should be shared fairly and legitimately with the countries providing the raw materials. The Convention was opened for signatures in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro and entered into force in 1993. In Germany, a national biodiversity strategy was adopted to complement the Convention.

CITES is an international species protection agreement that entered into force in 1975. Because the agreement was signed in Washington, it is sometimes also called the Washington Convention.CITES is one of the most effective instruments in the fight against the extinction of species. It monitors, regulates and limits international trade in protected animal and plant species and products that are made from them. Endangered species are listed in various categories depending on the level of protection they need. There are different limitations on trading for each category. CITES is short for "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora".

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its members meet once a year. They review and promote the implementation of the Convention. Meetings of the Conference of the Parties are often referred to by using the abbreviation COP and the number of the respective meeting, for example COP 3 for the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention in Kyoto in 1997. 

CSD stands for the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
The Commission was established in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The tasks of the Commission include ensuring that the decisions made in Rio de Janeiro, particularly the Agenda 21 action programme for sustainable and environmentally sound development, are implemented. The UN Commission has 53 member states and meets in New York once a year.

Chernobyl in Ukraine (formerly a part of the Soviet Union) was the site of the greatest disaster in the history of the civil use of nuclear power. On 26 April 1986 a block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Large volumes of radioactive substances were released over several days and, at great heights, were carried all the way to central Europe and Scandinavia. The countries most heavily affected were Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. People there are still suffering the consequences of the disaster. Vast areas remain polluted with radioactivity to this day. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was caused by mistakes in the construction and operation of the plant. Germany has supported Ukraine in coping with the consequences of the nuclear accident and securing the reactor.

The clearing house mechanism (CHM) is a global information network, which can be used by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity as a platform for exchanging ideas and information. The global information network of the CHM has been compiled from national information platforms. This network gives users the opportunity to provide information or ask questions about biodiversity. The CHM promotes technological and scientific cooperation between the CBD parties and thus supports its implementation. A national clearing house mechanism information platform has also been set up in Germany.

Climate change alters living conditions throughout the world, forcing people and the environment to adapt. A strategy is needed to control this process. In addition to avoiding greenhouse gases, adaptation to the consequences of climate change is an important pillar of climate policy. In the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change the German government, together with scientists and social groups, seeks to answer the questions: What are the risks of climate change? How can we prevent or mitigate its negative impacts? There are also strategies for adaptation to climate change at international level.

Ongoing climate change increases the average temperature of the Earth'’s atmosphere and of the seas to worrying levels. The main reasons for this include growing global greenhouse gas emissions from industry, households and traffic and the cutting down of forests. These factors reinforce the natural greenhouse effect of the Earth's atmosphere. Extreme weather events, melting glaciers and rising sea levels are all consequences of climate change. Global activities are urgently required to prevent greenhouse gas emissions and help countries adapt to those impacts of climate change that have become unavoidable.

German waste legislation models itself on the material cycle of nature. The legislation is based on the principles of closed cycle management. Every product has a so-called life cycle, which spans from production to use right through to disposal or reprocessing. Closed cycle management means: when a product can no longer be used, the raw materials contained in the product, instead of being disposed of, are reused to produce new products. Earth's raw materials are finite. Closed cycle management is thus geared towards waste prevention and recycling and also makes an important contribution to sustainability. In order to implement closed cycle management in practice, recyclables must also be separated in households.

Combined heat and power generation is a principle, according to which both heat and power are generated simultaneously in a power plant. This method is very energy efficient and contributes to climate protection. Heat is produced when generating electricity. In general, power plants release this heat as unused waste heat into the environment. Thus a large portion of the energy generated is lost. When electricity and heat are produced at the same time over 90% of the energy input is used. Thus, when combined heat and power generation is used energy efficiency increases. The CHP principle is used for example by micro CHP units and for district heating. The Combined Heat and Power Act (Kraft-Wärme-Kopplungsgesetz) aims to promote the expansion of this climate friendly method of energy production.

An ecosystem is a defined natural unit of species and habitat. An ecosystem is made up of living organisms such as humans, fauna, flora and inanimate elements of nature. The latter can be for example rock, air temperatures or precipitation volumes. The various elements of an ecosystem all interact with one another. External interventions can disturb the ecosystem. Forests, alluvial meadows, rivers or the Wadden Sea are all examples of ecosystems. But earth as a whole is also considered to be an ecosystem.

