COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2022 Country Report - GERMANY Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2022: Turning the tide through environmental compliance
Date: 2022-09-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Germany, application of EU law, biodiversity, circular economy, climate change policy, environmental law, governance, pollution control measures, waste management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.9.2022  SWD(2022) 265 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2022        Country Report - GERMANY                 Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2022: Turning the tide through environmental compliance {COM(2022) 438 final} - {SWD(2022) 252 final} - {SWD(2022) 253 final} - {SWD(2022) 254 final} - {SWD(2022) 255 final} - {SWD(2022) 256 final} - {SWD(2022) 257 final} - {SWD(2022) 258 final} - {SWD(2022) 259 final} - {SWD(2022) 260 final} - {SWD(2022) 261 final} - {SWD(2022) 262 final} - {SWD(2022) 263 final} - {SWD(2022) 264 final} - {SWD(2022) 266 final} - {SWD(2022) 267 final} - {SWD(2022) 268 final} - {SWD(2022) 269 final} - {SWD(2022) 270 final} - {SWD(2022) 271 final} - {SWD(2022) 272 final} - {SWD(2022) 273 final} - {SWD(2022) 274 final} - {SWD(2022) 275 final} - {SWD(2022) 276 final} - {SWD(2022) 277 final} - {SWD(2022) 278 final}  
 
 
Germany  1 

This report has been written by the staff of the Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission.  

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Table of contents 

Germany  2 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 

1. CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................. 4 
Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................................ 4 
Waste management ............................................................................................................................................ 6 
2. BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL CAPITAL ............................................................................................................................. 8 
Nature protection and restoration ....................................................................................................................... 8 
Marine ecosystems............................................................................................................................................. 14 
Ecosystem assessment and accounting ............................................................................................................. 15 
3. ZERO POLLUTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 
Clean air ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................................ 18 
Major industrial accidents prevention - SEVESO ................................................................................................ 21 
Noise .................................................................................................................................................................. 22 
Water quality and management ........................................................................................................................ 23 
Chemicals ........................................................................................................................................................... 26 
4. CLIMATE ACTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 28 
Key national climate policies and strategies ...................................................................................................... 28 
Effort sharing target ........................................................................................................................................... 29 
Key sectoral developments ................................................................................................................................. 29 
Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU ETS allowances .............................................................................. 30 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS .............................................................................. 32 

5. FINANCING ............................................................................................................................................................. 32 
Environmental investment needs in the European Union .................................................................................. 32 
EU environmental funding  2014-2020 .............................................................................................................. 33 
EU environmental funding  2021-2027 .............................................................................................................. 35 
National environmental protection expenditure ................................................................................................ 36 
Green budget tools ............................................................................................................................................. 38 
Overall financing compared to the needs .......................................................................................................... 39 
6. ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................................................. 41 
Information, public participation and access to justice...................................................................................... 41 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations ................................................................................................ 44 
Reforms through the Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) ........................................................... 45 
TAIEX EIR peer-to-peer ....................................................................................................................................... 45 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Germany  3 

Executive summary 

Implementation  Reviews 
In  previous  Environmental 
(EIRs), the main challenges identified for Germany for the 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy  and  law 
were:  

 

 

reducing  pressures  on  nature  and  water,  in 
particular 
intensive 
ground  water 
agriculture, including the use nutrients; 
improving  air  quality,  especially 
populated areas. 

in  densely 

from 

is  now  nearly  complete,  but 

On  nature,  the  picture  is  mixed:  while  the  share  of 
habitats  and  species 
in  good  condition  has  slightly 
improved,  the  share  of  species  in  bad  status  has  also 
grown,  and  the  situation  of  hay  meadows  is  of  serious 
concern,  and  needs  improvement.  Germany’s  Natura 
2000  network 
in  the 
Commission’s  view  the  quality  of  the  set  objectives  and 
measures 
for  all  Special  Areas  of 
Conservation  (SACs).  The  situation  for  forested  areas 
protected under the  Nature  Directives  remains  worrying 
as  31 %  have  a  bad  conservation  status,  and  most 
peatland  habitats  have  a  bad  or  inadequate    status. 
Restoring these ecosystems, which will also boost natural 
carbon  sinks,  needs  to  be  accelerated.  There  has  been 
further  progress  on  ecosystem  assessment  and 
accounting. 

insufficient 

is 

According to the latest report  on the implementation of 
the  Nitrates  Directive,  groundwater  quality  has  not 
improved,  and  water  pollution  caused  by  nitrates 
remains  a  serious  concern.  There  are  continuing  acute 
problems  with excess plant and algae growth due to high 
concentrations  of  nutrients  (euthrophication) 
in  the 
Baltic  and  North  Seas.  Germany  still  has  to  fully 
implement the ruling of the EU Court of Justice over the 
Nitrates  Directive.  In  Germany  only  8.1 %  of  all  surface 
water  bodies  reach  good  ecological  status.  For  many 
water  bodies  the  environmental  objectives  will  not  be 
met by 2021 and may not even be met by 2027. 

On  air  quality  there  has  been  some  progress  since  the 
2019  EIR,  with  new  measures  to  bring  air  quality  zones 
into  compliance.  While  there  were  no  exceedances  for 
PM10, five air quality zones still reported exceedances for  

NO2  under  the  Ambiant  Air  Quality  Directive  in  2020. 
Additional  measures  are  therefore  needed  to  bring  all 
zones  into  compliance  with  the  Directive.  The  current 
submission  of  air  pollutant  emission  projections  under 
the  National  Emissions  Ceiling  Directive  do  not 
demonstrate 
reduction 
commitments for ammonia for 2020-2029 and from 2030 
onwards and for PM2.5  from 2030 onwards. According to 
the  latest  inventory  data  submitted  by  Germany,  which 
are still to be reviewed by the Commission, Germany is in 
compliance  with  the  emission  reduction  commitments 
for all pollutants in 2020.  

emission 

reaching 

the 

On  waste  management, Germany remains  at  the top of 
the  recycling  league,  and  its  circular  material  use  rate  is 
around EU average, but lags behind EU leaders. However, 
it  is  at  the  lower  end  of  the  table  on  municipal  waste 
generation,  with    632  kg  of  waste  per  person  in  2020. 
Packaging  waste  in  particular  has  increased.  In  view  of 
the  post-2020    recycling  targets,  efforts  need  to  be 
pursued  to    strengthen  waste  prevention,  reuse  and 
remanufacturing.  Making  better  use  of  the  potential  of 
circularity 
resource 
dependency, in particular fossil fuel-based raw materials.  

industry  will  help 

reduce 

in 

Germany’s  recovery  and  resiliaece  plan  contains  no 
measures having biodiversity as 

their  objective,  but  green  infrastructure  and  the  circular 
economy  are  priorities  in  cohesion  funding  for  the  new 
programming period. Given the overall small allocation of 
EU funds compared to GDP, the main source of funds to 
deal  with  investment  needs  must  come  from  national 
and private sources.  

overall 

financing 

environmental 

Germany’s 
for 
investments came to 0.63 % of GDP in 2014-2020, relying 
heavily  on  national  financing  sources.  The  overall 
environmental 
in  2021-2027  are 
estimated  to  be  at  least  0.82 %  of  Germany’s  GDP  per 
year, suggesting a potential environmental financing gap 
of  0.19 %  of  GDP,  which  needs  to  be  addressed  for 
environmental implementation.   

investment  needs 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Germany  4 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. Circular economy and waste management  

Measures towards a circular economy 

The new circular economy action plan adopted in March 
2020 is one of the main building blocks of the European 
Green Deal. The EU’s transition to a circular economy will 
reduce  pressure  on  natural  resources  and  will  create 
sustainable  growth  and  jobs.  It  is  also  a  prerequisite  to 
achieve  the  EU’s  2050  climate  neutrality  target  and  to 
halt  biodiversity 
loss.  The  action  plan  announces 
initiatives  along  the  entire  life  cycle  of  products,  aiming 
to reduce the EU's consumption footprint and to double 
the EU's circular material use rate by 2030. It targets how 
products  are  designed,  promotes  circular  economy 
processes,  encourages  sustainable  consumption,  and 
aims to ensure that waste is prevented and the resources 
used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.  

The  circular  material  use  rate  is  a  good  indicator  of  an 
economy’s circularity, as it includes all the materials that 
are  fed  back  into  our  economy.  Large  differences  in  the 
circularity  rate  exist  between  countries.  To  help  achieve 
the  EU  circular  economy  action  plan’s  goal  of  doubling 
the  EU’s  circular  material  use  rate  by  2030,  ambitious 
measures  targeting  the  whole  product  life  cycle  are 
needed  at  Member  State  level.  Such  measures  range 
from sustainable product design that make it possible to 
able to increase the durability, reparability, upgradability 
and recyclability of products, to other measures like  : (i) 
‘remanufacturing’; (ii) increasing circularity in production 
processes;  (iii) recycling;  (iv) boosting  eco-innovation;  (v) 
and 
public 
procurement.remanufacturing,  increasing  the  circularity 
in  production  processes,  recycling,  as  well  as  boosting 
eco-innovation and increasing the uptake of green public 
procurement. 

increasing 

uptake 

green 

the 

of 

Figure 1: Circular material use rate ( %) 2010-20201 

Resource  productivity  expresses  how  efficiently  the 
economy  uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth. 
Improving  resource  productivity  can  help  to  minimise 
impacts  on  the  environment  and  reduce 
negative 
dependency on volatile raw material markets.  

As shown in Figure 2, with EUR 2.76 generated per kg of 
material  consumed  in  2020,  resource  productivity  in 
Germany  is  well  above  the  EU  average  of  EUR  2.09  per 
kg.  This  positive  performance  is  further  supported  by  a 
continuous  increase  in  Germany’s  resource  productivity 
over the last decade. 

Figure 2: Resource productivity, 2010-20202 

Germany’s  circular  (secondary)  use  of  materials  rose 
from 11.4 % in 2017 to 13.4 % in 2020, compared to the 
EU  average  of  12.8 %.  This  shows  a  steady  increase  in 
recent  years.  But  Germany  has  quite  a  way  to  go  to 
 -  Netherlands  (30.9 %), 
chatch  up  with  EU  leaders 
Belgium (23 %), and France 22.2 %). 

1 Eurostat, Circular Economy Monitoring Framework. 
2 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022  – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  5 

Germany is an eco-innovation leader ranking  sixth  in the 
2021  Eco-Innovation  Scoreboard  .  In  two  out  of  five 
components,  Germany  performs  above  the  EU  average, 
namely  the  eco-innovation  inputs  and  outputs.,  and 
below  average  on  eco-innovation  activities,  socio-
economic outcomes and resource efficiency outcomes. 

Figure 3: Eco-innovation performance, 2010-20194 

Green public procurement (GPP) 

Public  procurement  accounts  for  a  large  proportion  of 
authorities’ 
consumption,  with  public 
European 
purchasing  power  representing  14 %  of  EU  GDP.  Public 
procurement  can  help  drive  the  demand  for  sustainable 
products 
recyclability 
standards.  To  date  reporting  to  monitor  the  uptake  of 
green public procurement  is voluntary. 

repairability  and 

that  meet 

Given  that  the  federal  authorities  aim    to  be  climate 
neutral  by  2030,  a  stricter  and  more  comprehensive 
regulation of green public procurement called AVV Klima 
entered into force on 1 January 2022. The new elements 
include life cycle costing, a  list banning certain single-use 
plastics,  encouraging  alternatives  to  buying  (benefit 
rather  than  ownership),  and  giving  priority  to  recycled 
products. The German government used the occasion of 
transposing the 2018  waste  package into national waste 
law  to  make  the  green  public  procurement  of  recycled 
products mandatory. 

Circular economy strategies  

The  Commission  encourages  Member  States  to  adopt 
and 
implement  national/regional  circular  economy 
strategies  covering  the  whole  life  cycle  of  products,  as 
they  are  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  to  progress 
towards a more circular economy. Since the launch of the 
online  European  Circular  Economy  Stakeholder  Platform 
in 20173, national, regional or local authorities have used 
the platform to share their strategies and roadmaps. 

Germany  currently  does  not  have  an  overall  circular 
economy  strategy.  The  new  government  programme 
mentions 
that  a  comprehensive  national  circular 
economy  strategy  will  be  drawn  up.  So  far  several 
strategies  and  initiatives  address  many  aspects  of  the 
circular  economy.  The  resource  efficiency  programme 
PROGRESS,  the  waste  prevention  programme,  the 
German  hightech-strategy,  the  digtial  policy  agenda  for 
the  environment  and  the  national  programme  on 
sustainable consumption all deal with different circularity 
aspects. 

the 

resource  efficiency  programmewas 
PROGRESS, 
updated  for  the  third  time  in  June  2020  and  now 
incorporates  decarbonisation  and  digitalisation.  These 
new  elements  stress  the 
importance  of  resource 
efficiency  for  achieving  Germany’s  climate  targets,  and 
address  the  potential  and  risks  of  digital  transformation 
in  the  field  of  resource  efficiency,  as  well  as  mobility  in 
terms of resource efficiency. 

replace 

Germany  has  a  sectorial  strategy  for  plastics.  In  2018  it 
launched a five-point plan to lower the amount of plastic 
waste.The  aim  is  to  eliminate  the  use  of  unnecessary 
with 
existing 
packaging, 
the 
friendly  alternatives, 
environmentally 
recycling  rate,  encourage  better  separation  of  plastics 
from  organic  waste,  and  contribute  to  international 
efforts  to  reduce  the  amount  of  plastic  waste  in  marine 
waters.  

packaging 

increase 

Eco-innovation 

A  successful  transition  to  a  circular  economy  requires 
social  and  technological  innovation.  this  is  because  the 
full potential of the circular economy can only be reached 
when  it  is  implemented  across  all  value  chains.  Eco-
Innovation is an important enabling factor for the circular 
economy.  New  appraoches  to  product  design  and  new 
business models can help to produce systemic circularity 
innovations, creating new business opportunities. 

3 European Commission,  Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform 

4 European  Commission  -  Directorate-General  for  Environment  (DG 
ENV), Eco-innovation Observatory, Eco-innovation index. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
EU Ecolabel and the eco management and audit scheme 
(EMAS) 

The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed5 
organisations in a given country provides some indication 
of  the  extent  to  which  the  private  sector  and  national 
stakeholders  are  actively  engaged  in  the  transition  to  a 
circular  economy.  It  also  shows  how  committed  public 
authorities  are  to  supporting  instruments  designed  to 
promote the circular economy. 

As of September 2021, Germany had 7 780 products out 
of 83 590 and 358 licenses out of 2 057 registered in the 
EU  ecolabel  scheme.  Germany  ranks  first  on  registered 
licences  and  fourth  on  products  in  Europe6.  Moreover, 
1 115  organisations 
from  Germany  are  currently 
registered in EMAS, 122 fewer than in 20197. There have 
been  3 339  registrations  for  an  EU  Ecolabel  and  37  new 
licence registrations since 2019. 

Germany received a priority action in 2019 to strengthen 
its  policy  framework  in  order  to  to  speed  up  the 
transition towards the circular  economy by all economic 
sectors.  As  a  circular  economy  strategy  has  been 
announced  in  the  new  government  programme,  but  as 
work has not started yet, the priority action is repeated. 

2022 priority action 

 

Strengthen  the  policy  framework  to  speed  up 
the  transition  towards  the  circular  economy  by 
all  economic  sectors,  including  priority  sectors 
like plastics, textiles and construction.  

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by:  
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
(i)  fully 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.;  
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms;  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

5 EMAS  is  the  European  Commission’s  Eco-Management  and  Audit 
Scheme, a programme to encourage organisations to behave in a more 
environmentally sustainable way. 
6 European Commission, Ecolabel Facts and Figures 
7 European Commission, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme 

Germany  6 

This  section  focuses  on  the  management  of  municipal 
waste 8  for  which  EU 
law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets. 

to 

reduce 

resource  efficiency  and 

Preventing products and materials from becoming waste 
for  as  long  as  possible  is  the  most  efficient  way  to 
improve 
the 
environmental impact of waste. In 2020 – as the first EU 
Member  State  –  Germany  introduced  a  new  general 
“duty  of  care”  in  its  Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz  (Circular 
Economy  Act),  obliging  producers  and  distributors  to  
prevent  goods  from  becoming  waste  by  introducing 
certain measures, for example selling goods at a reduced 
rate or donating goods.9  

Waste  prevention  and  re-use  are  the  most  preferred 
options  and  top  the  waste  hierarchy.  The  amount  of 
municipal  waste  generated  is  a  good  indicator  of  the 
effectiveness of waste prevention measures. 

As  Figure  4  shows,  German  municipal waste  generation 
per  capita  has  seen  a  slight  decrease  since  2016,  but  in 
2020  the  amount  jumped  back  to  632  kg,  which  to  a 
certain  extent  may  be  COVID-related.  Germany  has  the 
fourth highest per capita rate, well above the EU average 
of 505 kg.   

Total waste generation has remained steady overall since 
2014,  although  there  was  an  increase  for  some  waste 
fractions such as packaging. Given that GDP continued to 
grow,  the  trend  indicates  that  Germany  seems  to  be  on 
track to relatively decouple its waste generation from its 
economic  growth 10 .  Gven  the  overall  high  level  of 
municipal waste, waste prevention measures taken so far 
have  not  been  impactful  enough,  or  not  shown  their 
impact yet. 

8 Municipal waste consists of (a) mixed waste and separately  collected 
waste  from  households,  including  paper  and  cardboard,  glass,  metals, 
plastics,  bio-waste,  wood,  textiles,  packaging,  waste  electrical  and 
electronic  equipment,  waste  batteries  and  accumulators,  and  bulky 
including  mattresses  and  furniture;  (b)  mixed  waste  and 
waste, 
separately  collected  waste  from  other  sources,  where  such  waste  is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. (Directive 
2008/98/EC, Article. 3 2b). 
9 Even  though  this  obligation  is  not  yet  concrete  in  what  exactly 
producers or distrubuters have to do, it already has a ‘radiation‘ effect.  
10 European  Environment  Agency,  Overview  of  National  Waste 
Prevention Programmes, Germany Country profile.  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Figure  4:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Germany, 
2010-202011 

achieving  the  2025  waste  recycling  targets.  This  report 
will  be  presented  at  the  end  of  2022  and  will  make 
recommendations as appropriate. 

Germany  7 

Implementation of the 2018 waste legislative package 

Germany  notified  the  transposition  of  the  2018  waste 
package13 to the Commission. A conformity assessment is 
now ongoing. 

Germany  is  one  of  the  best  performing  countries  in  the 
EU  in  terms  of  waste  treatment.  It  has  the  highest 
recycling  rate  across  the  EU.  In  2019,  Germany  recycled 
66.7 % of its municipal waste (see Figure 5) which is well 
above the EU 2020 recycling target of 50  % of municipal 
targets  are  ambitious 
waste.  Post-2020 
particularly in terms of incineration, which has remained 
at the same rate since 2015. 

recycling 

Figure 5: Recycling rate of municipal waste, 2010-202012 

a 

for 

are 

Waste  management  plans  and  waste  prevention 
programmes 
sound 
instrumental 
implementation of the EU waste legislation. They set out 
key  provisions  and  investments  to  ensure  compliance 
with  existing  and  new  legal  requirements  (e.g.  waste 
prevention,  separate  collection  for  a  number  of  specific 
waste  streams,  recycling  and  landfill  targets).  Directive 
(EU)  2018/851  makes  substantial  amendments  to  the 
provisions  of  Directive  2008/98/EC  which  specified  the 
content  of  waste  management  plans  and  waste 
prevention programmes. Adjustments to these plans and 
programmes  are  therefore  necessary  to  bring  them  into 
line  with  Directive  (EU)  2018/851.  Revised  plans  and 
programmes were due on 5 July 2020. 

Germany  has  notified  an  updated  Waste  Prevention 
Programme,  however  the  notification  of  the 
large 
majority  of  revised    waste  management  plans  is  still 
pending. In Germany waste management plans are under 
the  responsibility  of  the  Länder  (federal  states),  no 
national plan exists. . 

Germany  has  introduced  a  number  of  new  measures  to 
improve waste prevention, and reuse.efforts need to be 
continued to shift   recyclable and reuseable waste away  
from 
for  waste 
management plans is added.  

incineration.  A  priority  action 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

Shift reuseable and recyclable waste away from 
incineration.  
Ensure that regional waste management plans in 
line with the revised Waste Framework Directive 
are in place. 

The Commission's 2018 early warning report'12 did not list 
Germany as one of the countries at risk of missing the EU 
2020  target  of  recycling  50   %  of  municipal  waste.  The 
Commission is finalising its analysis of the progress made 
on  the  recommendations  set  out  in  the  2018  early 
warning  reports  and  an  analysis  of  progress  towards 

11  Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste operation, April 2022. 
12  Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal rate, April 2022. 

13 Directive  (EU)  2018/851,  Directive  (EU)  2018/852,  Directive  (EU) 
2018/850  and  Directive  (EU)  2018/849  amend  the  previous  waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 
2035. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
2. Biodiversity and natural capital 

Germany  8 

The 2030 EU biodiversity strategy adopted in May 2020 
aims to put the EU’s biodiversity on a path to recovery 
and  sets  out  new  targets  and  governance  mechanisms 
to achieve healthy and resilient ecosystems.   
In particular, the strategy sets out ambitious targets to: 
(i) protect a minimum of 30 % of the EU’s land area and 
30 %  of  its  sea  area  and  integrate  ecological  corridors, 
as part of a true trans-European nature network;  
(ii) strictly protect at least a third of the EU’s protected 
areas,  including  all  remaining  EU  primary  and  old-
growth forests;  
(iii)  effectively  manage  all  protected  areas,  defining 
clear  conservation  objectives  and  measures,  and 
monitoring them appropriately.  
The strategy also sets out an EU nature restoration plan 
–  a  series  of  concrete  commitments  and  actions  to 
restore  degraded  ecosystems  across  the  EU  by  2030, 
and  manage  them  sustainably,  addressing  the  key 
drivers of biodiversity loss. 

the  2020  nature  conservation  action 
In  2015, 
programme  was  adopted  to  give  fresh  impetus  to 
implementation  of  the  2007  national  strategy  on 
biological  diversity 14  and  address 
the  persistent 
failure  to 
negative  trend 
implement  key  policy  changes.  A  new  biodiversity 
strategy  is  being  prepared  to  take  into  account  the  EU 
2030 biodiversity atrategy and to implement the results 
of the Convention on Biological Diversity15. 

in  biodiversity  due  to 

Nature protection and restoration  

The EU’s Habitats and Birds Directives are key legislative 
tools  to  deliver  on  the  targets  in  the  EU’s  biodiversity 
strategy for 2030, and are the cornerstone of European 
legislation aimed at conserving the EU’s wildlife16. 

Natura  200017,  the  largest  co-ordinated  network  of 
protected  areas  in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to 
achieve  the  objectives 
in  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives' . These objectives are (i) to ensure the long-

14 Germany, 2020 nature conservation action programme  
15 Bundesamt für Naturschutz 
16 These  should  be  strengthened  by  the  Nature  Restoration  Law, 
according to the new EU biodiversity strategy. 
17  Natura  2000  comprises  Sites  of  Community  Importance  (SCIs) 
designated  pursuant  to  the  Habitats  Directive  as  well  as  Special 
Protection  Areas  (SPAs)  classified  pursuant  to  the  Birds  Directive. 
coverage  figures  do  not  add  up  due  to  the  fact  that  some  SCIs  and 
  SCIs 
SPAs  overlap.  Special  Areas  of  Conservation  (SACs)  are 
designated by Member States. 

term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe’s 
most valuable and threatened species and habitats; and 
(ii)  to  maintain  or  restore  the  favourable  conservation 
status  of  these  species  and  habitats.  Key  milestones 
towards  meeting  the  objectives  of  the  Birds  and 
Habitats Directives are: (i) the setting up of a  coherent 
Natura  2000  network;  (ii)  the  designation  of  sites  of 
Community  importance  (SCIs)  as  SACs18;  and  (iii)  the 
setting of conservation objectives and measures for the 
Natura 2000 sites. 

Figure 6: Marine & terrestrial protected area coverage, 
202119 

18 SCIs are designated under  the Habitats Directive whereas SPAs are 
designated under the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do not add 
up since some SCIs and SPAs overlap. SACs are SCIs designated by the 
Member States. 
19 EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  Dashboard,  indicators  A1.1.1  and  A1.2.1, 
February 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  9 

Figure  7:  Natura  2000  terrestrial  protected  area 
coverage, 202125 

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

Germany  hosts  93  habitat  types20 and  195  species21 
covered  by  the  Habitats  Directive.  The  country  also 
hosts populations of nearly 120 bird taxa listed in Annex 
I to the Birds Directive22. 

in  Germany 

the 
Nature  protection 
federal 
competence  of  the  16  Länder  and  the 
authorities  are  responsible  for  the  exclusive  economic 
zone. 

falls  within 

By  2021,  15.5 %  of  the  national 
land  territory  of 
Germany  was  covered  by  Natura  2000  (EU  coverage 
18.5 %),  with  special  protection  areas  (SPAs)  classified 
under the Birds Directive covering 11.3 % (EU  coverage 
12.8 %) and sites of community importance (SCIs) under 
the  Habitats  Directive  covering  9.4 %  (EU  coverage 
14.2 %) of Germany’s territory23. 

The latest assessment of the SCI part of the Natura 2000 
network  shows  that  there  is  only  one  insufficiency  in 
designation  for  the  species  Lycaena  helle  in  the  Alpine 
biogeographical  region  (Bavaria).  Germany  is  expected 
to  complete  its  Natura  2000  network  by  the  end  of 
2022. 

Considering  both  Natura  2000  and  other  nationally 
designated  protected  areas,  Germany  legally  protects 
37.2 %  of  its  terrestrial  areas  (EU  27  coverage  26.4 %) 
its  marine  areas  (EU  27  coverage 
and  45.9 %  of 
10.7 %)24.  Germany  strictly  protects  7.2 %  of  the  EU’s 
protected areas (SCI and SPA). 

Designating SACs and setting conservation objectives 
and measures 

In 

the  Commission’s 

The  Commission  considers  that  the  quality  of  the  set 
objectives and measures is insufficient for all 4 544 SACs 
in  Germany.  The  main  legal  dispute  with  Germany  is 
about how specific and detailed conservation objectives 
have  to  be  set  for  each  site  designated  under  the 
view, 
Habitats  Directive. 
conservation objectives specify which conditions species 
and habitat types shall achieve in a site so that the site 
can  contribute  to  the  overall  goal  of  favourable 
conservation  status  of  these  species  and  habitat  types. 
They are the basis for the conservation measures to be 
established  and  the  benchmark  for  the  appropriate 
assessments  in  the  context  of  project  approvals  in 
Natura  2000  sites.  The  Commission  believes  that  these 
conservation  objectives  have  to  be  specified  also  in 
quantitative  terms  for  each  relevant  protected  feature 
in the sites. The case is currently before the EU Court of 
Justice;  in  February  2022  the  Commission  lodged  the 
Court application.  

20 EEA, Article 17 dashboard, Annex I total, 2019. 
21 EEA,  Article  17  dashboard,  Annex  II  +  Annex  IV  excluding  those  in 
Annex  II  +  Annex  V  excluding  those  in  Annex  II,  2019.  This  counting 
only takes into account species and habitats for which assessment of 
conservation status was requested. 
22 EEA, Article 12 dashboard, Annex I, 2020. This counting only takes 
into account birds taxa for which information was requested. 
23 Bundesamt für Naturschutz – Natura-2000-Gebiete  
24 EEA,  Protected  Areas,  terrestrial  protected  area  percentage  (2021) 
and marine protected area percentage (2019), March 2022. 
https://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/kcbd/dashboard/#COHERENT%20NET
WORK%20OF%20PROTECTED%20AREAS 

In addition 33 (SPA under the Birds Directive are still not 
legally protected under national law (from which 32 are 
located  in  Lower  Saxony)  and  283  SPAs  do  not  have 
conservation measures (state of play August 2021). 

25 European  Environment  Agency,  Natura  2000  Barometer,  February 
2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  10 

On  2  December  2021  the  Commission  decided  to  refer 
Germany to the EU Court of Justice for failing to comply 
with  its  obligation  to  prevent  the  deterioration  of  two 
habitat  types:  low  hay  meadows  and  mountain  hay 
meadows.  In  the  Commission’s  view  this  is  due  to 
largely 
  unsustainable  agricultural  practices.  These 
habitat  types  have  significantly  diminished  in  size  or 
disappeared completely at various sites in recent years. 
The  two  habitat  types  play  a  vital  role  for  pollinating 
insects, bees and butterflies,  and are protected as part 
of the Natura 2000 network. 

Figure  9:  Assessments  on  conservation  status  for 
species 
for  2007-2012  and  2013-2018  reporting 
periods28 

in  maintaining  or  restoring 
Progress 
conservation status of species and habitats 

favourable 

To measure the performance of Member States, Article 
17  of  the  Habitats  Directive  and  Article  12  of  the  Birds 
Directive  require  reporting  on  the  progress  made 
towards  maintaining  or  restoring 
favourable 
the 
conservation status of species and habitats. 

According to the report submitted by Member States on 
the conservation status of habitats and species required 
under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive for 2013-2018, 
29.7 %  of  habitats  were  assessed  as  being  in  good 
conservation  status  in  2019  compared  to  28.1 %  in  the 
previous reporting period (2007-2012). As  forprotected 
in  good 
species,  25.6 %  were  assessed  as  being 
conservation  status 
  24.6 % 
in  2018  compared  to 
reported  under  the  previous  reporting  period  (2007-
2012).  However,  less  than  10 %  of  German  protected 
grassland habitat types show a favourable conservation 
status26.  Regarding  birds  61 %  of  the  breeding  species 
increasing  or  stable  population 
showed  short-term 
trends   

At the same time, the share of habitats in unfavourable 
conservation  status  decreased  slightly  from  69.8 %  to 
69.2 %  while  the  share  of  assessments  for  species  in 
unfavourable  conservation  status  grew  from  60.4  %  to 
63.3 %. The main pressures are agriculture and changes 
in  land  use  (both,  intensification  and  abandonment) 
together with nitrogen deposition from agriculture and 
traffic sources. 

Figure  8:  Assessments  on  conservation  status  for 
habitats  for  2007-2012  and  2013-2018  reporting 
periods27 

Germany  has  one  of  the  highest  shares  of  red-listed 
species and habitat  types for several classes. these still 
show a negative tendency.  

Germany is among the countries with a high percentage 
of  peatlands.  However,  only  5 %  of  near-natural 
peatlands  remain  in  Germany.  The  conservation  status 
of  habitats  in  the  Continental  and  Atlantic  zones  is 
reported  to  be  either  unfavourable  or  bad.  Peatlands 
contribute  to  6.7  %  of  Germany’s  greenhouse  gas 
emissions  overall,  but  a  much  higher  share  in  the 
northern  Länder,  where  peatlands  are  concentrated29.  
The  new  government  has  announced  a  new  action 
programme  on  natural  climate  protection.  It  aims  to 
create synergies between nature and climate protection 
by  restoring  peatlands,  forests,  floodplains,  grassland 

26 European Envrionment Agenccy, State of Nature in the EU, 2020 
27 European  Environment  Agency,  Conservation  status  and  trends  of 
habitats  and  species,  December  2021.  Please  note when  comparing 
the figures shown for 2007-2012 and 2013-2018 that these may also 
be affected by changes of methods or better data availability. 

28 idem. 
29  Bundesministerium 
Reaktorsicherheit, Nationale Moorschutzstrategie  

für  Umwelt,  Naturschutz  und 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  11 

Figure 10: Share of total utilised agricultural area 
occupied by organic farming per Member State, 202030 

and  marine  and  coastal  ecosystems.  Additional 
financing  from  the  Energy  and  Climate  Fund  will  be 
made available. 

In 2019, Germany received three priority actions. As the 
Natura  2000  network  designation  is  nearly  complete 
this  part  is  dropped,  as  is  the  priority  action  on 
development  and  promotion  of  guidance; 
the 
remainder of the priority actions is retained. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

for 
order 

resources 
in 

Put  in  place  clearly  defined  conservation 
objectives and the necessary conservation 
for  the  sites,  and  provide 
measures 
their 
adequate 
to 
implementation 
maintain/restore  species  and  habitats  of 
Community 
favourable 
conservation  status  across  their  natural 
range.  
Ensure that pressures from agriculture are 
adequately  addressed  and  that  the  sector 
complies fully with nature protection. 

interest 

to  a 

Bringing nature back to agricultural land and restoring 
soil ecosystems 

Agricultural land 

The biodiversity strategy works alongside the new farm 
to fork strategy and the new common agricultural policy 
(CAP)  to  support  and  achieve  the  transition  to  fully 
sustainable agriculture.  
The  biodiversity  and  farm  to  fork  strategies  have  set 
four important targets for 2030:  
- a 50% reduction in the overall use of – and risk from – 
chemical pesticides; 
-  a  50 %  reduction  in  the  use  of  more  hazardous 
pesticides; 
- a 50 % reduction in losses of nutrients from fertilisers 
while  ensuring  there  is  no  deterioration  of  soil  fertility 
(which  will  result  in  a  20 %  reduction  in  the  use  of 
fertilisers);  
-  bring  back  at  least  10 %  of  agricultural  area  under 
high-diversity  landscape  features  and  increase  areas 
under  organic  farming  to  at  least  25  %Germany,  with 
an estimated 9.59 % of its area under organic farming, is 
marginally above the EU average of 9.07 %. (2020 data, 
Eurostat).,  The  increase  in  organic  farming  has  been 
moderate  over  the  last  decade  and  will  need  to  be 
accelerated  in  view  of  the  new  government’s  more 
ambitious objective of 30 % organic farming by 2030.  

On  environmental  performance, 
the  situation  of 
Germany’s  agricultural  sector  varies  depending  on  the 
part  of  the  country.  Some  Länder,  especially  in  the 
north-west  and  south-east,  have  high  livestock  density 
and  land  use  intensification,  which  significantly  affect 
ecosystems.  Diffuse  agriculture  pollution  is  the  most 
significant  pressure  on  both  surface  and  groundwater 
bodies  with  nitrate  being  the  worst  pollutant,  causing 
failure to achieve good chemical status in groundwater. 
Germany  has  failed  to  reverse  or  halt  the  decline  in 
protected  habitats  and 
species  associated  with 
agricultural  land. In  2020,  14 %  of  agricultural  land  in 
Germany  was  under  contract 
to 
biodiversity and landscapes31. 

to  contribute 

Soil ecosystems  

soil 

new 

strategy, 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource.  It  is 
increasingly degrading in the EU. 
adopted 
on 
The 
EU 
17 November 2021,  stresses  the 
importance  of  soil 
protection,  of  sustainable  soil  management  and  of 
restoring  degraded  soils  to  achieve  the  Green  Deal 
objectives  as  well  as  land  degradation  neutrality  by 
2030.  
This entails: 
(i) preventing further soil degradation; 
(ii)  making  sustainable  soil  management  the  new 
normal; 
(iii) taking action for ecosystem restoration.  

30

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_02_40/
default/table?lang=en  (Eurostat,  Area  under  organic  farming, 
February 2022 
31 SWD(2020) 373 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
Germany  12 

Figure  11:  Land  take  and  re-cultivation 
(m2/km2), 2012-201836 

in  EU27 

its  national  soil  protection 

The  new  government  programme  states  that  Germany 
law  by 
will  update 
strengthening 
the 
contribution  of  soils  for  climate  change  adaption  and 
climate  protection  as  well  as  for  preservation  of  soil 
biodiversity.  

the  precautionary  aspect  and 

One factor in the degradation of soil ecosystems is the 
area of soil that is sealed or artificialised32. The net land 
taken  (land  ‘taken’  means 
is  sealed  or 
artificialised)  per  year  in  2012-2018  can  be  seen  as  a 
measure  of  one  significant  pressure  on  nature  and 
biodiversity  –  land  use  change.  At  the  same  time,  land 
use  change  constitutes  an  environmental  pressure  on 
people living in urbanised areas. 

land  that 

land  take 

Despite  a  reduction  in  the  last  decade  (land  take  was 
over  1 000  km2/year  in  the  EU-28  between  2000  and 
2006), 
in  the  EU-28  still  amounted  to 
539km2/year  in  2012-201833.  The  concept  of  ‘net  land 
take’ combines land take with the return of land to non-
artificial land categories (recultivation). While some land 
was  recultivated  in  the  EU-28  in  2000-2018,  11  times 
more land was taken than returned. 

Germany  ranks  above  the  EU  average  with  a  net  land 
take of 119.9 m2/km2 (EU-27 average: 83.8 m2/km2)34. 

its  national  sustainability  strategy, 

In 
(Deutsche 
Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie)  Germany  set  itself  the  target 
of  restricting  daily  landtake  to  under  30  ha  by  2030. 
Daily land take for the period 2017-2020 was 54 ha. 

its  reporting  on 

In  2018,  Germany  updated 
land 
degradation  according  to  the  Performance  Review  and 
Implementation  System  (PRAIS3)  reporting  platform35, 
with  actions 
intended  to  remedy  the  degradation 
identified. 

32 Artificial land cover is defined as the total of: roofed built-up areas 
(including  buildings  and  greenhouses),  artificial  non-built-up  areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car  parking  areas  etc.  and  linear  features,  such  as  streets,  roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and  viaducts,  mobile  homes,  solar  panels,  power  plants,  electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 
33 Land take in Europe — European Environment Agency, Figure 6. 
34 European Environment Agency - Land take in Europe 
35 UNCCD, PRAIS3. 

However, Germany has not yet committed to set targets 
for 
land  degradation  neutrality  under  the  United 
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification37. 

Forests and timber 

The EU forest strategy for 2030, adopted in July 2021, is 
part  of  the  ‘Fit  for  55’  package.  The  strategy  promotes 
the many services that forests provide. Its key objective 
is  to  ensure  healthy,  diverse  and  resilient  EU  forests 
that  contribute  significantly 
the  strengthened 
to 
biodiversity and climate ambitions.  
Forests are important carbon sinks and conserving them 
is vital if the EU is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050  

27 %  of  EU  forest  area  protected  under  the  Habitats 
less  than  15 %  of  assessments  show  a 
Directive, 
favourable  conservation  status 38 .  Bad  conservation 
status increased from 27 % to 31 % in the EU compared 
to 2015. 

Forests  cover  30.97 %  of  Germany39 but  less  than  40 %  
of  assessments  of  EU-protected  forest  habitats  show  a 

36 European  Environment  Agency,  Land  take  in  Europe,  December 
2021. 
37 UNCCD, LDN Target Setting Programme. 
38 European Environment Agency, State of Nature in the EU 
39  European  Enviornment  Agency,  Forest  information  system  for 
Europe 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
good conservation status40. German forests are affected 
by  a  combination  of  factors:  exceptional  heatwaves, 
droughts,  bark  beetle  outbreaks  and  forest  fires. 
Climate  change  and  unsustainable  forest  management 
practices  (monocultures)  have  led  to  high  economic 
losses for foresters due to emergency wood-cutting. 