Emissions refer to substances, radiation or energy released, from a source, into the atmosphere. Emissions can for instance be pollutants, odours, noise, light, heat or radiation. An important objective of climate policy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy efficiency is a measure, which determines how well energy is used to achieve a specific benefit. Increasing energy efficiency, alongside the expansion of renewable energy, is at the heart of German energy policy. The lower the energy losses are during the use of energy sources, the higher the energy efficiency. An increase in energy efficiency is necessary in order to shift Germany's energy supply to safe, sustainable and climate friendly energies. Both industry and consumers can help achieve this goal, which not only ensures sustainable development and protects the climate but also reduces costs. An important instrument for increasing energy efficiency is combined heat and power generation (CHP).

Environmental Audit is a type of voluntary audit scheme and monitoring instrument of environmental management. Companies, organisations and authorities can regularly, systematically and objectively allow for their environmental behaviour to be assessed. The assessment examines which measures have been taken for environmental protection and how much energy is consumed. An effective instrument of environmental management is the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme EMAS. If the environmental behaviour of the company meets with DIN standards, the company will then receive an EMAS certificate. As a result both the environment and company image benefit from the environmental audit.

Environmental contaminants are health-damaging substances arising in foodstuffs, which have been exposed to air, soil or water contaminants. Examples of environmental contaminants include heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and dioxins. Consumers must be protected from environmental contaminants present in foodstuffs. In Germany, this is the task of the Federal Environment Ministry. As where environmental impurities can be avoided, there is no opportunity for these impurities to make contact with foodstuffs and accumulate.

Before a major project begins, environmental impact assessments identify its impact on humans and the environment. The assessment includes citizens in the decision to allow the project to go ahead. Through environmental assessments people's health and natural environment is protected from the foreseeable damaging effects of major projects. Such projects could be the building of industrial plants or infrastructural measures. Environmental assessments require that the decision making process of a project be made public and also create transparency, which should lead to the project in question being accepted. Project executing agencies have planning security for their projects once they pass the environmental impact assessment. The environmental impact assessment is governed by the Act on the Assessment of Environmental Impacts (UVPG).

In Germany, every citizen has the right to gain free access to environmental information. Data concerning the environment is gathered in computer based information systems, edited and made available to citizens on demand by the Federation and Länder. More effective protection of the environment and of one's own health requires comprehensive access to environmental information. With this citizens will be able to obtain environmental information from federal agencies throughout Germany and the various Länder. They can for instance learn about the levels of particle matter in the air near their home, whether or not the water and soil are polluted and obtain information on noise and radiation. Further particulars are governed by the Environmental Information Act of the Federation and Länder.

The Federal Environment Ministry's Environmental Innovation Programme supports large scale projects, which are aimed at preventing or mitigating environmental pollution. Projects are supported both at home and abroad. The programme supports projects which are still in the demonstration or so called pilot phase. Within Germany the aim of the programme is to further develop technology and to use projects with exemplary features as multipliers, which means that pilot projects will encourage companies and municipalities to implement innovative measures to protect the environment. Outside of Germany projects taking measures against global climate change and that have a transboundary benefit for environmental protection policy in Germany are supported in particular.

Radioactivity in the environment can come from natural sources but can also be artificially produced. Radioactivity is the decay of atomic nuclei, during which radiation is released. People have always been exposed to natural radioactivity and to natural radioactive material in the air, water and in soil. On top of this comes artificially produced radioactivity, for example from medical devices or nuclear power plants. Depending on the duration and intensity of exposure, radioactivity can cause irreparable damage to both people and the environment. Radioactivity in the environment is continually monitored in Germany. The Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV) and the X-Ray Ordinance (RöV) set limit values and protective measures to keep humans safe from the harmful effects of radioactivity. 

UFOPLAN (from German Umweltforschungsplan) stands for environmental research plan. Every year the Federal Environment Ministry describes its research projects in the environmental research plan. Decisions must be made based on scientific data in order to maintain a responsible environmental policy. This is why the Federal Environment Ministerial bodies distribute research assignments; furthermore the Ministry conducts its own research by means of the Federal Environment Agency. The medium term research requirements of the Ministry are outlined in a research framework programme. In the environmental research plan the research projects are categorised according to field, are given an abbreviated title and can also be identified by the administering authority and research code number.

The expansion of power grids in Germany is crucial for the expansion and use of renewable energy. Electricity is transported via power grids to the consumer from the electricity generation source. Electricity from renewable energy sources is increasingly being generated from wind farms in northern Germany or from the growing number of power generating solar installations. A more efficient power grid allows for increased transport of electricity from the north to major centres of energy consumption in the south and west and also for the balancing out of regional wind and solar power fluctuations. Expanding power grids will facilitate the integration of renewables, lower costs and increase energy supply security.