Figure  12:    Conservation  status  of  forests  protected 
under  the  Habitats  Directive  in  EU  Member  States, 
2013-2018 (% assessments)41 

The  European  Union  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR) 42 
prohibits  the  placing  on  the  EU  market  of  illegally 
harvested  timber.  In  accordance  with  the  EUTR,  EU 
Member  States’  competent  authorities  must  conduct 
regular  checks  on  operators  and  traders,  and  apply 
penalties 
the 
amendment of Article 20 of the EUTR, reporting every 2 
years has been changed to annual reporting, and covers 
the calendar year as of 2019. 

in  case  of  non-compliance.  With 

Between  March  2017  and  February  2019,  Germany 
carried out 786 checks on domestic timber operators. It 
also  carried  out  500  checks  on  operators  importing 
timber.  It  is  estimated  that  Germany  had  2 000 000 
operators  placing  domestic  and  27 000  operators 
placing imported timber types onto the internal market 
over the reporting period43. 

The  new  Deforestation  Regulation 44  will  repeal  and 
replace EUTR, as it will essentially integrate and improve 
the existing system to control timber legality. 

40 SWD(2021) 652 
41 European  Environment  Agency,  Conservation  status  and  trend  in 
conservation status by habitat group - forests, January 2022. 
42 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 20 October 2010. 
43 COM(2020) 629. 
44 COM(2021) 706.   

Germany  13 

Invasive alien species (IAS) 

in 

and 

land 

changes 

IAS    are  a  key  cause  of  biodiversity  loss  in  the  EU 
(alongside 
use, 
sea 
overexploitation, climate change and pollution).  
Besides  inflicting  major  damage  on  nature  and  the 
economy,  many  IAS  also  facilitate  the  outbreak  and 
spread of infectious diseases, posing a threat to humans 
and wildlife.  
The  implementation  of  the  EU  Invasive  Alien  Species 
Regulation  and  other  relevant 
legislation  must  be 
stepped up.  
The  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  aims  to  manage 
recognised  invasive  alien  species  and  decrease  the 
number of ‘red list’ species they threaten by 50 %.  

The  core  of  Regulation  (EU)  1143/2014  IAS45 (the  IAS 
Regulation) is the list of IAS of Union concern. 

The  total  number  of  IAS  of  Union  concern  is  currently 
66,  of  which:  30  are  animal  species;  36  are  plant 
species;  41  are  primarily  terrestrial  species;  23  are 
primarily  freshwater  species;  1  is  a  brackish-water 
species; and 1 is a marine species 

According  to  a  2021  report 46 on  the  review  of  the 
application  of  the  IAS  Regulation,  progress  was  being 
made  towards  certain  objectives,  such  as  creating  a 
coherent  framework for addressing IAS at EU level and 
increasing awareness of the problem of IAS. The report 
also 
for 
improvement.  However,  given  that 
implementation 
deadlines  for  the  IAS  Regulation  were  staggered  from 
July  2016  to  July  2019,  it  is  still  too  early  to  draw 
conclusions on several aspects of implementation. 

some  challenges  and  areas 

identified 

A 2021 report47 on the baseline distribution shows that 
of  the  66  species  on  the  Union  list,  39  have  been 
observed  in  the  environment  in  Germany.  The  spread 
can be checked in Figure 13. 

45 Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014  
46 Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  on  the  review  of  the  application  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1143/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22 
October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction 
and spread of invasive alien species, COM(2021) 628 final, 13.10.2021. 
47 Cardoso  A.C.,  Tsiamis  K.,  Deriu  I.,  D'  Amico  F.,  Gervasini  E.,  EU 
Regulation  1143/2014:  assessment  of  invasive  alien species of  Union 
concern  distribution,  Member  States  reports  vs  JRC  baselines,  EUR 
30689  EN,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2021, ISBN 978-92-76-37420-6, doi:10.2760/11150, JRC123170. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Figure  13:  Number  of  invasive  alien  species  of  EU 
concern, 
georeferenced 
based 
information for Germany, 2021 

available 

on 

2022 priority actions 

Germany  14 

(Article  9),  and  to  provide  an 

The  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (MSFD) 49 
requires Member States to achieve good environmental 
status  (GES)  for  their  marine  waters.  To  that  end, 
Member  States  must  draw  up  marine  strategies  for 
their marine waters, and cooperate with Member States 
sharing  the  same  marine  region  or  subregion.  These 
marine  strategies  comprise  different  steps  to  be 
developed  and  implemented  over  six-year  cycles.The 
MSFD also requires Member States by 15 October 2018 
to  draw  up  a  set  of  GES  characteristics  for  each 
descriptor 
initial 
assessment  of  their  marine  waters  (Article  8).  The 
Commission  then  assesses  whether  this  constitutes  an 
appropriate framework to meet the requirements of the 
Directive.The  Commission  assessed  Germany’s  2018 
determinations  of  GES  for  each  of  the  MSFD’s  11 
descriptors50 and determined their level of adequacy  in 
relation to the Commission’s Decision51. A good or very 
good score indicates that the national determinations of 
GES  are  well  aligned  with  requirements  of  the 
Commission  GES  Decision,  providing  qualitative  and 
quantitative  national  environmental  objectives  to  be 
achieved for their marine waters. 

Figure 14: Level of adequacy of GES determination by 
Germany (ANS and BAL regions) with criteria set under 
the Commission GES Decision – Article 9 (2018 
reporting exercise)52 

 

 

Put 
in  place  clearly  defined  conservation 
objectives  and  the  necessary  conservation 
measures  for  the  sites,  and  provide  adequate 
resources for their implementation in order to 
maintain/restore  species  and  habitats  of 
favourable 
Community 
conservation status across their natural range.  
Ensure  that  pressures  from  agriculture  are 
adequately  addressed  and  that  the  sector 
complies fully with nature protection. 

interest 

to 

a 

Marine ecosystems 

The  EU’s  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  aims  to:  (i) 
substantially  reduce  the  negative  impacts  on  sensitive 
species  and  habitats  in  marine  ecosystems;  (ii)  achieve 
good environmental status; and (iii) eliminate or reduce 
the  by-catch  of  species  to  a  level  that  allows  species 
recovery and conservation48. 

48 The  EU  Common  Fisheries  Policy  (CFP)  aims  to  contribute  to  the 
achievement  of  the  objectives  of  the  environmental  legislation  for 
marine ecosystems. 

49 Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC. 
50 Annex  I  of  Directive  2008/56/EC  establishing  a  framework  for 
community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine 
Strategy Framework Directive), OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, pp. 19 – 40. 
51 This  assessment  was  made  in  relation  to  the  Commission  GES 
Decision, Commission Decision No 2017/848, pp. 43-74. 
52   Assessment  carried  out  by  the  European  Commission  of  the  data 
reported by the Member States, January 2022. Please note that only 
two sub-sections of descriptor D1 are displayed (D1-M Mammals and 
D1-B Birds). For the analysis, these two sub-sections were considered 
as a whole after averaging them. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Germany has two marine sub-regions: 

  ANS-NE  Atlantic:  Greater  North  Sea.  In  this 
marine sub-region, 6 out of 11 determinations 
of  GES  were  assessed  as  good  or  very  good. 
The national determination of GES by Germany 
is coherent for 6 of the 11 descriptors. 

  BAL-Baltic Sea. In this marine subregion, 5 out 
of  11  determinations  of  GES  were  assessed  as 
good or very good. The national determination 
of GES by Germany is coherent for 5 of the 11 
descriptors. 

The  MSFD  also  requires  that  Member  States  make  an 
assessment of the current environmental status of their 
marine waters in relation to the determination of GES. A 
good  or  very  good  score  indicates  Member  States  has 
good capabilities to assess their marine environment in 
accordance  with  the  requirements  set  out 
in  the 
Commission GES Decision. 

Figure 15: Level of adequacy of national assessment of 
Germany’s marine environment (ANS and BAL regions) 
with criteria set under the Commission GES Decision – 
Article 8 (2018 reporting exercise)53 

 

In  the  marine  sub-region  ANS-NE  Atlantic: 
Greater  North  Sea,  5  descriptors  out  of  11 
were  scored  as  good  or  very  good.  Germany’s 
is 
assessment  of 

its  marine  environment 

Germany  15 

 

coherent  with  requirements  set  under  the 
Commission  GES  Decision  for  5  of  the  11 
descriptors. 
In  the  marine  subregion  BAL-Baltic  Sea,  4 
descriptors  out  of  11  were  scored  as  good  or 
very good. Germany’s assessment of its marine 
environment is coherent with requirements set 
under  the  Commission  GES  Decision  for  4  of 
the 11 descriptors. 

Germany 
Contaminants in seafood. 

is  missing  data  for  one  descriptor,  D9 

the  MSFD 54 ,  while 

As  highlighted  in  the  Commission’s  report  on  the 
implementation  of 
regional 
cooperation  has  improved  since  the  adoption  of  the 
MSFD,  more  cooperation 
is  needed  to  attain  full 
regional coherence of the marine strategies, as required 
by the Directive.  

Furthermore, in March 2022, the Commission published 
a  Communication  with  recommendations  for  Member 
States.  According  to  the  Commission’s  assessment 
Member  States  need  to  step  up  their  efforts  to 
determine  the  good  environmental  status  and  the  use 
of  the  criteria  and  methodological  standards  according 
the  Commission  GES  Decision.  The  above 
to 
considerations  form  the  basis  for  the  2022  priority 
actions. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

Ensure  regional  cooperation  with  Member 
States  sharing  the  same  marine  (sub)region  to 
address predominant pressures. 
Implement the recommendations made by the 
Commission  in  the  staff  working  document55 
accompanying 
 on 
recommendations  for  each  Member  State  and 
region on the 2018 updated reports for Articles 
8, 9 and 10 of the MSFD. 

the  Communication 56

Ecosystem assessment and accounting  

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  calls  on  Member 
States  to  better  integrate  biodiversity  considerations 
into  public  and  business  decision  making  at  all  levels 
and to develop natural capital accounting. The EU needs 
a  better  performing  biodiversity-observation  network 
and  more  consistent  reporting  on  the  condition  of 
ecosystems.  

53 Assessment  carried  out  by  the  European  Commission  of  the  data 
reported by the Member States, January 2022. Please note that only 
two sub-sections of descriptor D1 are displayed (D1-M Mammals and 
D1-B Birds). For the analysis, these two sub-sections were considered 
as a whole after averaging them. 

54 COM2020) 259 
55 SWD(2022) 1392. 
56 COM(2022) 550. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Germany  16 

There  has  been  further  progress  in  implementing  the 
mapping  and  assessment  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services initiative (MAES) in Germany with a good level 
of  implementation  (see  Figure  16).  This  assessment  is 
based  on  27  implementation  questions  and  is  updated 
every 6 months. 

Figure 16: ESMERALDA MAES Barometer, January 2016 
- March 202157 

Some ecosystem accounts are already incorporated into 
the statistical system related to the National Sustainable 
Development  Strategy  of  Germany.  Now,  the  priorities 
for Germany are to take the first steps in implementing 
the  accounting  framework,  focussing  on  biodiversity 
conservation targets in urban and rural areas. Following 
this,  the  knowledge  gathered  in  the  process  will  feed 
into  a  reporting  system  to  inform  policy  on  the  full 
range  of  ecological  and  economic  effects  of  policy 
decisions. 

The ecosystem extent account for Germany is available 
on  a  regional  and  national  scale.  Ecosystem  services 
accounts in biophysical and economic terms have been 
developed  for  the  following:  natural  soil  fertility  of 
cropland  and  grassland,  amenity  value  of  public  urban 
green  spaces,  appreciation  of  species  and  habitats 
sequestration  of 
services, 
woodlands. Biophysical ecosystem services accounts are 
done  for  soil  erosion  mitigation,  pollination  service 
potential  and  recreation  services.  Accounts  of  climate 
gas  mitigation  and  economic  accounts  of  recreation 
services are on-going. 

carbon 

timber 

and 

Progress  on  ecosystem  accounting  implementation  is 
assessed  at  national  scale  based  on  13  questions  (see 
Figure 17). 

2022 priority action 

Figure 
September 202158 

17: 

Ecosystem 

accounting 

Barometer, 

 

Further  capacity  building  for  the  National 
Statistical Agency would be beneficial. The time 
is  right  to  inform  policy  makers,  the  public, 
business and the finance sector of the potential 
and  advantages  of  natural  capital  accounting. 
Sufficient funding needs to be ensured and co-
operation, both national and international  and 
better knowledge sharing is encouraged. 

57 European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Publication Office, EU 
Ecosystem  assessment:  summary  for  policymakers,  page  80,  May 
2021. 
58 MAIA  Portal,  Mapping  and  assessment  for  Integrated  Ecosystem 
Accounting (EU Horizon 2020 project), 2022. MAIA uses the System of 
Environmental  Economic  Accounting  –  Experimental  Ecosystem 
Accounting (SEEA-EEA) as the methodological basis for the ecosystem 
accounting. The SEEA EA is an integrated an comprehensive statistical 
framework  that  is  based  on  five  core  accounts:  ecosystem  extent, 
condition, services and monetary ecosystem asset. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
Clean air 

Figure 18: Emission trends of main pollutants / GDP in 
Germany, 2005-201966 

3. Zero pollution 

Germany  17 

its 

EU  clean-air  policies  and  legislation  need  to  significantly 
improve air quality in the EU, moving the EU closer to the 
quality recommended by the WHO and curbing emissions 
of key air pollutants.  
Air  pollution  and 
impacts  on  ecosystems  and 
biodiversity  should  be  further  reduced  with  the  long-
term  aim  of  not  exceeding  critical  loads  and  levels.  This 
requires  strengthening  efforts  to  reach  full  compliance 
with EU clean air legislation and defining strategic targets 
and actions for 2030 and beyond.  
The 2030 zero pollution action plan targets are to reduce 
the health impacts of air pollution by 55 % and to reduce 
the EU ecosystems threatened by air pollution by 25 %.  

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
quality  legislation,  which  sets  health-based  air  quality 
standard 59  and  emission  reduction  commitments 60  by 
Member State for a number of air pollutants. 

Air quality in Germany continues to give cause for serious 
concern. The latest available annual estimates (for 2019) 
by  the  European  Environment  Agency61 point  to  about 
53   800  premature  deaths  (or  560 800  years  of  life  lost 
(YLL)) 
particulate  matter 
attributable 
concentrations 62 ,  3 350 
to  ozone 
concentrations 63  and  6 000  (62 500  YLL)  to  nitrogen 
dioxide concentrations64 65. 

fine 
(36 200  YLL) 

to 

59 European Commission, 2016. Air quality standards 
60 European Commission, Reduction of national emissions 
61 European  Environmentn  Agency,  Air  quality  in  Europe  –2021  report 
for details on the underpinning methodology, (p.106). 
62 Particulate  matter  (PM)  is  a  mixture  of  aerosol  particles  (solid  and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 
(PM2.5)  refers  to  particles  with  a  diameter  of  10  (2.5)  micrometres  or 
less. PM is emitted from many human sources, including combustion. 
63 Low-level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
64 NOx  is  emitted  during  fuel  combustion  e.g.  from  industrial  facilities 
and  the  road  transport  sector.  NOx  is  a  group  of  gases  comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 
65 Note: these figures refer to the  impacts of individual pollutants, and 
to avoid double-counting cannot be added up to derive a sum.  

The  emissions  of  key  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly  in  Germany  over  the  last  years,  while  GDP 
growth  continued  (see  graph).  According  to  the  latest 
projections  required  under  Article  10(2)  of  the  National 
Emission  Reduction  Commitments  Directive 67,  Germany 
projects  to  reach  emission  reduction  commitments  for 
most  air  pollutants  covered  by  the  Directive  for  2020-
2029 except NH3. The current submission of air pollutant 
emission projections does not demonstrate  reaching the 
emission  reduction  commitments  for  2020-2029  and  for 
2030  onwards  for  NOX  and  the  emission  reduction 
commitment  for  PM2.5 from  2030  onwards.  According  to 
the latest inventory data submitted by Germany, which is 
still  to  be  reviewed  by  the  Commission,  ,  Germany  is  in 
compliance  with  the  emission  reduction  commitments 
for all pollutants in 2020.  

Germany  submitted  its  national  air  pollution  control 
programme (NAPCP) on 22 May 2019. 

66 European Environment Agency 
67 Directive 2016/2284/EU. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
Figure  19:  PM2.5  and  NOx  emissions  by  sector 
Germany, 201968 

in 

Germany  18 

infringement  procedures  (mainly  over  PM10  and  NO2 
exceedances)  covering  all  Member  States  concerned, 
including Germany for exceedances of PM10 and NO2 limit 
values in several air quality zones. The EU Court of Justice 
has  delivered  a  judgment  on  exceedances  of  NO2  limit 
values  (C-635/18;  COM  vs  Germany)  confirming  non-
compliance  with  Directive  2008/50/EC.  The  aim  is  that 
appropriate  measures  are  put  in  place  to  bring  all  air 
quality zones into compliance. 

reaching 

In  the  2019  EIR,  Germany  received  five  priority  actions; 
related  to  taking  specific  actions  under  the  NAPCP  and 
the  National  Emissions  Ceiling  Directive.  As  the  current 
submission of air pollutant emission projections does not 
demonstrate 
reduction 
commitments  for  all  pollutants,  the  priority  action  with 
on  the  NAPCP  is  retained.  The  other  priority  actions  
addressed  reductions  in  nitrogen  oxides  and  particulate 
matter,  where  Germany  has  made  further  progress.  No 
exceedances for PM10 were reported in 2020.There were 
still exceedances for NO2 in five air quality zones in 2020. 

emission 

the 

2022 priority actions 

 

  As  part  of  the  NAPCP,  take  action  towards 
reducing  emissions  from  the  main  sources 
mentioned above. 
Ensure  full  compliance  with    EU  air  quality 
standards  and  maintain  downward  emissions 
trends  for  air  pollutants  to  reduce  adverse  air 
pollution  impacts  on  health  and  the  economy 
with a view to reaching WHO guideline values in 
the future. 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to:  
(i) protect air, water and soil;  
(ii) prevent and manage waste;  
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency;  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial  Emissions  Directive  (IED)71.   As  announced  in 
the European Green Deal, the Commission carried out an 
impact  assessment  for  the  revision  of  the  IED  in  2021 

For  the  year  2020,  exceedances  above  the  limit  values 
established  by  the  Ambient  Air  Quality  Directive  were 
registered  for  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  in  five  air  quality 
zones69.  Furthermore,  for  several  air  quality  zones  the 
target  values  on  ozone  concentration  have  not  been 
met70. 

Persistent  breaches  of  air  quality  requirements,  which 
have severe negative effects on health and environment, 
are  being  followed  up  by  the  Commission  through 

68 European Environment Agency 
69 According  to  the  latest  national  data  exceedances  above  the  limit 
values established by the Ambient Air Quality Directive) were registered 
for  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  in  three  air  quality  zones.  At  the  timing  of 
writing  this  report  these  figures  had  not  been  reported  to  the 
Commission. 
70 European Environment Agency, Eionet Central Data Repository 

71 Directive  2010/75/EU  covers  industrial  activities  carried  out  above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of  industrial  and  agricultural  sectors  (e.g.  intensive  rearing  of  pig  and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Germany  19 

industrial  sectors 

identified  as  contributing  the 
The 
largest  burden  to  the  environment  for  emissions  to  air 
were  the  use  of  solvents  e.g.  for  surface  treatment  for 
non-methane  volatile  organic  compounds  (NMVOCs), 
intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs  for  ammonia  (NH3); 
the  power  sector  for  mercury  (Hg),  sulfur  oxides  (SOx), 
arsenic (As) and nitrogen oxides (NOx); the energy sector 
(such as refining) for nickel (Ni), As, SOx, Cd  and Hg; the 
production  of  metals  for  Cd,  As,  chromium  (Cr),  Pb, 
dioxins,  Hg  and  Zn;  the  production  of  chemicals  for 
NMVOCs,  SOx,  NOx  and  NH3;  the  waste  management 
sector for dioxins and PM2.5. The breakdown is shown in 
the following graph. 

Figure 21: Emissions to air from IED sectors and rest of 
national total air emissions in Germany, 201875 

with  a  view  to  tabling  a  proposal  in  early  202272..  The 
revision seeks to enhance the Directive’s contribution to 
the  zero  pollution  objective,  as  well  as  its  consistency 
with climate, energy and circular economy policies. 

The overview of industrial activities regulated by  the IED 
set  out  below  is  based  on  data  reported  to  the  EU 
Registry (2018)73. 

In  Germany,  around  12 670  industrial  installations  are 
required  to  have  a  permit  based  on  the  IED.  This 
represents an increase of almost 3 000 installations since 
2015,  largely  due  to  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
installations in the waste management sector but also in 
the  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs.  The  distribution  of 
installations is shown in  Figure 20 below. 

industrial  sectors 

in  Germany  with  most 

IED 
The 
installations in 2018 were the waste management sector 
(32 %),  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  and  pigs  (23 %),  the 
production  of  chemicals  (15 %),  followed  by    power 
production (5 %),  surface treatment of metals (5 %) and  
food and drink production (5 %). 

Figure  20:  Number  of  IED  industrial  installations  per 
sector in Germany, 201874 

In 2017, 9 IED installations of Germany were among the 
top  30  European  pollutant  release  and  transfer  register 
(E-PRTR) facilities with the highest absolute damage costs 
from  emissions,  including  7  power  stations  –  all  burning 
lignite,  one  producing  iron  and  steel  and  one  producing 
chemicals76.  This  should  be  improved  by  implementing 
levels  associated  with  best  available 
the  emission 

72 The revision of the IED is carried out  in parallel with the revision of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  166/2006  on  the  European  Pollutant  Release  and 
Transfer Register (E-PRTR). 
73 European Environment Agency, European Industrial Emissions Portal. 
74 European  Environment  Agency,  EU  Registry,  European  Industrial 
Emissions Portal (data retrieved on 3 November 2021). 

75 European  Environment  Agency,  LRTAP,  Air  pollutant  emissions  data 
viewer  (Gothenburg  Protocol,  LRTAP  Convention)  1990-2019  (data 
retrieved on 3 November 2021). 
76 EEA  (2021).  Costs  of  air  pollution  from  European  industrial  facilities 
2008–2017. Eionet Report – ETC/ATNI 2020/4. The ranking is based on 
the  approach  accounting  for  the  value  of  a  life  year  (VOLY),  table  41, 
p.125 & table 44, p.141. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  20 

techniques (BAT) for large combustion plants77. This will – 
on average and depending on the situation of individual 
plants – reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 25 % to 81 %, 
nitrogen oxide by 8 % to 56 %, dust by 31 % to 78 % and 
mercury by 19 % to 71 % at EU level. 

The  environmental  burdens  for  industrial  emissions  to 
water  mainly  result  from  the  production  of  chemicals, 
the  waste 
production  of  pulp  and  paper  and 
management sector for nitrogen, phosphorous and total 
organic carbon, as well as from the production of ferrous 
metals  and  waste  incineration  for  polycyclic  aromatic 
hydrocarbons  and  from  production  of  chemicals,  waste 
management  sector  and  extractive  industry  in  case  of 
heavy  metals.  The  breakdown,  based  on  E-PRTR  data,  is 
presented in the Figure 22 below. 

Figure  22:  Relative  releases  to  water  from  industry  in 
Germany, 201878 

granted  and  that  the  conditions  of  these  permits  are 
complied  with.  As  part  of  environmental  inspection, 
competent  authorities  undertake  site  visits  at 
IED 
installations  to  take  samples  and  to  gather  necessary 
information.  According  to  Article  23(4)  of  the  IED,  site 
visits must be carried out between once a year and once 
every  3  years,  depending  on  the  environmental  risks 
posed  by  the  installations.In  2018  Germany  carried  out 
4 883  site  visits,  mostly  to  waste  sector  installations 
(32 %),  the  production  of  chemicals  (18 %),  followed  by 
the  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs  (13 %)  and  the 
surface treatment of metals (6 %). 

Figure  23: Number of inspections in IED installations in 
Germany in 201879 

The  development  of  BAT  reference  documents  (BREFs) 
and  BAT  conclusions  ensures    good  collaboration  with 
stakeholders  and  enables    better  implementation  of  the 
IED80.  Since  the  last  EIR  report,  BAT  Conclusions  have 
been  adopted  for  (i)  waste  incineration;  (ii)  the  food, 
drink  and  milk  industries;  and  (iii)  surface  treatment 
using  organic  solvents  including  preservation  of  wood 
and  wood products with chemicals. 

The  Commission  relies  on  the  efforts  of  national 
competent  authorities  to  implement  the  legally  binding 
BAT  conclusions  and  associated  BAT  emission  levels  in 
environmental  permits,  resulting  in  considerable  and 
continuous reduction of pollution. 

In  2019,  Germany  received  priority  actions  to  review 
permits  to  comply  with  newly  adopted  BAT  conclusions 
and  to  strengthen  control  and  enforcement  to  ensure 
compliance  with  BAT  conclusions.  These  actions  have 
been  followed  up  by  the  Commission  through  the 
reporting by Germany to the EU Registry. It is   currently 
verifying  the  reported  data  about  permits  granted  for 

79 European  Environment  Agency,  EU  Registry,  European  Industrial 
Emissions Portal (data retrieved on 3 November 2021). 
80 European Commission BAT reference documents 

The  EU  approach  to  enforcement  under  the  IED  creates 
strong  rights  for  the  public  to  have  access  to  relevant 
information  and  to  participate  in  the  permitting  process 
for potentially polluting installations. This empowers the 
public and NGOs to ensure that permits are appropriately 

77 Commission  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2017/1442  of  31  July  2017 
establishing  BAT  conclusions  for  large  combustion  plants,  OJ  L  212, 
17.8.2017. 
78  European  Environment  Agency,  E-PRTR,  European 
Industrial 
Emissions  Portal.  The  heavy  metals  are  presented  both  as  a  weighted 
sum  of  eco  toxicity  and  human  toxicity  factors  to  illustrate  both  the 
ecological  and  human  impact  (based  on  USEtox)  (data  retrieved  on  3 
November 2021). 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  21 

In Germany, among the 3 655 Seveso establishments,     2 
502  are  categorised  as  lower-tier  establishments  (LTEs) 
and 1 153 as upper-tier establishments (UTEs) – based on 
the quantity of hazardous substances likely to be present. 
The  upper-tier  establishements  are  subject  to  more 
stringent requirements. Figure 24 shows the trend in the 
number of Seveso establishments. 

Figure  24:  Number  of  Seveso  establishments 
Germany, 2011, 2014 and 201884 

in 

According to Germany, an external emergency plan (EEP) 
is required for 1 081 upper-tier establishements. In 2018, 
1 146 such establishements had an EEP, 930 of which had 
been tested over the last 3 years. The summary is shown 
in  Figure 25. Drawing up  and testing  EEPs is  essential  to 
effective 
enable 
implementation  of  actions  to  protect  the  environment 
and  the  population  in  the  event  of  a  major  industrial 
accident.  

preparation 

proper 

and 

the 

Figure 25: Situation as regards EEP in Germany, 201885 

each  installation  falling  under  the  IED  with  Germany. 
Germany also received  a priority action to address water 
and air pollution from intensive rearing of poultry or pigs. 
The  Commission  follows  up  the  latter  aspect  via  the 
implementation  of  the  BAT  conclusions  for  intensive 
rearing of poultry or pigs,  which  were to be reflected in 
permits  by  February  2021.  As  mentioned  above, 
emissions  from  the  energy  sector  need  to  be  addressed 
large 
implementing  the  BAT  conclusions  on 
by 
combustion plants by August 2021. 

In  2022,  Germany’s  reporting  to  the  E-PRTR  still  shows 
delays and should be improved. 

transposed  correctly.  Among 

Germany  is  subject  to  an  infringement.  The  Commission 
considers  that    certain  provisions  of  the  IED  have  not 
been 
those,  public 
participation is limited in certain ways, and provisions to 
enable competent authorities to set in specific cases less 
stringent emission limit values have not  been transposed 
correctly. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

Continue  addressing  the  pollution  from  large 
combustion  plants, 
lignite-firing 
plants. 
Improve the reporting to the E-PRTR. 

in  particular 

Major industrial accidents prevention - SEVESO 

The  main  objectives  of  EU  policy  on  the  prevention  of 
major industrial accidents are to: 
(i)  control  major  accident  hazards  involving  dangerous 
substances, especially chemicals;  
(ii)  limit  the  consequences  of  such  accidents  for  human 
health and the environment;  
(iii)  continuously  improve  prevention,  preparedness  and 
response to major accidents.  

The cornerstone of the policy is the Directive 2012/18/EU 
(the Seveso-III Directive)81. 

The  below  overview  of  industrial  plants  regulated  by 
Seveso-III  Directive,  (‘Seveso  establishments’),  is  based 
on data reported to the eSPIRS database (2018)82 and the 
Germany report on the implementation of the Seveso-III 
Directive for  2015-201883. 

81 Directive  2012/18/EU  (Seveso-III  Directive)  on  the  control  of  major 
accident hazards involving dangerous substances 
82 European Commission, Seveso Plants Information Retrieval System 
83 As provided for by Article 21(2) of the Seveso-III Directive 

84 European Commission, Assessment and summary of Member States’ 
implementation  reports  for 
Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU 
(implementing  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident 
hazards involving dangerous substances), 2022. 
85 idem. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Information  to  the  public  referred  to  in  Annex  V  of  the 
Seveso-III  Directive  –  especially  about  how  the  public 
concerned will be warned in case of a major accident; the 
appropriate  behaviour  in  the  event  of  a  major  accident; 
and  the  date  of  the  last  site  visit  –  are  permanently 
available  for  77 %  of  the  Seveso  establishments 
in 
Germany. 

Figure 26 presents the share of upper-tier establishments 
for  which  information  on  safety  measures  and  requisite 
behaviours were actively made available to the public  in 
recent  years.  This  is  an  important  provision  of  the 
Seveso-III  Directive  as  the  public’s  knowledge  of  this 
information  may  reduce  the  consequences  of  a  major 
industrial accident. 

Germany is subject to an infringement procedure related 
to the transposition of the Seveso-III Directive. Germany 
has  not  correctly  transposed  the  Directive  in  relation  to 
notification  requirements,  major  accident  prevention 
policy,  information  to  the  public,  public  consultation,s 
participation  rights  in  decision-making  and  time  limits 
regarding safety reports and emergency plans. 

Figure 26: Share of UTE for which information on safety 
measures and requisite behaviours were actively made 
available  to  the  public  in  Germany,  2011,  2014  and 
201886 

Germany  22 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive 87  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoid,  prevent  and  reduce  the 
harmful  effects  of  exposure  to  environmental  noise 
although  it  does  not  set  noise  limits  as  such.  The  main 
instruments  it  uses  in  this  respect  are  strategic  noise 
mapping  and  planning.  A  relevant  2030  zero  pollution 
action  plan  target  is  a  reduction  by  30%  of  the  share  of 
people 
transport  noise 
compared to 2017. 

chronically  disturbed  by 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the  main  causes  of  environmental  health‐related  issues 
in  the  EU.  It  can  cause  ischeemic  heart  disease,  stroke, 
interrupted sleep, cognitive impairment and stress88. 

limited  set  of  data, 89 
In  Germany,  based  on  a 
environmental  noise  is  estimated  to  cause  at  least 
around  1600  premature  deaths  and  5100  cases  of 
ischaemic  heart  disease  every  year90.  Moreover,  some 
840 000 people suffer from disturbed sleep. In Germany,  
overall  noise  exposure  decreased  by  8 %  between  2012 
and 2017, based on reported data. 

On the basis of the latest full set of information that has 
been analysed (noise maps and action plans for Germany, 
June 2021), Germany still lacks action plans for a number 
of  urban  areas,  and  inn  particular  major  roads.  These 
shortcomings are subject of an infringement proceeding. 

In  the  2019  EIR,  Germany  received  a  priority  action  to 
complete  noise  action  plans,  but  there  has  been  only  
limited progress since then. 

2022 priority action 

 

Complete action plans on noise management. 

2022 priority action 

 

Strengthen  control  and  enforcement  to  ensure 
compliance  with  Seveso-III  Directive  provisions, 
especially on information to the public and EEPs. 

86 idem. 

: (i) the  data 

87 Directive 2002/49/EC 
88 WHO 2018, Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region 
89 European Environment Agency, Noise Fact Sheets 2021. 
90  These figures are an  estimation  by  the  European  Environmental 
Agency  based  on 
reported  by  Member  States 
on noise exposure  covered  by  Directive  2002/49/EC; (ii) ETC/ATNI, 
2021, Noise indicators 
Environmental Noise Directive 
the 
2021: Methodology  for  estimating  missing  data, ETC/ATNI  Report  No 
2021/06, European Topic Centre on Air Pollution, Transport, Noise and 
Industrial 
impact 
calculations, ETC/ACM,  2018,  Implications  of  environmental noise on 
health  and  wellbeing  in  Europe,  Eionet  Report  ETC/ACM  No  2018/10, 
European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation.  

Pollution; (iii) the methodology 

health 

under 

for 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

Water Framework Directive 

(WFD) 91  is 

The  Water  Framework  Directive 
the 
cornerstone of EU water policy in the 21st century92. The 
legislation 93    set  the 
WFD  and  other  water-related 
framework 
integrated  water 
sustainable  and 
management, which aims at a high level of protection of 
water resources, prevention of further deterioration and 
restoration to good status. 

for 

By  March  2022,  Member  States  had  to  report  the  third 
set  of river basin  management  plans (RBMPs) under the 
WFD.  Germany  recently  reported  its  third  RBMPs.  The 
Commission will assess the reported status and progress, 
checking  what  measures  have  been  taken  in  reponse  to 
identified  when  the  second  RBMPs 94  were 
findings 
assessed.  

In  December  2021,  the  Commission  published  the  6th 
Implementation  Report,  which  assesses  implementation 
of  the  WFD  and  the  Floods  Directive 95.  This  report 
includes  an 
interim  assessment  of  progress  on:  (i) 
implementation of the programmes of measures; and (ii) 
the  new  priority  substances. 
It  follows  from  the 
assessment report for Germany96 that the environmental 
objectives for many water bodies will not be met by 2021 

includes  the  Groundwater  Directive 

91 The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). 
92 The EU Water Policy. 
93 This 
(2006/118/EC),  the 
Environmental  Quality  Standards  Directive  (2008/105/EC),  the  Floods 
Directive  (2007/60/EC),  the  Bathing  Water  Directive  (2006/7/EC),  the 
Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  (91/271/EEC),  the  new 
Drinking  Water  Directive  (2020/2184/EC),  the  Nitrates  Directive 
(91/676/EEC),  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (2008/56/EC), 
the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) and the new Regulation 
on minimum requirements for water reuse (2020/741). 
94 Detailed  information  can  be  found  in  the  5th  Report  from  the 
Commission on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 
and the Floods Directive, as well as in the 2019 EIR. 
95  See  the  6th  Implementation  Report  of  the  Water  Framework 
Directive and Floods Directive. 
96 European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Assessment  of  Member  States’  progress  in  programmes  of  measures 
during  the  second  planning  cycle  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive. 
Member State: Germany, 2022. 

Germany  23 

and  may  not  even  be  met  by  2027.  A  larger  part  of  the 
measures was scheduled for the second half of the 2015-
2021 planning cycle. 

The  second  set  of  RBMP  reports  and  data  reveal  that  in 
Germany only 8.1 % of all surface water bodies had good 
ecological  status  (with  2.8 %  unknown),  and  all  surface 
water  bodies  (100 %)  failed  to  achieve  good  chemical 
status.  For  groundwaters,  36 %  failed  to  achieve  good 
chemical  status  but  only  4.3 %  are  in  poor  quantitative 
status. 

Figure  27  illustrates  the  proportion  of  surface  water 
bodies  in  Germany  and  other  European  countries  that 
failed to achieve good ecological status. 

Figure  27:  Proportion  of  surface  water  bodies  (rivers, 
lakes, transitional and coastal waters) in less than good 
ecological status per River Basin District97  

Figure  28  shows  the  proportion of surfacewater  bodies 
in Germany and  other  European  countries  failing  to 
achieve good chemical status. For Germany this is 100 %, 
if  one  includes  water  bodies  failing  due  to  substances 
behaving 
bio-
accumulative,  toxic  chemicals).  Without  uPBTs,  9 %  of 
surface water bodies fail to achieve good chemical status. 

(persistent, 

ubiquitous 

PBTs 

as 

97 European Environment Agency, 2021. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Figure 28: Proportion  of  surface  water  bodies  not 
achieving good chemical status98 

Figure 29: Water abstraction per sector in Germany100 

Germany  24 

Under the IED framework Germany showed a  significant 
decrease  over  the  last  decade  (26.6 %)  in  industrial 
releases of heavy metals like Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb and  in  total 
organic carbon(19.1 %) to water99. 

for 

cooling, 

11.93 % 

electricity 

The  total  amount  of  water  abstracted  every  year 
(corresponding  to  the  2019  baseline)  in Germany  from 
surface  and  groundwater  sources is 27 075.75 hm3  (EEA, 
2022). The percentage for water abstraction per sector is 
0.96 %  for  agriculture,  19.42 %  for  public  water  supply, 
49.92 % 
for 
manufacturing,  12.42 %  for  manufacturing  cooling  and 
5,35 %  for  mining  and  quarrying,  as  illustrated  in  the 
following figure. Germany uses water registers to control 
water  abstractions,  as  well  as  a  permitting  system,  with 
permits  regularly  reviewed.  Small  abstractions  are 
exempted  according  to  German  law,  but  not  all  are 
registered.  So,  there  is  no  record  of  the  extent  of 
exemptions in practice since they are established by law. 
Only  a  few  Länder  require  notification  of  the  uses  that 
are exempt from the obligation to have a permit. Overall, 
the potential for abstraction is established and quantities 
of water resources are known. 

98 European Environment Agency, December 2019. 
99 European Environment Agency, June 2021. 

In Germany, the water exploitation index plus (WEI+)101 is 
5.46 %, which is far below the 20 %  generally considered 
to be  an indication of water scarcity102. 

The bar below presents the  WEI+ index in Germany and 
other EU countries. Germany is ranked 11th (from high to 
low score)  in the EU. 

Figure  30:  Water  exploitation  index  plus  (WEI+)  inEU, 
2017103 

Floods Directive 

As  mentioned  above,  the  Commission  published  the  6th 
Implementation  Report  on  the  Directive  in  December 
2021. It includes a review and update of the preliminary 
flood  risk  assessments  during  the  second  cycle  (2016-
2021). 