The transformation of the energy system (Energiewende) marks the launch of the age of renewable energies and energy efficiency. Following the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in March 2011 the German government decided to speed up the energy system reform, which was launched with the Energy Concept in September 2010. The decisions taken in June 2011 concerning the energy system transformation cover a concrete programme of measures. The aim is to fundamentally restructure Germany's energy supply and completely phase out the use of nuclear energy for the commercial generation of electricity by the year 2022 at the latest - even sooner than intended. Energy requirements should primarily be met by renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, which are available in unlimited supply, are economically efficient and environmentally sound.

A succession of serious accidents happened at the Japanese nuclear power plant site Fukushima in March 2011. After an earthquake and subsequent tsunami there was a complete power outage and failure of cooling water supply in four of the six reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. This triggered nuclear meltdowns in three blocks. The buildings were damaged by several explosions, some of them severely. Large amounts of radioactive material were released into the air, water and soil. The population had to leave the region.

Geothermal energy refers not only to the geothermal heat stored underneath the earth's surface but also to use geothermal heat as a form of energy supply. Geothermal energy falls into the category of renewable energy as, in principle, it is available at anytime. Once you drill below the earth's surface into the earth's interior, the deeper you drill the higher the temperature of the rock layers. This is due to the flow of heat that emanates directly from the earth's core towards the surface. This heat flow can be exploited to supply heat and electricity. In deeper layers hot ground water can also be found and extracted by drilling. Near-surface geothermal energy refers to energy extracted from depths up to 1000 metres and deep geothermal energy refers to energy extracted beyond 1000 metres. Not all areas are equally suited to the extraction of geothermal energy.

Green Economy is a concept for global sustainable management. The concept strives for management that uses energy and raw materials efficiently and creates as little emissions as possible. Economic opportunities should be taken advantage of, however at the same time environmental risks should be kept as low as possible. In order to implement the Green Economy principle worldwide, economies need to be comprehensively modernised.

Green IT encompasses all environmentally sound use of information and communication technology (ICT) as well as the use of ICT to to ease the burden on the environment. This includes the entire life cycle of ICT products, energy consumption and other environmental impacts such as the use of environmentally harmful raw materials.

GreenTech stands for environmental technology. Both the concept and success of this sector have made it clear that ecology and economy are not conflicting ideas, but in fact two sides of the same coin. In Germany, Greentech has been a success. Germany is not only an attractive production site but also an attractive sales market for environmental technology. Greentech is a driving force for growth and jobs. At the same time, innovative environmental technology is an effective instrument for counteracting the resource crisis and climate change. The Federal Environment Ministry has published an environmental technology atlas which documents the development, use and dissemination of environmental technologies in Germany.

Greenhouse gases form a natural protective shield that surrounds the Earth and ensures that it warms up: the more greenhouse gases, the warmer it gets. Like the glass panels of a greenhouse, greenhouse gases allow solar radiation to reach the Earth's surface. However, they prevent the heat that is being generated from being completely reflected back into outer space. As a consequence, our air and water heat up. The increasing concentration of greenhouse gases leads to an unnaturally strong greenhouse effect and causes climate change.

Greenhouse gases are trace gases in the atmosphere which prevent the heat at the Earth's surface from being reflected back into space. If the concentration of greenhouse gases is too high, this reinforces the natural greenhouse effect on our planet and causes global warming. The Kyoto Protocol provides for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), laughing gas (nitrous oxide, N2O) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC).

HELCOM is a Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area. The agreement's goal is to comprehensively protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from: land and ship based sources of pollution, disposal or incineration of waste at sea, pollution resulting from accidents and pollution caused by offshore activities. HELCOM was signed in Helsinki in 1974 by the Baltic Sea riparian states. The agreement came into force in 1980 and in 1992 was adapted to meet the latest requirements of marine environmental protection.

Habitat (habitare in Latin = to live) refers to the typical living environment of animal and plant species. The Habitats Directive protects natural habitats within the European Union. The directive serves to conserve and re-establish biological diversity in the European Union. Interlinking habitats is important as this facilitates the genetic exchange between the different populations of wild flora and fauna.

Hybrid drive technology (Latin hybrid = mixed) combines at least two drive technologies, for example an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Hybrid drive technology helps reduce particle matter in the air and avoid CO2 emissions. This technology is used in vehicles, which are referred to as hybrid vehicles. The use of hybrid technology reduces fuel consumption and increases energy efficiency. Drive technologies can be combined in different ways: they may be mutually complementary and together deliver better performance for example when accelerating. However, in certain operating phases it may be that only one of the drive technologies facilitates the main functions, for instance the electric motor when at a low speed in city traffic.