The  assessment  report104 showed  that  Germany  should 
develop  a  methodology  for  defining  potential  adverse 

100 European  Environment  Agency, Water  abstraction  by  source  and 
economic sector in Europe, 2022. 
101 This index  is a measure  of  total  fresh water  use  as  a percentage  of 
the renewable fresh water resources (groundwater and surface water) 
at  a  given  time  and  place.  It  quantifies  how  much water  is  abstracted 
and how much water is returned after use to the environment. 
102 By May 2022, the EEA will develop seasonal WEI+ at river basin and 
NUTS2  level,  which  provide  a  more  complete  picture  of  water  stress 
and water scarcity for each Member State. 
103 EEA, Water exploitation Index Plus, 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  25 

Figure 31:  Bathing water quality in Europe in the 2020 
season 111 

Figure 32: Germany, Bathing water quality 2017-2020112 

consequences  of  future  floods.  However,  it  is  worth 
mentioning  as    good  practice  that  plausibility  checks  on 
the results of  the risk  assessment on  future  floods  were 
carried  out  by  specialists  and  local  staff  of  the  water 
management  authorities,  with  the  involvement  of  local 
authorities and, if necessary, other relevant local experts. 

Another good practice is the LAWA joint assessment tool, 
which  aims  to  reduce  flood  risk  by  evaluating  the 
objectives and catalogues of measures from the 1st cycle 
plan.  The  tool  is  used  to  evaluate  the  achievement  of 
objectives  and  measures  adopted  under  the  1st  cycle 
plan.  It  enables  authorities  to  collect  and  report  the 
status of flood measures for all Länder105. 

Germany  recently  adopted  the  second  generation  of 
flood risk management plans under the Floods Directive. 
The  Commission  will  assess  progress  and  publish  a  new 
report, as it did in 2019. 

Drinking Water Directive  

On the Drinking Water Directive106 no new assessment of 
the quality of drinking water is available since  the  2019 
EIR.  The  quality  of  drinking  water  in  Germany  has  not 
been indicated as an area of concern. 

The  recast  Directive107 entered  into  force  on  12  January 
2021, and Member States have until 12 January 2023 to 
transpose it into their national legal system. Germany will 
have to comply with these reviewed quality standards. 

Bathing Water Directive 

On the Bathing Water Directive, Figure  31  shows that  in 
2020,  out  of  the  2 304  reported  bathing  waters  from 
Germany,  89.9 %  were of excellent quality and 4.9 % of 
good  quality 108 .  Detailed  information  on    Germann 
bathing waters is available from a national portal 109 and 
via  an 
interactive  map  viewer  from  the  European 
Environment Agency110. 

104 European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Assessment  of  Second  Cycle  Preliminary  Flood  Risk  Assessments  and 
Identification  of  Areas  of  Potential  Significant  Flood  Risk  under  the 
Floods Directive : Member State : Germany, 2022. 
105  European  Commission,  2021,  Current  Practice 
Management in the European Union. 
106 OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, pp. 32–54. 
107 OJ L 435, 23.12.2020, pp. 1–62. 
108 European Environment Agency, 2021. State of bathing waters, p. 17. 
109 Umweltbundesamt, Badegewässerqualität  
110 European Environment Agency, State of bathing waters in 2020. 

in  Flood  Risk 

Nitrates Directive 

According to the last report on the implementation of the 
Nitrates  Directive,  referring  to  the  period  2015-2018113, 
groundwater  quality  has  not 
improved,  and  water 
pollution by nitrates remains a serious concern. There are 
continuing  acute  problems  with  groundwater  and  
eutrophication  in  the  Baltic  and  North  Seas.  27 %  of 
monitoring  stations  exceeded  the  level  of  50  mg  nitrate 

111 European Environment Agency, Bathing Water Quality in 2020, 2022. 
112 European  Environment  Agency,  European  Bathing  Water  Quality 
in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 
113 European Commission, COM(2021) 1000; SWD(2021) 1001  

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
                                                                                                        
 
 
 
                                                                 
per  litre  and  a  large  number  of  stations  show  a  strong 
increase. A very high number (54 %) of the surface waters 
are found to be eutrophic. 

Of the Member States, Germany has the second-highest 
number of monitoring stations with average nitrate levels 
exceeding 50 mg/l. One source of pressure is its livestock 
density, which remained more or less stable compared to 
is  a  strong  correlation  between 
2012-2015.  There 
regional  animal  density  and  hot  spots  where  water 
pollution has been identified. 

Germany  was  referred  to  the  EU  Court  of  Justice  for 
failing  to  take  tougher  measures  to  combat  water 
pollution  caused  by  nitrates.  In  June  2018,  the  Court 
confirmed  that  the  measures  in  the  action  programmes 
in  force  at  the  time  of  the  referral  were  insufficient  to 
meet the aims of the Directive. It held that Germany had 
failed  to  fulfil  its  obligations  (  insufficient  rules  to  limit 
the  application  of  fertilisers,  additional  measures  for 
contaminated  areas  (red  zones),  closure  periods,  and 
sloping  ground.  Giventhe 
fertilisation  on 
insufficient  implementation  of  the  Court  ruling,  the 
Commission sent a Letter of Formal Notice under Article 
260  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union  in  July  2019  urging  Germany  to  fully  comply  with 
the  judgment114.  The  last  update  of  national  fertiliser 
legislation  dates  from  1  May  2020.  Germany  needs  to 
correctly  identify  the  polluted  areas  where  reinforced 
measures to reduce nutrient pollution should apply. 

steeply 

Urban Waste Water Treatment 

Germany  fully  complies  with  the  Directive  on  Urban 
Waste Water Treatment (UWWTD). 

Figure  33: Proportion of urban waste water that  meets 
all  requirements  of  the  UWWTD  (collection,  biological 
treatment,  biological  treatment  with  nitrogen  and/or 
phosphorus  removal)  in  compliant  urban  areas  of  the 
UWWTD (‘compliance rate’), 2018115 

Germany  26 

In  2019  Germany  received  a  priority  action  on  the 
Nitrates  Directive  which  is  retained,  as  no  progress  has 
been  made.  With  regard  to  the  Water  Framework 
Directive and Floods Directive, part of the priority actions 
are considered fulfilled, based on the findings of the 6th 
Implementation Report. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

 

Take  steps  to  improve  time    and   frequency  of 
monitoring.  
Continue efforts to counteract nutrient pollution 
from agriculture. 
Ensure  rapid  compliance  with  the  Nitrates 
the 
Directive  by 
identification  of  polluted  areas  and  by  taking 
appropriate  measures 
serious 
groundwater  pollution,  especially  in  intensive 
farming areas. 

to  address 

rules  on 

revising 

the 

Chemicals 

The EU seeks to ensure that chemicals are produced and 
used  in  a  way  that  minimises  any  significant  adverse 
In 
effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
October  2020,  the  Commission published  its  chemicals 
strategy  for  sustainability  -  “Towards  a  Toxic-Free 
Environment116 which  lead  to  some  systemic  changes  in 
EU chemicals legislation.  The strategy is part of the EU’s 
zero-pollution-ambition  –  a    key  commitment  of  the 
European Green Deal. 

legislation 117  provides  baseline 
The  EU  chemical 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
for  businesses 
operating within the single market. 

Since 2007, the Commission has gathered information on 
the  enforcement  of  the  Regulation  on  the  Registration, 
Evaluation,  Authorisation  and  Restriction  of Chemicals 
(‘the  REACH  Regulation’)  and 
the  Regulation  on 
Classification, Labelling and Packaging (‘CLP Regulation’). 
In  December  2020,  the  Commission  assessed  the 
Member  States’  reports  on  the  implementation  and 
enforcement  of  these  Regulations118,  in  line  with  Article 
117(1) of the REACH Regulation and  Article 46(2) of the 
CLP  Regulation.  According  to  the  latest  available  data, 

114 Judgment  of  the  EU  Court  of  Justice  of  21  June  2018  in  Case  C-
543/16, Commission v Germany. 
115 European Commission, WISE Freshwater, 2021. 

116 COM(2020) 667 final 
117 REACH: OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1. -  CLP: OJ L 252, 31.12.2006, p.1 
118 European Commission, Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting, 2020 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  27 

impose  further 
competent  authority  may  decide  to 
penalties  in  addition  to  a  fine.  That  authority  may  also, 
where  necessary,  order  the  provisional  seizure  of  assets 
and documents.  

In  Germany,    resources  are  considered  proportionate  to 
REACH and CLP enforcement122. There were 8 195 REACH 
controls  carried  out  in  the  reporting  period  (2019)    and 
24 961 CLP controls. The number of non-compliant cases 
for both REACH and CLP controls is above the average123. 

Figure  34:  Percentage    of  non-compliance  cases  out  of 
the  total  number  of  REACH  and  CLP  controls  during 
2019  per  Member  State  and  compared  to  the  EU 
average124 

in 

in 

are 

there 

detecting 

still  many  disparities 

national enforcement structures have not changed much 
in recent years. However, it is  apparent from this report 
that 
the 
implementation  of  the  REACH  and  CLP  Regulations,  and 
law  enforcement.  Recorded 
notably  in  the  area  of 
compliance  levels  in  Member  States  seem  to  be  quite 
stable over time, but with a slight worsening trend, which 
is  likely  due  to:  (i)  enforcement  authorities  being  more 
non-compliant 
effective 
products/companies;  and 
(ii)  more  non-compliant 
products  being  put  on  the  EU  market.According  to  the 
latest  available  data,  national  enforcement  structures 
have  not  changed  much.  However,  it  is  apparent  from 
this  report  that  there  are  still  many  disparities  in  the 
REACH-CLP  implementation  and  notably  in  the  area  of 
the  law  enforcement  among  the  Member  States.  The 
recorded compliance levels seem to be quite stable over 
time,  but  with  a  slight  worsening  trend  likely  due  to 
enforcement  authorities  being  more  effective 
in 
detecting  noncompliant  products/companies  and  more 
non-compliant products being put on the EU market. 

In August 2021, the Commission published an assessment 
of the enforcement119 of the two main EU Regulations on 
chemicals using a set of indicators on different aspects of 
enforcement.   

Responsibility for  checking  compliance  with  both  REACH 
and  CLP  Regulations  in  Germany  lies  with  the  Länder 
authorities 120 : Each  of  the  16  Länder  has 
its  own 
hierarchy 
respective 
authorities 
responsibilities vary between the federal states. 

and 

the 

of 

Germany  has  drawn  up  and 
implemented 
enforcement strategies for both REACH and CLP121. Their 
content consists of:  

fully 

 

Enforcement strategy at federal state level with 
own enforcement priorities and projects 

  Risk-based  approach 
reactive enforcement 
Joint  strategy  across 
surveillance 

 

to  enforcement  and 

  Länder 

for  market 

Projects  are  usually  evaluated  after  completion. 
Experience gained from this is shared with other federal 
states.  In  some  federal  states  where  the  enforcement 
focus  is  on  imports,  close  cooperation  with  the  customs 
authorities takes place. 

As  a  rule,  all  infringements  of  REACH  are  classed  as 
‘serious’  or  ‘very  serious’  environmental  administrative 
offences.  If  the  infringement  is  sufficiently  serious,  the 

2022 priority actions 

  Upgrade 

the  administrative  capacities  on 
implementation and enforcement towards  zero 
tolerance of non-compliances. 

119  European  Commission,  REACH  and  CLP  enforcement:  EU  level 
enforcement indicators 
120 European Commission, Final report_REACH-CLP MS  reporting , p. 68 
121 idem, p. 76 

122 idem, p. 74 
123 idem, pp. 87-88. 
124 European Commission, Final Report, on the operation of REACH and 
CLP, pp.87-88, 2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  28 

4. Climate action 

to 

(NDC) 

law  also 

In  line  with  the  Paris  Agreement  and  as  part  of  the 
European Green Deal, the European Climate Law sets the 
EU  target  of  reaching  climate  neutrality  by  2050  and 
reducing  greenhouse  gas  (GHG)  emissions  by  55%  by 
2030  compared  to  1990.  The 
limits  the 
contribution  that  carbon  removals  can  make  towards 
emission  reductions 
in  2030  to  ensure  a  sufficient 
mitigation effort.  
The  EU  and  its  Member  States  submitted  updated 
Nationally  Determined  Contribution 
the 
UNFCCC in December 2020.  
The  EU  is  working  across  all  sectors  and  policies  to  cut 
GHG  emissions  and  make  the  transition  to  a  climate-
neutral  and  sustainable  economy,  as  well  as  addressing 
the unavoidable consequences of climate change.  
EU  climate  legislation  incentivises  emissions  reductions 
from power generation, industry, transport, the maritime 
sector and fluorinated gases (F-gases) used in products.  
For  road  transport,  EU  legislation  requires  the  GHG 
intensity  of  vehicle  fuels  to  be  cut  by  6%  by  2020 
compared  to  2010 125 and  sets  binding  GHG  emission 
standards for different vehicle categories126.  
Under the F-gas Regulation, the EU’s F-gas emissions will 
be cut by two thirds by 2030 compared with 2014 levels. 
From  2021,  emissions  and  removals  of  GHGs  from 
LULUCF have been included in the EU emission-reduction 
efforts.  
The  EU  adaptation  policy  is  an  integral  part  of  the 
European  Green  Deal.  From  2021,  Member  States  are 
required 
their  national  adaptation 
policies127,  as  the  EU  Climate  Law  recognises  adaptation 
as a key component of the long-term global response to 
climate change. Member States will be required to adopt 
national  strategies,  and  the  EU  will  regularly  assess 
progress  as  part  of  its  overall  governance  on  climate 
action. The updated EU adaptation strategy, published in 
February  2021,  sets  out  how  the  EU  can  adapt  to  the 
unavoidable  impacts  of  climate  change  and  become 
climate resilient by 2050. 

report  on 

to 

Key national climate policies and strategies 

Germany  submitted  its  integrated  national  energy  and 
climate  plan  (NECP)  for  2021-2030.  The  work  builds  on 

125  The Fuel  Quality  Directive (Directive 98/70/EC)  sets  strict  quality 
requirements  for  fuels  used  in  road  transport  in  the  EU  to  protect 
human health and the environment, and to make road travel across the 
EU safer. 
126 Directive 98/70/EC. 
127 Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. 

long-term  energy  and  climate  plans,  including  the  long-
term strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (2019). 
Achieving  Germany’s  domestic  and  European  climate 
ambitions  will  require  sustained  efforts.  In  July  2021, 
Germany  amended  its  climate  law,  thereby  committing 
to  climate  neutrality  by  2045  and  to  greenhouse  gas 
emission reductions by 2030 of  -65 % compared to 1990 
levels.  

reforms  are  expected 

Germany  is  strongly  stepping  up  public  investment,  to 
which  its  RRP  also  contributes.  The  latest  policies  and 
measures  set  out  in  Germany’s  2030    climate  action 
programme  and climate law help close the gap to its new 
binding  2030  target.  In  its  RRP,  Germany  allocates  42 % 
of  the  plan  to  climate  objectives  and  outlines  crucial 
reforms  and  investments  to  further  the  transition  to  a 
more  sustainable,  climate-neutral  and  climate-resilient 
economy.  The 
to  support 
Germany’s  decarbonisation  and  energy  objectives  and 
are a step towards achieving climate neutrality. However 
the  RRP’s  size  of  €25.6  billion  makes  up  for  0.74%  of 
Germany’s  GDP  and  will  therefore  have  a  rather 
supporting  function 
in  Germany's  ambitious  climate 
policy.  Measures in  the  area  of climate  action  and  the 
energy  transition 
include  significant  efforts for  the 
development  of  a  well-functioning  hydrogen  economy, 
measures  to  promote  climate-friendly  mobility,  and 
sizeable 
building 
in 
renovation ( see Chapter 5). 

energy-efficient 

investment 

the 

society,  economy 

The  climate  adaptation  measures  of 
federal 
government  are  guided  by  the  German  adaptation 
strategy  (DAS).  It  serves  as  the  federal  government’s 
its  adaptation-related 
strategic  framework  to  guide 
is  to  decrease  the 
policies  and  activities.  The  aim 
vulnerability  of  German 
and 
environment  and  to  strengthen  adaptive  capacities.  The 
strategy  provides  a  policy  framework  and  facilitates  a 
cross-sectoral  approach.  In  Germany,  climate  change 
adaptation is an ongoing long-term task and is addressed 
within  an  institutional  and  methodological  framework 
agreed  at  political  level.  Scientific  research  and  financial 
support programmes, advisory services and processes for 
participation  and  consultation  have  been  set  up,  along 
with a continuous reporting system. 

The  country’s  emissions  have  decreased  sharply  since 
1990.  Between  1990  and  2020 
its  greenhouse  gas 
emissions decreased by 41 %. Although its economy has a 
similar emission intensity to the EU, emissions per capita 
are above the EU average. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
Figure  35:  Total  greenhouse  gas  emissions 
international aviation) in Germany, 1990-2020 

(incl. 

Figure 37: Emissions, annual emission allocations (AEAs) 
and  accumulated  surplus/  deficit  of  AEAs  under  the 
Effort Sharing Decision in Germany, 2013-2020 

Germany  29 

Effort sharing target  

Key sectoral developments 

For  emissions  not  covered  by  the  EU’s  emmissions 
trading  scheme  (ETS),  Member  States  have  binding 
national  targets  under  the  Effort  Sharing  legislation128. 
Under  EU  legislation,  Germany’s  target  is  to  reduce 
greenhouse  gas  emissions 
in  the  non-ETS  sectors 
(buildings,  road  and  domestic  maritime  transport, 
agriculture, waste and small industries) by 14  % by 2020 
and reduce emissions by 38 % by 2030 compared to 2005 
levels.  The  country’s  Effort  Sharing  emissions  in  2019 
were  above  its  2020  target.  In  its  National  Energy  and 
Climate  Plan,  Germany  intends  to  achieve  reductions 
close  to  its  current  Effort  Sharing  target  for  2030  of  -
38 %.  

Figure  36:    Emissions  and  targets  under  the  Effort 
Sharing Decision/ Effort Sharing Regulation in Germany, 
2020 and 2030 as percentage change from 2005 

In  road  transport,  the  GHG  intensity  of  vehicle  fuels  in 
Germany  decreased  by  3.7 %  between  2010  and  2019. 
The country needs to act swiftly to meet the current EU-
wide  reduction  target  of  6 %  by  2020.  There  are  several 
types  of  action  that  Member  States  can  take  in  this 
regard,  for  example:  (i)  further  expanding  the  use  of 
electricity  in  road  transport;  (ii)  supporting  the  use  of 
biofuels,  and  advanced  biofuels 
(iii) 
incentivising  the  development  and  deployment  of 
renewable fuels of non-biological origin; and (iv) reducing 
upstream emissions before refining processes. 

in  particular; 

In  2019,  road  transport  in  Germany  accounted  for  19 % 
of total GHG emissions. Emissions have increased by 3 % 
intensity  of  passenger 
compared  to  2005.  Energy 
transport  has  improved,  but  remains  above  the  EU 
average.  Against  this  background,  the  NECP  makes  
reference  to  the  promotion  of 
innovative  mobility 
technologies  (including  batteries,  hydrogen/fuel  cell  or 
gas  powered  vehicles,  plug-in  hybrids,  and  advanced 
biofuels). 

128 Regulation (EU) 2018/842 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
Figure 38: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector in 
Germany129 –historical emissions 1990-2020, projections 
2021-2030130 

Figure  39:  Reported  and  accounted  emissions  and 
removals from LULUCF in Germany131 

Germany  30 

its 

submitted 

long-term 
On  buildings,  Germany 
renovation strategy in July 2020. While these policies and 
measures  are  important,  they  are  expected  to  reduce 
primary  energy  consumption  by  only  25 %  until  2030. 
‘Renovate’ 
Germany  also  developed  an  ambitious 
component in its RRP, which can help accelerate building 
renovation. It also includes a measure on climate-friendly 
wooden construction. 

Emissions  from  agriculture  have  remained  fairly  stable 
since 2005. 

In  the  land  use,  land  use  change  and  forestry  (LULUCF) 
sector,  Germany  projects  a  dramatic  decrease  of  net 
removals,  resulting  in  significant  net  emissions  by  2030. 
Reported  quantities  under  the  Kyoto  Protocol  for  the 
LULUCF  sector  in  Germany  show  net  removals  of,  on 
average,  -27.3  Mt  CO2-eq  for  2013-2019.  In  this  regard, 
Germany  contributes  7.9 %  to  the  EU-27’s  annual 
average  sink  of  -344.9  Mt  CO2-eq.  Accounting  for  the 
same period reveals net credits of, on average,  -47.9 Mt 
CO2-eq, which represents 41.7 % of the EU-27 accounted 
sink  of  -115.0  Mt  CO2-eq.  Reported  net  removals  and 
accounted net credits show no trends and little variation.  

in 

to 

the 

sectors 

figure  correspond 

129  The 
following 
Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate  Change  (IPCC)    sectors:  Energy 
supply:  1A1,  1B  and  1C.  Energy  use  in  manufacturing  industries:  1A2. 
Industrial  processes  and  product  use:  2.  Transport:  1A3.  Other  energy 
use:  1A4,  1A5  and  6.  Agriculture:  3.  Waste:  5.  International  aviation: 
1.D.1.a. 
130 European Environment Agency, Total GHG trends and projections. 

the 

Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU ETS 
allowances 

from 

revenues 

the  auctioning  of  emission 
Total 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS  between  2012  and  2021 
were  over  EUR 18.5  billion. 
In  Germany,  100 %  of 
revenues  are  spent  on  energy  and  climate  projects.  All 
revenues  go  to  a  fund  for  climate  and  energy  projects, 
which is additionally co-funded from the national budget. 

2022 priority actions 

electricity 

to  offshore  wind 

  Deploy  faster  grid  expansion  swifter  planning 
and  approval  procedures  for  onshore  wind 
energy,  and  addressing  investment  bottlenecks 
to  substantially 
related 
increase 
from 
renewable energy sources. 
Continue  to  use  energy  R&D  to  support  the 
includes  allocating 
energy 
adequate  funding  to  key  priority  areas  and  to 
monitoring the effectiveness of its RD&D policy. 
  Higher  and  faster  investments  in  sustainable 
transport  infrastructure  to  make  progress  on 

transition.  This 

consumption 

 

131 The  differences  between  reported  and  accounted  emissions  from 
LULUCF under the Kyoto Protocol are described in the ‘explanatory note 
on  LULUCF  –  accounted  and  reported  quantities  under  the  Kyoto 
Protocol’.   

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
emission  reductions.  Incentivise  investments  in 
processes 
climate-friendly 

production 

throughout 

the 

industry 

sector.

Germany  31 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools

5. Financing 

Germany  32 

Environmental investment needs in the 
European Union 

Financing  environmental  measures  is  essential  for  their 
success.  Although  most  financing  comes  from  national 
sources, various EU funds contribute significantly, helping 
to close the financing gaps between countries. 

Post-2020,  environmental  measures  will  also  be 
supported by the EU’s  COVID-19 Recovery  Fund (via  the 
Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility)  and  the 
‘do  no 
significant  harm’  principle,  which  runs  across  the  EU 
budget. 
The  renewed  commitments  made  at  COP26  (Glasgow, 
October-November 
Biodiversity 
Convention(April-May  2022)132 will  also  be  reflected  in 
the EU budget. 

2021) 

and 

the 

Overall environmental investment gaps (EU27) 

The EU green transition investment needs cover a range 
of  interlinked  areas.  The  additional  investment  needs 
over baselines (i.e. the gap between what is needed and 
what  is  forecast  to  be  invested  if  no  additional  action  is 
taken) for climate, energy and transport were estimated 
at  EUR  390  billion  per  annum  (EU-27)133,  with  a  further 
EUR  130  billion  to  deliver  the  EU's  core  environmental 
objectives 134 .   Climate  adaptation  costs  can  also  be 
significant,  reaching  a  total  of  EUR  35-62  billion 
(narrower  scope)  or  EUR  158-518  billion  (wider  scope) 
per  year 135.  Those  investment   needs  do  reflect  the 
implementation  objectives  to  2020  and  to  2030  (except 
for  climate  adaptation  which  costs  are  expected  to  stay 
for a longer time horizon). 

A  preliminary  update  of  the  EU’s  core  environmental 
investment gap is provided in Table 1.136. Almost 40 % of 
the environmental investment gap relate to dealing with 
pollution, accounting for  nearly two-thirds of the total if 
combined  with  water  management.  The  investment  gap 

in  circular  economy  and  waste    is  estimated  to  be 
between EUR  13-28 billion a  year,   depending on  levels 
of  circularity 
implemented.  The  annual  biodiversity 
financing gap is estimated at around EUR  20 billion. 

Table 1: Estimated breakdown of the EU27’s 
environmental investment gaps, by environmental 
objective, 2021-2030 (per annum)137 

Estimated investment gap (EU-27, 
p.a.)  

Environmental 
objective 

Pollution  prevention 
& control 

Water  management 
& industries 

Circular  economy  & 
waste 

 EUR billion 

 42.8 

 26.6 

 13.0  

Biodiversity 
ecosystems138 

& 

 21.5 

R & D & I and other 

Total 

 6.2 

 110.1 

 % 

 39  

 24 % 

 12 % 

 20 % 

 6 % 

 100 % 

Environmental investment needs in Germany  

There  is  a  perceptible  shift  of  investment  priorities  in 
Germany  towards  the  support  to  climate,  energy  and 
transport policies as it can be appreciated in the recovery 
and resilience plan (RRP) where 42 % of the Recovery and 
Resilience  Fund  will  be  spent  on  investments  in  a  wide 
set  of  economic  sectors  such  as  energy  renovation  of 
housing,  e-mobility,  hydrogen  and  decarbonisation  of 
industry.  In  the  new  coalition  agreement  and  recent 
budget  proposals, 
for  climate 
adaptation and nature protection have been significantly 
strengthened and increased.  

financing  objectives 

132 The Convention on Biological Diversity; Post-2020 Global Biodiversity 
Framework | IUCN. 
133 SWD(2021)  621,  accompanying  proposal  COM(2021)  557  to  amend 
the REDII Directive 2018/2001/EU 
134 SWD(2020) 98 final/2 
135 SWD(2018) 292 
136 With  decreases  due  to  Brexit  and  some  reconciliation  among  the 
objectives.  Source:  DG  ENV  ”Study  supporting  EU  green  investment 
needs  analysis”  (ongoing,  2021-2023)  and  DG  ENV  internal  analysis 
”Environmental  investment  needs  and  financing  in  the  EU’s  green 
transition” July 2020. 

137 European Commission, DG Environment, ”Study supporting EU green 
investment needs analysis” (ongoing, 2021-2023) and DG Environment 
internal analysis ”Environmental Investment needs and financing in the 
EU’s green transition“,  July 2020.  
138 To  meet  the  needs  of  the  2030  Biodiversity  Strategy  (Natura  2000, 
green infrastructure), at least EUR 20 billion a year should be unlocked 
for  nature  (COM/2020/380  final)  while  to  fully  cover  the  strategy 
(including  restoration)  EUR  30-35  billion  may  be  needed,  indicating  a 
gap  of  EUR  10-20  billion  a  year  compared  to  current  baseline 
expenditure. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
  
 
 
                                                                 
The  following  environmental  investment  needs  have 
been identified by sector. 

Pollution prevention & control 

The  EU’s  first  clean  air  outlook139 under  the  clean  air 
programme estimated that the total air pollution control 
costs for Germany to reach the NECD emission reduction 
requirements  (ERRs)140 by  2030  amount  to  EUR  12  646 
million  per  year,  including  EUR  8  227  million  for  capital 
investment (assuming the achievement the 2030 climate 
and energy targets). 

The  second  EU’s  clean  air  outlook141 suggests  that,  if  all 
relevant  legislation adopted  up to 2018  (including all air 
pollution and the 2030 climate and energy targets set in 
2018) delivered its full benefits and if Member States also 
implemented  the  measures  announced  in  their  NAPCPs, 
largely  achieve  the  reductions  of  air 
the  EU would 
pollutant  emissions  that  correspond  to  the  obligations 
under the NEC Directive for 2030, except for 15 Member 
States  for  ammonia  (NH3).  Germany  is  one  of  the 
Member  States  at  risk  of  non-compliance  with  the 
ammonia emission reduction commitment.  

Water management  

Significant  investment  needs  exist  to  ensure  compliance 
with the Water Framework Directive given that less than  
10  %  of  surface  waters  have  good  ecological  status.  As 
regards the Floods Directive, regular river flooding results 
in  significant  direct  damage  costs.  Climate  change  is 
expected  to  increase  storm-related  protection  needs  on 
the  Baltic  and  North  Sea  shores.  Germany  has  good 
compliance  with  the  Urban  Wastewater  Treatment 
Directive and high performance of networks.142 An OECD 
study  estimates  additional  cumulative  investment  needs 
over  baselines  of  EUR  255  billion  to  2030  to  ensure 
continued compliance  with the Drinking Water Directive 
and  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  in  the 
EU27,  of  which  a  cumulative  EUR  40  billion  relates  to 
Germany (with EUR 22.7 billion on capital costs) – which 
indicates  around  EUR  4  billion  relevant  expenditure  per 
annum (including EUR 2.3 billion on capital) on average, 

Germany  33 

95 %  of  that  relating  to  wastewater143.  Moreover,  the 
recent  6th  Water  Framework  Directive  and  Floods 
Directive  Implementation  Report144 and  the  financial  - 
economic  study145 accompanying  it,  are  also  a  relevant 
source of information in this domain. 

Waste & circular economy 

According to a Commission study the capital investments 
additionally  over  the  baselines  required  to  reach  EU 
recycling targets for EU27 as a whole amount to EUR 15.8 
billion for 2021-27. For Germany, those additional needs 
are  estimated  at  EUR  1.68  billion  (EUR  239  million  per 
year on average).146.  

This concerns municipal and packaging waste in the areas 
of collection, biowaste treatment, recycling reprocessors, 
waste  sorting  facilities  and  waste  registry  digitalisation, 
while  does  not  include  investment  necessary  for  other 
key  waste  streams  (plastics,  textiles,  furniture)  or  to 
unlock  a  higher  uptake  of  circularity  and  waste 
prevention across the economy. 

Biodiversity & ecosystems 

The  recently  submitted  priority  action  framework  (PAF) 
for  Germany  shows  that  nature  protection  costs 
(including Natura 2000) in 2021-27 are EUR 1.5 bilion per 
annum,  including  EUR  377  million  on  one-off  costs147. 
This  excludes  additional  costs 
the 
Biodiversity  Strategy  to  2030,  including  on  increased 
protection and restoration. 

implement 

to 

EU environmental funding  2014-2020 

The multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the years 
(in 
2014-2020  allocated  almost  EUR  960  billion 
commitments,  2011  prices) 148  for 
the  EU.  The 
commitment to green transition included a 20 % climate 
spending  target  and  funding  opportunities  for  the 
the  European 
in  particular,  under 
environment, 

139 International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Progress 
towards  the  achievement  of  the  EU's  air  quality  and  emissions 
objectives, 2018 
140  Covering  the  reductions  of  and  the  emission  ceilings  for  5 
atmospheric  pollutants,  SOx,  NOx,  PM2.5,  NH3  and  VOC  by  2030, 
compared  to  2005.  Source:  Progress  towards  the  achievement  of  the 
EU’s  air  quality  and  emissions  objectives,  IIASA  2018.  (page  29). 
Requirements are based on Directive (EU) 2016/2284. 
141  COM(2021)  3  final.  International  Institute  for  Applied  Systems 
Analysis (IIASA), Support to the development of the   
Second Clean Air Outlook, 2020 and Annex 
142 OECD,  Financing  a  Water  Secure  Future,  2022.  Country  Fact  Sheet 
France, Country Fact Sheet Germany, Page 4 

143 OECD,  Country  fact  sheet-  Financing  Water  Supply,  Sanitation  and 
Flood Protection. 
144 WFD and FD Implementation Reports – DG Environment – European 
Commission. 
145  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Economic  data  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  WFD  and  the  FD 
and the financing of measures, Final report. Publications Office, 2021. 
146 European Commision, Study on investment needs in the waste sector 
and  on  the  financing  of  municipal  waste  management  in  Member 
States, 2019 
147 The  N2K  Group,  Strengthening  investments  in  Natura  2000  and 
improving  synergies  with  EU  funding 
instruments  report  to  the 
European Commission, 2021 
148  Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Structural  and  Investment  (ESI)  Funds149.  The  2014-2020 
budget  was  subsequently  topped  up  with  over  EUR  50 
billion (current prices) from REACT-EU for cohesion policy 
action against coronavirus (COVID-19)150.  

Table 2: Direct and indirect Environmental investments 
under the ESI Funds in Germany, 2014-2020152 

Germany  34 

in 

invest 

Germany  received  EUR  33.5  billion  from  the  ESI  Funds 
over  2014-2020  to 
job  creation  and  a 
sustainable  and  healthy  European  economy  and 
The  planned  direct  environmental 
environment. 
investment amounted to EUR 1.9 billion with further EUR 
990.9  million 
indirect  environmental 
investment  value,  totalling    EUR  2.9  billion.  The  figure 
below  shows  an  overview  of  (planned)  individual  ESI 
Funds  earmarked  for  Germany  (EU  amounts,  without 
national amounts). 

identified  as 

Figure 40: ESI Funds allocated to Germany, including 
environmental investments 2014-2020151 

149 The  European  Structural  and  Investment  (ESI)  Funds  include  the 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), 
the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  with  the  Youth  Employment  Initiative 
(YEI),  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD) 
and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).   
150 Regulation (EU) 2020/2221 
151  European  Commission,  DG  Environment  -  Data  analysis,  DG 
Environment  analysis  based  on  ESI Funds Open  Data  Portal 
(cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu), Integration  of  environmental  concerns  in 
Cohesion 
(EU)  No 
1303/2013,Regulation  (EU)  2021/1060 and Implementing  Regulation 
for  data:  December  2021. 
(EU)  No  215/2014. Cut-off  date 
Environmental investments here are captured via the combined use of 
intervention  fields  and  coefficients  under  the Regulation  (EU)  No 
1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1060  allowing for a more precise 
identification  and  valuation  of  relevant environmental investments. 
N.B.  Indirect  environmental  investments  are  valued  using  the  Annex  I 
(EU)  2021/1060 (as 
environmental  coefficients  of  the Regulation 
opposed to full value). 

2017), Regulation 

(COWI, 

Funds 

Policy 

Instrument 

Under Cohesion policy (ERDF) 
Direct environmental investments 
air quality 
biodiversity and nature 
land rehabilitation 
climate and risk management 
Indirect environmental investments 
renewable energy 
energy efficiency 
other energy153 
sustainable transport 
sustainable tourism 
business development, R&I 

Under EAFRD/rural development 
Direct environmental investments 
climate and risk management 
Indirect environmental investments 
renewable energy 
energy efficiency 

Under EMFF 
Direct environmental investments 
environmental  protection  &  resource 
efficiency  
Indirect environmental investments 
business development, R&I 

Under ESI Funds total  
Direct environmental investments 
Indirect environmental investments 

Allocations  
for the environment  
(EUR million) 

2 137.0 
1 179.0 
34.2 
212.1 
202.0 
730.7 
958.0 
35.9 
444.3 
43.5 
272.6 
47.5 
114.3 

649.4 
617.1 
617.1 
32.4 
4.9 
27.5 

116.5 
115.9 
115.9 
0.6 
0.6 

2 903.0 
1 912.0 
990.9 

supplemented  by  other  EU 

Funding  for  the  environment  from  the  ESI  Funds  has 
been  also 
funding 
programmes available to all Member States, such as, the 
LIFE  programme  or  the  Horizon  2020  and  relevant  EIB 
loans, that add up to an estimated total of EUR 5.4 billion 
of  EU  environmental  financing  for  Germany  in  2014-
2020. 

investments 

in 
tracking 

identified  here 
the 
from 

152 European  Commission,  DG  Environment  -  Data  analysis.  The  values 
the  specific 
of  environmental 
environmental  areas  may  differ 
values 
at cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu, e.g. for clean  air or biodiversity due  to 
two factors: the set of environmental coefficients used and the range of 
funds assessed. DG Environment’s analysis here  covered the full range 
of ESI Funds. See also the footnote for the figure “ESI Funds allocated to 
Germany, including environmental investments 2014-2020”. 
153  Intelligent  energy  distribution  systems  (smart  grids)  and  high 
efficiency co-generation and district heating, based on intervention field 
53  and  54  respectively  (with  40%  environmental  coefficients)  of 
Regulation (EU) No 2021/1060, Annex I. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
  
 
                                                                 
It 

The  LIFE  programme 154  is  entirely  dedicated 
to 
environmental  and  climate  objectives. 
finances 
demonstration  and  best  practice  actions  for  green 
solutions  to  be  deployed.  In  the  2014-2020  period, 
Germany  has  received  EU  support  for  37  LIFE  projects 
(for  nature  and  environment)  with  EUR  124.3  million 
from  the  LIFE  programme  (out  of  1 028  EU27  LIFE 
projects  with  the  total  EU  contribution  of  EUR  1.74 
billion)155. 

In  2014-2020,  Horizon  2020  allocated  about  EUR  271.6 
million  for  Germany  for  the  environment,  in  particular, 
for  circular  economy,  climate  action  and  natural 
resources  and  ecosystems),  accounting  for  2.7 %  of 
Germany’s  total  allocation156.  From  the  European  Fund 
for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI),  Germany  received  EUR 
60.0 million for direct environmental investments out  of 
its total allocation (EUR 5.4 billion) 157. Germany received 
EUR  2.1  billion  for  direct  environmental  investments 
(specifically, for water and sewerage) out of the total EIB 
loans  for  Germany  (EUR  44.7  billion)158.  The  country 
ranks number 4 in size in total EIB lending. 

In 2020, the EIB provided EUR 24.2 billion to fight climate 
change,  37 %  of  its  total  financing  and  EUR  1.8  billion 
(3 % of its financing) for the environment159 160. 

EU environmental funding  2021-2027 

The 2020 European Green Deal investment plan calls for 
EUR 1 trillion in green investments (public and private) to 
be made across the EU by 2030. The 2021-2027 MFF and 
the NextGenerationEU spending programme will mobilise 
EUR  2.018  trillion  (in  current  prices)  to  support  the 
recovery 
long-term 
from  COVID-19  and  the  EU’s 
priorities, 
including  environmental  protection 161 . 
Following  the  EU  Green  Deal’s162 pledge  to  ‘do-no-harm’ 
and  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  the  2021-2027 
MFF163, 30 % of the EU budget will support climate efforts 
and 7.5 % (as of 2024) and 10 % (as of 2026) biodiversity 

154 European Commission, LIFE Programme 
155 LIFE Country overview Malta 2021 (europa.eu) 
156 European  Commission,  Horizon  2020  Environment  and  resources 
data hub 
157 European  Investment  Bank,  approved  and  signed  EFSI  financing, 
2015-2020 
158 EIB loans in EU countries in 2014-2020, EIB Open Data Portal  
159 The  EIB  Group  jointly  works  with  the  European  Commission  in 
implementing 
environmental 
implementation: InvestEU,  the  successor  of  EFSI,  Pillar  II  and III  of  the 
Just Transition Mechanism. The EIB Group stands as a key implementing 
partner  for  InvestEU  with  responsibility  for  managing  75 %  of  the 
overall budgetary capacity of the mandate. 
160 EIB 2021 Activity Report 
161  European  Commission,  2021-2027 
NextGenerationEU 
162 COM(2019) 640. 
163 Interinstitutional Agreement, OJ L 433I. 

long-term  EU  budget  & 

several  programs 

finance 

that 

Germany  35 

requires 

increased  programming  of 

financial 
that 
resources  for  biodiversity,  specifically  under  the  2021-
2027  Cohesion  policy  and  the  2023-2027  CAP  to  reach 
those targets.  

Sustainable  finance  significantly  increases  transparency 
on environmental sustainability (a goal promoted by the 
EU  taxonomy) 164 ,  strengthens  non-financial  reporting 
requirements, facilitates green bond issuance (by the EU 
green  bond  standard 165).  Reinforced  by  the  renewed 
sustainable  finance  strategy  (2020) 166  it  will  increase 
investment flows to climate and environment. In support 
of  financing  climate  adaptation,  the  new  strategy  on 
adaptation to climate change167 can facilitate to close the 
insurance  protection  gap  from  non-insured  climate-
related  events168.  The  EIB  will  align  50 %  of  its  lending 
with  climate  and  environment  by  2025169 with  an  EUR 
250  billion  contribution  to  the  Green  Deal  Investment 
Plan by 2027. 

The  table  below  gives  an  overview  of  the  EU  funds 
earmarked  specifically  to  Germany  for  the  2021-2027 
period.  These  funds  are  also  supplemented  by  other  EU 
funding programmes available to all Member States. 

Table 3: Key EU funds allocated to Germany (current 
prices), 2021-2027 

Instrument 

Cohesion policy 

ERDF 
ESF+ 
ETC (ERDF) 

Country funding allocation 
(million EUR) 

Total: 18 457.5170 
1 0912.6  
6 527.1 
1 017.8171 

Just Transition Fund 

2 477.6 172 

EAFRD/rural 
development  
under  CAP  Strategic 

5 461.8174 

164 European Commission, EU taxonomy for sustainable activities  
165 EU Green Bond Standard - 2021/0191 (COD). 
166 COM(2021) 390  
167 COM(2021) 82 
168  The  strategy  would  support  improved  insurance  gap  coverage 
including through the natural catastrophe markets as reflected with the 
EIOPA  (the  Association  for  European  Insurance  and  Occupational 
Pension Authorities) dashboard on insurance protection gap for natural 
catastrophes. See: The pilot dashboard on insurance protection gap for 
natural catastrophes 
169 EIB Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025, November 2020 
170  European  Commission,  2021-2027  Cohesion  policy  EU  budget 
allocations. 
171 Interreg  initial  allocations  per  MS  including  ETC  transnational  and 
ETC cross-border co-operation.  
172  European  Commission,  2021-2027  Cohesion  policy  EU  budget 
allocations. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Plans 2023-2027173 

European  Maritime, 
and 
Fisheries 
Fund 
Aquaculture 
(EMFAF) 

Recovery 
and 
Resilience Facility (RRF)  
2021 – 2026176  

211.8175 

25 613.5177 (grants) 

In  Germany,  the  programming  for  the  majority  of  EU 
funds  (ERDF,  EAFRD  and  EMFAF)  is  well  under  way.  As 
regards  the  ERDF  the  main  priorities  under  the  ‘green 
objective’  are  energy  efficiency,  climate  adaptation 
including  using  ecosystem-based  approaches,  followed 
Infrastructure,  circular 
by  biodiversity  and  Green 
economy and urban mobility.  

The negotiations have been concluded under the RRF. As 
part  of  the  EU’s  Recovery  Package,  Germany  requested 
EUR  25.6  billion  of  grants  through  the  Recovery  and 
Resilience  Fund,  of  which  42.5 %  will  support  climate 
objectives.  This  is  above  the  37 %  climate  expenditure 
target,  the  minimum 
level  required  under  the  RRF 
Regulation178. Green investments will go to: 

  making 

the 

transport 

sector  greener  by 
supporting electric cars,  the renewal of the local 
public transport fleet and rail; 
decarbonising 
renewable hydrogen; 
increasing  the  energy  efficiency  of  residential 
buildings through renovation. 

industry  with  a 

focus  on 

 

 

Overall, the plan ensures that direct actions can be taken 
at local levels for the green transition, while protecting or 
restoring  the  environment,  and  in  compliance  with  the 
do-no-significant-harm principle179. 

174 Regulation (EU) no 2021/2115, Annex XI. 
173 European Commission, CAP strategic plans.  
175 Regulation (EU) no 2021/1139, Annex V. 
176 The  actual  reforms  and  investments  under  the  RRF  have  to  be 
implemented until 31 December 2026.   
177 Council Implementing Decision, FIN 519. 
178 Regulation (EU) no 2021/241.  
179 C(2021) 1054 final. 

Germany  36 

Figure 41: Climate expenditure in RRPs, 2021-2026180 

Under  NextGenerationEU,  the  Commission  will  issue  up 
to  EUR  250  billion  of  EU  green  bonds  (one  third  of  the 
NGEU total) until 2026 that will comply with the general 
spirit of the DNSH principle, but will not be subject to the 
currently  developed  Delegated  Acts  related  to  the  EU 
Taxonomy  and  will  not  fully  align  with  the  proposed  EU 
green bond standard. 

In  December  2020,  the  EIB  Group  adopted  the  Climate 
Bank  Roadmap  outlining  the  role  of  the  institution  in 
climate  action  and  environmental  sustainability  for  the 
next  decade  also  setting  to  align  50 %  of  its  lending 
activity  with  that  by  2025.  The  EIB's  contribution  to  the 
European  Green  Deal  Investment  Plan  is  expected  to 
amount to around to EUR 250 billion throughout to 2027 
in  terms  of  investments  in  EU  mandates  (i.e.  under  EU 
instruments and through the EU budget). 

National environmental protection 
expenditure 

Total  national  environmental  protection  expenditure 
(including all relevant current and capital expenditure )181 
in the EU-27 was EUR 272.6 billion in 2020, representing 
2 %  of  the  common  GDP  being  quite  stable  over  time.  
While  absolute  expenditure  is  concentrated  in  a  few 
countries,  as  a  share  of  GDP,  most  countries  spend 

level, 

including  final  consumption, 

180 European Commission. The contributions to climate objectives have 
been calculated using Annex VI of the RRF Regulation (EU) 2021/241. 
181  At  economy 
intermediate 
consumption and  capital  expenditure  of  households,  corporations  and 
governments related to environmental protection goods and services. It 
excludes  EU  funds,  while  may  include  some  international  expenditure 
beyond  domestic.  Data  source:  Environmental  Protection  Expenditure 
Accounts (EPEA), Eurostat. EPEA accounts are based on the CEPA 2000 
classification, excluding climate, energy and circular economy. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
                                                                                                        
 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  37 

Figure 43: EU-27 Member States' environmental 
protection investments (Capex) by institutional sectors 
(Total economy = 100%), 2018183 

between  1-2 %,  with  Germany  being  slightly  above  that 
(2.2 %). 

Of  the  above  total,  the  EU-27's  capital  expenditure 
(Capex)  on  environmental  protection  (i.e.  investment)  
amounted  to  EUR  56.3  billion  in  2018,  lowering  to  EUR 
54.5  billion  in  2020,  representing  around  0.4 %  of  GDP. 
Most  Member  States  invested  0.2-0.5 %  of  their  GDP  in 
environmental  protection,  including  Germany  (0.4 %). 
During 2014-2020, this totalled to around EUR 376 billion 
of  environmental  investment  in  the  EU27,  and  to  EUR 
84.3 billion for Germany. 

Figure 42: Direct and indirect environmental protection 
investments in the EU-27 (EUR million and % of GDP), 
2018182 

Breakdown  of  investment  by  environmental  topic  is 
partially available, at the level of institutional sectors only 
(rather than at economy level), due to different reporting 
patterns.  At  Germany’s  general  government  level,  40 % 
of  environmental  protection  investments  went  to  the 
protection  of  air,  36 %  to  wastewater  and  13 %  to 
environmental research and development. The country’s 
specialist  producers 
(of  environmental  protection 
services)  mostly  focused  on  wastewater  (72 %),  waste 
management  received  27 %  of  respective  investments. 
The  industrial  and  business  sector  focused  on  several 
areas:  wastewater  (37 %),  air  protection  (33 %),  waste 
management (14 %) and water and soil protection (11 %) 
to name the most significant and clearly classified areas. 

The  total  annual  European  green  bond  issuance184 in 
2020  was  USD  156  billion  (EUR  137  billion185),  growing 
from  USD  117  billion  (EUR  105  billion)  in  2019,  also 
including  some  non-EU  European  countries.  By  EU-27 
Member  States  only,  the  2020  annual  green  bond 
issuance  was  EUR  124  billion.  83 %  of  the  green  bonds 

183 Eurostat, Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts (env_epe). 
184 Green  bonds  were  created  to  fund  projects  that  have  positive 
environmental  and/or  climate  benefits.  The  majority  of  green  bonds 
issued are green “use of proceeds” or asset-linked bonds. The very first 
green  bond  was  issued  in  2007  with  the  AAA-rated  issuance  from 
multilateral  institutions,  the  European  Investment  Bank  (EIB)  and  the 
World Bank. 
185 At Eurostat’s annual average EUR/USD exchange rates. 

protection 

investments 

By 
institutional  sector,  around  23 %  of  Germany’s 
(capital 
environmental 
expenditure) came from the general government, over a 
half  (56 %)  from  specialist  producers  (of  environmental 
protection services, e.g. waste and water companies) and 
21 %  from  industry  (business)  that  normally  pursues 
environmental  activities  as  ancillary  to  their  main  
activities.    At  EU  level,  37 %  comes  from  governments, 
33 %  from  specialist  producers  and  30 %  from  industry 
(business). 

182 Eurostat, Environmental Protection Expenditure Account, 2021.  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  38 

Figure 45: Environmental taxes in the EU-27, 2020188 

issued by European countries served energy, buildings or 
mobility  objectives  between  2014-2020,  8 %  supported 
water and waste, with further 6 % supporting land use – 
with  links  to  ecosystem  conservation  &  restoration, 
based  on  the  Climate  Bonds  Taxonomy  being  broadly 
similar  to  the  EU  Taxonomy186.  In  2020,  EU  green  bond 
issuance by Germany amounted to EUR 36 644 million. 

Figure 44: Annual EU green bond issuance in 2020 (EUR 
billion) 

The  European  Green  Deal  underlines  that  well-designed 
tax  reforms  can  boost  economic  growth  and  resilience, 
foster a fairer society and a just transition by sending the 
right price signals and incentives to economic actors. The 
European  Green  Deal  creates  the  context  for  broad-
based  tax  reforms,  fossil  fuel  subsidies  removal,  shifting 
the tax burden from labour to pollution, also accounting 
for  social  considerations 189 .  The  application  of  the 
‘polluter pays principle’ (PPP)190 stipulating that polluters 
should bear the cost of measures to prevent, control and 
remedy  pollution;  is  facilitated  by  the  EU  Commission’s 
TSI flagship on greening taxes.  

Environmentally-harmful subsidies 

removing  environmentally-harmful 
Addressing  and 
subsidies  (EHS)  is  a  further  step  towards  wider  fiscal 
reforms191. 

Fossil  fuel  subsidies  are  costly  for  public  budgets  and 
impact  the  achievement  of  the  European 
adversely 
Green Deal objectives (climate neutrality, air quality, zero 
pollution  and  lowering  health  impacts).  In  many  cases 
they  also  go  against  incentives  for  investments  in  green 
technologies,  and  do  not  contribute  to  levelling  the 
playing field. Fossil fuel subsidies amounted to about EUR 
55 billion until 2019 . They rose by 4% between 2015 and 
2019, however some countries, such as Latvia, Lithuania, 
Ireland,  managed  to  decrease 
Sweden,  Greece  or 

188 Eurostat, Environmental taxes accounts (env_eta). 
189 COM (2019/640 final), p.17. 
190 Article  191(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union:  “Union  policy  on  the  environment  (…)  shall  be  based  on  the 
precautionary  principle  and  on  the  principles  that  preventive  action 
should  be  taken,  that  environmental  damage  should  as  a  priority  be 
rectified at source and that the polluter should pay”. 
191 European Commission, Study on Assessing the Environmental Fisccal 
Reform Potential for the EU28, January 2016 Eunomia EFR Final Report 
MAIN REPORT.pdf (europa.eu) 

Green budget tools 

Green taxation and tax reform 

Germany’s  revenue  from  environmentally-related  taxes 
are  among  the  lowest  (rank  24)  in  the  EU  compared  to 
GDP,  with  1.71 %  in  2020  (EU-average:  2.24%).  83 %  of 
the  total  constituted  energy  tax,  and  transport  taxes 
17%.  Taxes  on  pollution  and  resources  are  very  low 
(0.01%  of 
total).  Germany  applies  economic 
instruments  to  encourage  recycling,  like  ’pay-as-you-
throw’ schemes187. 

the 

186  Interactive  Data  Platform  at  www.climatebonds.net.  Further 
information 
Taxonomy: 
Bonds 
https://www.climatebonds.net/standard/taxonomy  
187  European  Commission,  Green  taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments, 2021 

Climate 

on 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
In  the  EU,  subsidies  on 
subsidies  for  fossil  fuels. 
petroleum  products,  in  sectors  such  as  transport  and 
agriculture,  kept  on  growing  over  this  period,  whereas 
subsidies on coal and lignite decreased, largely owing to 
diminishing role of solid fuels in electricity generation. As 
a share of GDP, fossil fuel subsidies ranged from 1.2 % in 
Hungary  to  less  than  0.1 %  in  Malta  in  2019  (0.4 %  on 
aaverage  in  the  EU).  Fossil  fuel  subsidies  came  to  EUR 
12.2  billion  in  Germany  in  2019,  representing  0.36 %  of 
GDP. 

In  2020,  the  total  amount  of  fossil  fuel  subsidies 
decreased  to  EUR  52  billion  (due  to  falling  consumption 
trends  amid  the  COVID-19-related  restrictions)  which, 
without  Member  State  actions,  are  likely  to  rebound  as 
economic  activity  picks  up  from  2020192.  Further  details 
on  the  fossil  fuel  trends  in  Germany  in  2015  -2020  are 
shown below. 

Figure 46: Trends in natural gas, petroleum products, 
electricy and coal subsidies in Germany193  

% GDP 

2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019 

2020 

Electricity 

0.08 

0.08 

0.07 

0.08 

0.06 

0.06 

0.05 

0.06 

Natural 
gas 

0.03 

0.03 

0.03 

0.03 

0.03 

0.02 

0.02 

0.02 

Petroleum   0.05 

0.05 

0.05 

0.05 

0.05 

0.05 

0.05 

0.04 

Coal 

0.14 

0.14 

0.13 

0.13 

0.12 

0.12 

0.10 

0.13 

Germany  39 

that  polluters  bear  the  costs  of  their  pollution  including 
the  cost  of  measures  taken  to  prevent,  control  and 
remedy pollution and the costs it imposes on society. The 
European  Court  of  Auditors  concluded  that,  while  the 
principle is generally reflected in the EU’s environmental 
policies,  its  coverage  remains  incomplete  and  is  applied 
unevenly across sectors and Member States195. 

Current green budgeting practices 

Green  budgeting  encompasses  various  climate  and 
environmental  tagging  and  tracking  practices  in  budgets 
and  some  EU  Member  States  already  use  green 
budgeting  elements196.  Green  budgeting  helps  identify 
and  track  green  expenditure  and  green  revenues  to 
increase transparency on the environmental implications 
of  budgetary  policies,  improving  policy  coherence  and 
supporting  green  policies 
(including  climate  end 
environmental objectives)197. 

EU climate proofing and sustainability proofing guidance 
have  also  been  developed,  as  tools  to  assess  project 
eligibility  and  compliance  with  environmental  legislation 
and  criteria198.  The  EU  Commission  established  a  green 
budgeting  reference 
launched  a 
technical  support  flagship  (TSI)  on  green  budgeting  in 
2021  to  assist  Member  States  in  developing  or  further 
developing national green budgeting frameworks to reap 
the  benefits  for  policy  coherence  and  for  the  green 
in  the  EU 
transition.  Germany  did  not  participate 
Commission’s green budgeting flagship started in 2021. 

framework 199  and 

Overall financing compared to the needs 

investments 

Overall  environmental  financing  for 
is 
estimated  to  have  been    0.6-0.7%  of  GDP  in  the  2014-
2020  period  in  the  EU,  taking  into  account  major  EU 
funds  and  national  financing.  This  ranged  from  0.3% 
(Ireland)  to  1.91%  (Bulgaria),  linked  to  the  level  of 
environmental challenges in  Member States. The overall 
EU  environmental  investment  needs  in  the  2021-2027 
period  are  estimated  to  range  between  0.9-1.5%  of  the 

The  ‘polluter  pays  principle’  (PPP)  is  a  principle  of  EU 
environmental  law  enshrined  in   Article  191  of  the 
European  Treaties194.  Application  of  the  principle  means 

192 State of the Energy Union report. COM(2021) 950 and Annex  
193 OECD, Fossil Fuel Subsidy Tracker. 
194 Article  191(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union:  “Union  policy  on  the  environment  (…)  shall  be  based  on  the 
precautionary  principle  and  on  the  principles  that  preventive  action 
should  be  taken,  that  environmental  damage  should  as  a  priority  be 
rectified at source and that the polluter should pay”. 

195 European  Court  of  Auditors,  Special  Report  12/2021:  The  Polluter 
Pays  Principle: 
Inconsistent  application  across  EU  environmental 
policies and actions 
196 European  Commission,  Green Budgeting  Practices in the  EU:  A First 
Review, 2021. 
197  European  Commission,  European  Commission  Green  Budgeting 
Reference  Framework.  European  Commission,  Green  Budgeting  in  the 
EU Key insights from the 2021 Commission survey. 
198 European Commission, Technical guidance on sustainability proofing 
for the InvestEU Fund. 
199  European  Commission,  Green  Budgeting  Reference  Framework, 
based  on  the  review  of  the  OECD  Paris  Collaborative  on  Green 
Budgeting initiative, 2017. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Germany  40 

(2021-2027),  suggesting  an  overall 
projected  GDP 
environmental  financing  gap  of    0.6-0.8%  of  GDP  (EU 
level), unchanged financing levels assumed200. 

Figure 47: Total environmental financing baseline (2014-
2020) and estimated needs (2020-2030) in the EU27 (% 
of GDP)201 

overall 

financing 

environmental 

for 
Germany’s 
investments  came  to  an  estimated    0.63%  of  GDP  in 
2014-2020, overwhelmingly relying on national financing 
sources.  The  overall  environmental  investment  needs  in 
2021-2027  are  estimated  to  reach    over    0.82 %  of  GDP 
(reflecting  data  available  at  country  level),  suggesting  a 
potential environmental financing gap of at least  0.19% 
of  GDP,  likely  to  be  higher  when  also  accounting  for 
needs  estimated  currently  at  EU-level  only  (e.g.  water 
protection,  circularity,  biodiversity  strategy  etc.)  –  to  be 
addressed for environmental implementation.   

2022 priority action 

 

To ensure an increased level of financing for the 
environment  to  cover  the  investment  needs 
foreseen  and  to  close  the  investment  gaps.   

200 DG  Environment  data  analysis.  EU  financing  sources  covered:  ESI 
Funds  (ERDF,  CF,  ESF,  YEI,  EAFRD,  EMFF),  Horizon 2020,  LIFE,  EFSI  (EU 
amount),  EIB  loans.  National  financing:  total  national  environmental 
protection  capital  expenditure  (investments)  -  source:  Eurostat  EPEA 
dataset.  Cut-off  date  for  data:  end  2021.  N.B.  The  total  financing  may 
be  higher,  in particular  through further  indirect  investments,  requiring 
further analysis in the future.   
201 Eurostat, ESI Funds Open Data, 2021. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
6. Environmental governance 

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Table  4:  Country  dashboard  on  the  implementation  of 
the INSPIRE Directive, 2016-2020207 

Germany  41 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; 
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and businesses that environmental information is shared 
efficiently  and  effectively202.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment203. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)204.  

The  INSPIRE  Directive  aims  at  establishing  a  European 
spatial  data  infrastructure  for  sharing  environmental 
spatial  information  between  public  authorities  across 
Europe, assisting in policy-making across boundaries and 
facilitating  public  access  to  this  information.  Geographic 
information  is  needed  for  good  governance  at  all  levels 
and should be readily and transparently available 

Germany’s performance has been reviewed based on the 
country's  2021  country  fiche 205 .  Progress  on  data 
identification  and  documentation  has  been  slow  while 
implementation  levels  are  good.  However,  more  efforts 
are needed to:  

  make the data more widely accessible, and 
 
datasets 

prioritise 
in 
implementation,  especially  those  identified  as 
high-value  spatial  datasets  for  implementing 
environmental legislation206. 

environmental 

202 The  Aarhus  Convention,  the  Access  to  Environmental  Information 
Directive  (Directive  2003/4/EC)  and  the  INSPIRE  Directive,  (Directive 
2007/2/EC)  together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities  and  with  the 
public. This EIR focuses on the INSPIRE Directive's implementation. 
203  These guarantees are explained in the Commission Notice on access 
to  justice  in  environmental  matters,  OJL  275,  18.8.2017  and  a  related 
Citizen's Guide. 
204   This  EIR  focuses  on  the  means  implemented  by  Member  States  to 
guarantee  rights  of  access  to  justice,  legal  standing  and  to  overcome 
other major barriers to bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
205 European Commission, INSPIRE-in-your-Country  
206 European Commission, list of high value spatial data sets 

2016 

2020 

Legend 

Effective  coordination  and  data 
sharing 

Ensure  effective 
coordination 

■ 

Data 
sharing 
without obstacle  ■ 

■ 

■ 

INSPIRE performance indicators 

i.  Conformity  of 
metadata 

ii.  Conformity  of 
data 
spatial 
sets208 

iii.  Accessibility 
of  spatial  data 
through 
sets 
view 
and 
download 
services 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

iv.  Conformity  of 

network services  ■ 

■ 

■  Implementation  of 
is  well 
this  provision 
advanced  or 
(nearly) 
completed. 
Outstanding  issues  are 
can  be 
minor  and 
addressed 
easily. 
Percentage: >89% 

■  Implementation  of 
this 
has 
provision 
started and made some 
or  substantial  progress 
but  is  still  not  close  to 
complete. 
be 
Percentage: 31–89% 

■  Implementation  of 
this  provision  is  falling 
behind. 
significantly 
are 
efforts 
Serious 
close 
necessary 
to 
gap. 
implementation 
Percentage: <31% 

Public participation 

Regarding  environmental  impact  assessments  (EIAs)  and 
strategic  environmental  assessments (SEAs),  EIA portals 
at  federal  and  Länder  level  with  a  similar  layout  allow 
facilitates  the  general  public  to    participate  by  way  of 
electronic  tools.  Each  project  contains  basic  information 
including 
public 
participation,  on  progress  made  on    the  authorisation 
procedure  and  on  the  final  decision  on  the  approval  of 
the project including an explanation of how the reasoned 

summaries, 

details 

short 

on 

207 INSPIRE knowledge base 
208 The deadlines for implementation of the spatial data interoperability 
were  in  2016  still  in  the  future:  23/11/2017  for  Annex  I  data  and 
21/10/2020 for Annex II and III data. It must be also considered that this 
conformity  indicator  will  in  many  cases  never  reach  100 %  conformity 
as  majority  of  the  countries  provide  as-is-data  sets  in  addition  to  the 
INSPIRE harmonised data sets. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
  
  
 
                                                                 
assessment,  in  particular    comments  from  the  public, 
were taken into account in the decision. 

Baden-Württemberg’s  ‘Participation  portal’  represents  a 
noteworthy  initiative.  It  lists  all  the  possibilities  that 
citizens have to get their voices heard and to participate 
in public policies. 

Access to justice  

Recognised  environmental  organisations  are  granted 
legal  standing  in  all  cases  explicitly  specified  in  the 
(Umweltrechtsbehelfs-
Environmental  Appeals  Act 
gesetz).  

Nature 

Federal 

Conservation 

The 
Act 
(Bundesnaturschutzgesetz,  BNatSchG)  and  a  number  of 
Länder  nature  conservation  acts  grant  legal  standing  to 
recognised nature conservation organisations in specified 
areas  of  nature  conservation,  (see  §  64  BNatSchG).  In 
these  cases, recognised  non-governmental organisations 
(NGOs) can challenge, for example, decisions to grant an 
exemption from rules for the protection of Natura 2000 
sites or for protected areas of marine environment. 

listed 

There  are  some  difficulties 
in  challenging  plans  or 
programmes.  Environmental  organisations  have  limited 
standing for the cases described in this category, as they 
have  access  to  justice  exclusively  with  regard  to  the 
subject  matters 
in  §  (1)  sentence  1  of  the  
Environmental Appeals Act (Umwelt-Rechtsbehelfsgesetz, 
UmwRG).  If  plans  or  programmes  do  not  fall  within  the 
scope of § 1 (1) sentence 1 no. 4 UmwRG there is limited 
direct  access  to  justice  in  the  cases  of  this  category.  In 
principle,  neither  individuals  nor  NGOs  have  standing  to 
challenge  national 
regulatory  acts,  except  when 
requesting  a  ’preventive  declaratory  judgment’  to  stop 
an  upcoming  criminal  sanction  or  where  an  ’incident 
review’  might  offer  the  possibility  to  challenge  the 
validity of the underlying regulatory act, which  is not  an 
option  if  the  regulatory  act  does  not  require  further 
implementing  acts.  There  have    so  far  not  been  enough 
court  judgments  up  to  now  and  there  is  no  clear  legal 
framework. It is therefore  not sufficiently clear if there is 
effective  access  to 
justice  with  regard  to  e.g.  the 
designation  of  conservation  areas  by  legislative  decrees 
and not requiring a SEA. 

justice 

Information  on  access  to 
in  environmental 
matters  is  available  on  the  websites  of  the  Federal 
Ministry  for  the  Environment,  Nature  Conservation, 
Protection 
Nuclear 
(Bundesministerium  für  Umwelt,  Naturschutz,  nukleare 
Sicherheit  und  Verbraucherschutz)  and  the  Federal 
Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt). 

Consumer 

Safety 

and 

Germany  42 

2022 priority actions 

 

Improve  access  to  spatial  data  and  services  by 
creating  stronger  links  between  the  Federal 
INSPIRE  website  and  regional  portals,  identify 
and  document  all  spatial  datasets  required  for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law 209, 
and  make  the  data  and  documentation  at  least 
accessible  'as  is'  to  other  public  authorities  and 
the public through the digital services envisaged  
in the INSPIRE Directive. 

 

  Better  inform  the  public  about  their  access  to 
justice rights, in particular by referring in judicial 
and  administrative  portals  to  the  Commission 
eJustice  fact  sheets  on  access  to  justice  in 
environmental matters210. 
Improve  legal  clarity  on  access  to  courts  by  the 
public 
challenging 
administrative  or  regulatory  decisions  and 
omissions also in the planning context. 
information  and 
Provide  publicly  available 
statistics 
and 
on 
contributions to EIAs/SEAs at federal and Länder 
levels. 

participation 

  when 

comes 

public 

to 

it 

 

Compliance assurance  

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
that 
industries, farmers and others fulfil obligations to protect 
water, air and nature, and managing waste211.  
It includes support measures provided by the authorities 
such as: 
(i) compliance promotion 212;  
(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring 213;  
(iii)the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement214.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability 215 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage.  

209 European Commission, INSPIRE. 
210 European Commission, e-justice.  
211 The  concept  is  explained  in  detail  in  the  Communication  on  "EU 
actions  to 
improve  environmental  compliance  and  governance" 
COM(2018)10  and  the  related  Commission  Staff  Working  Document, 
SWD(2018)10.  
212 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation.  
213 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations.  
214 This  EIR  focuses  on  the  availability  of  enforcement  data  and  co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
215  The  Environmental  Liability  Directive,  2004/35,  creates  the 
framework. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
  
 
                                                                 
Compliance promotion and monitoring 

Public information on compliance with the Habitats, Birds 
and Nitrates Directives exists in Germany at both federal 
and  Länder  level  although  it  is  scattered  across  various 
authorities’ (or professional associations’) websites. 

via 

the 

Federal  Agency 

While  general  information  is  available  on  the  German 
Environment  Ministry’s  website  about  the  Habitats  and 
Birds  Directives,  practical  information  and  guidance  is 
provided 
for  Nature 
Conservation’s  website  (Bundesamt  für  Naturschutz).  It 
has  published  a  manual  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Habitats Directive and provides access to a platform with 
detailed information to ensure compliance with the rules 
of the Nature Directives, mainly for construction projects. 
The web pages contain links to European-level sources of 
level  of  practical 
reports.  The 
information  and 
information  on  the  Nitrates  Directive  has  improved,  as 
the adoption of a recent piece of legislation on fertilisers 
in  Germany  has  prompted  the  production  of  specific 
guidance  and  information  for  farmers  on  compliance 
with the new rules. 

Good  practices  identified  include  the  availability  of  fact 
sheets  on  every  single  protected  habitat  and  bird  in 
Germany,  as  well  as    interactive  map  and  platform  to 
help  construction  project  managers 
  evaluate  the 
biodiversity 
impact  and  promote  compliance.  On 
nitrates,  a  web  application  on  the  nitrate  situation  of 
groundwater  in  relation  to  specific  monitoring  sites  and 
regional  pressures  supports  the  implementation  of  the 
Nitrates Directive. 

level. 

‘sub-Länder’ 

Inspection  plans  for  sites  falling  under  the  Industrial 
Emissions Directive are drawn up at Länder level and can 
be  delegated  at 
Information  on 
inspection plans and inspections conducted are available 
on the websites of the respective Länder authorities. The 
information  on  the  outcomes  of  the 
provision  of 
inspection 
repeated 
recommendations, 
violations) varies across the Länder (some being available 
individual  request),  and  no  centralised 
only  upon 
information  or  platform 
that  gather 
is  available 
inspection plans in the 16 German Länder or statistics at 
federal level. 

(follow-up, 

Germany  43 

damage 

reporting/complaints 

is 
Environmental 
encouraged  in  four  Länder  by  a  mobile  application  ’My 
environment’,  an  innovative  approach  for  citizens  to 
notify    environmental  damage  and  report  sightings  of 
specific protected species. 

Germany    set  up  a  citizen  science  platform  in  2013, 
‘Citizens  Create  Science,  funded  by  the  Federal  Ministry 
of  Education  and  Research.  The  programme  lists  and 
connects  projects  or  initiatives  and  promotes  citizen 
science via information and events. No public promotion 
of  data  reporting  on  environmental  issues  or  cases  of 
environmental damage has been identified. 

Enforcement 

Information and statistics on compliance enforcement in 
environmental  matters  can  only  be  detected  under  the 
angle  of  criminal  law  or  violations  of  illegal  trade  in 
protected  species  regulation.  There 
is  no  centrally 
recorded data on environmentally related administrative 
offences.  In  general,  there  are  no  reporting  obligations 
for  environment-related  administrative  offences.  The 
Federal  Statistical  Office  gathers 
information  on 
prosecuted  cases.  Ad  hoc  research  projects  by  the 
environmental  authorities  are  nevertheless  available 
(and upcoming). 

A  publication  from  the  Federal  Environment  Agency  in 
December 2021 provides the status and development of 
environmental  crimes  in  Germany  based  on  police  and 
court statistics216. 

Sectoral  agreements  exist  between 
federal 
authorities  and  those  of  the  Länder  (e.g.  Federal 
Government/Länder  Working  Group 
on  Nature 
Conservation,  Landscape  Management  and  Recreation, 
andthe Federation/Länder Working Group on Waste). 

the 

is  organised  at  Länder 

judicial 
Coordination  of  administrative,  police  and 
authorities’  actions 
level. 
Regulatory  or  soft  law  instruments  overseen  by  the 
respective  Länder  ministries  have  been  identified  in  the 
Länder  studied,  i.e.  Bavaria,  North  Rhine-Westphalia, 
Thuringia 
Federal 
Environment  Agency  study,  however,  highlights  the 
limitation of these agreements. 

Baden-Württemberg. 

and 

A 

Complaint handling and citizen science 

is 
Complaint  handling  on  environmental  matters 
in  Germany.  No  statistical  data  on 
decentralised 
complaints, their handling or outcome is easily  available 
to the public. At Länder level, the existence and  quality 
of  the  complaint  handling  systems  vary,  with  Berlin  and 
Baden-Württemberg  setting    setting  good  examples.  In 
the latter, a consultation is currently ongoing to  improve 
the platform and its features. 

In  North  Rhine-Westphalia,  the  agreement  provides  for 
the  establishment  of  coordinating  offices  in  general 
prosecutors’ offices in charge of environmental matters, 
as  well  as  a  representative  for  environmental  crime 
within district  police authorities.  Good examples  include 
the  informal  cooperation  between  federal  and  Länder 

216

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/umweltdelikte-

2019. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
                                                                 
criminal  offices,  as  well  as  the  authoritative  role  of  the 
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

Germany  44 

Environmental Liability Directive 

general 

provide 

information 

Authorities 
on 
environmental  liability,  in  particular  via  the  Federal 
Environment  Agency  and  the  Federal  Agency  for  Nature 
Conservation.  However,  thee  is  a  lack  of  information  on 
the  specific  cases  falling  under  the  Environmental 
Liability Directive (ELD) or other cases at federal level , as 
they  are  not  publicly  available.  A  publicly  available 
registry  or  central  database  of  environmental  incidents 
could  not  be  identified.  However,  according  to  the 
German  Environment  Ministry  a  new  provision  was 
added  to  the  Federal  Environmental  Damage  Act 
(Umweltschadensgesetz) in 2021. This will lead to a new 
report  by  Germany  on  ELD  cases  planned  for  April  2022 
and will be available after that date. 

As of 2020, Germany had the highest level of cover in the 
EU on financial security for ELD liabilities. 

The main recommendations of the 2019 EIR report  were 
to act on information spread across many different sites. 
There  has  been  some  progress  on  this.  A  proactive 
approach  at 
centralised 
information and links to the relevant  websites of the 16 
Länder could help to solve this issue. 

level  with 

federal 

the 

The  federal  authorities  and  the  Länder  share  legislative 
competence.  Most  environmental  policies 
(waste 
disposal, air protection, water and nature protection) are 
‘concurrent’  (shared)  competences,  where  the  Länder 
have  the  right  to  adopt  their  own  provisions  in  the 
absence  of 
In  practice,  most 
legislation. 
environmental legislation (especially as regards EU law) is 
adopted  at  national  level  and  implemented  by  the 
Länder.  Länder-level  legislation  generally  supplements 
national laws, especially in determining which authorities 
are responsible.  The  slow pace in digitalisation of public 
administration procedures impacts efficiency. 

federal 

staffing 

legislation 

levels  of 

is  mainly 

the 
The  enforcement  of 
responsibility  of  the  Länder,  resulting 
in  different 
administrative  rules  and  practices  across  the  country, 
especially  when  it  comes  to  nature  rules.  Also,  the 
organisation  and 
Länder 
administrations tend to vary. As legislative competence is 
divided  between  the  federal  level  and  the  Länder,  and 
implementation  is  spread  over  several  levels,  effective 
cooperation  and  coordination  in  a  system  of  multi-level 
governance 
is  crucial.  Several  Bund/Länder  working 
groups have been set up, e.g. on industrial emissions, soil 
protection, nature conservation, water management and 
chemical safety217. 

the 

2022 priority actions  

Coordination and integration  

 

 

 

to 

and 

information 

Provide 
the  public  about 
in 
compliance  monitoring  and  enforcement 
environmental  matters  as  well  as  on  the 
outcome  of 
criminal 
administrative 
enforcement  actions  and  the  follow-up  to 
detected breaches of cross-compliance. 
Publish  information  on  environmental  damages 
detected (possibly via a  registry or database on 
ELD incidents) and promote reporting by citizens 
and NGOs to increase compliance. 
Improve  the  complaint  handling  architecture. 
This  could  consist  of  a  centralised  federal 
webpage, and/or the creation of a  federal-level 
report 
complaint 
environmental damage. 

platform 

handling 

to 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations  

in 

involved 

implementing 

Those 
environmental 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits.  

The  revised  Environmental  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)  
Directive218 provides  an  opportunity  to  streamline  the 
regulatory framework on environmental assessments. 

The  Commission  encourages  the  streamlining  of  the 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
avoid  overlaps  in  environmental  assessments  applicable 
to  projects.  Moreover,  streamlining  helps 
reduce 
unnecessary  administrative  burden  and  accelerates 
done  without 
decision-making, 
is 
compromising 
the  environmental 
assessment  procedure219.  Germany  started  streamlining 
of  environmental  assessments  under  the  EIA  and 
Habitats  Directives  already  prior  the  revision  of  the  EIA 
Directive. Coordinated procedures have been put in place 

it 
provided 
the  quality  of 

217 For an overview, see: Umweltministerkonferenz 
218 Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of 
the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. 
219  The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the 
setting up of coordinated and/or joint procedures that are 
simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA Directive, Habitats 
Directive, Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive, OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, p. 1. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany 

 
 
 
                                                                 
Germany  45 

for  the  EIA,  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  the  
Industrial Emission Directive. 

Reforms through the Commission’s Technical 
Support Instrument (TSI) 

The Commission supports environmental implementation 
and  the  green  transition  through  the  EU  financing 
programmes.  But 
it  also  gives  support  by  granting 
technical assistance such as through the TSI and peer-to-
peer learning through Taiex peer-to-peer exchanges. 

Apart from the 2022 TSI project related to digitilisation of 
the  East  Atlantic  Flyway  for  birds  in  the  Wadden  Sea 
(together with Denmark  and the Netherlands), Germany 
has not been very active in seeking the support of the TSI 
for  environmental  reforms.  The  Commission  encourages 
Germany to use this tool in the coming years. 

TAIEX EIR peer-to-peer 

The  Commission  launched  the  TAIEX  EIR  Peer-to-Peer 
tool 
learning  between 
environmental authorities.  

facilitate  peer-to-peer 

to 

During  the  reporting  period,  Germany  participated  in 
several  workshops  including  two  in  2019:  the  first  on 
trans-boundary waste crime in the Polish-German border 
region  and  the  second  on  the  life  cycle  approach  and 
circularity in policy and procurement  planning. Germany 
then  hosted  France  for  a  study  visit  on  environmental 
impact  assessments.  .  In  2021,  Germany  participated  in 
the  multi-country  EIR  workshops  on  zero  pollution 
and  ammonia- reducing technology and measures. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Germany