The Environment Chronicle

On 29 February 2012, the Federal Cabinet adopted the German Resource Efficiency Programme (ProgRess). At the core of ProgRess are new strategic approaches, activities and examples geared towards increasing resource efficiency. The Programme covers the entire value chain. It is about securing a sustainable raw material supply, raising resource efficiency in production, steering consumption towards resource efficiency, enhancing resource-efficient closed cycle management and using overarching instruments. The Programme seeks to support voluntary measures and initiatives in industry and society.

On 27 February 2012, Prof. Dr. Ulf Riebesell, Oceanography, Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) at University of Kiel, received the Leibniz Prize for his research on ocean change, one of the farthest-reaching corollaries and consequences of human-induced climate change.

A expert committee vote on 23 February 2012, did not find the required majority in favour of a European Commission proposal to designate oil from tar sands as particularly damaging to the environment.

Fruit seeds stored away by squirrels more than 30,000 years ago and found in Siberian permafrost have been regenerated into full flowering plants by scientists in Russia, a new study has revealed. The seeds of the herbaceous Silene stenophylla plant, whose age was confirmed by radiocarbon dating at 31,800 years old, are far and away the most ancient plant material to have been brought back to life, said lead researchers Svetlana Yashina and David Gilichinsky of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Thawing permafrost will have far-reaching ramifications for populated areas, infrastructure and ecosystems. A geographer from the University of Zurich reveals where it is important to confront the issue based on new permafrost maps – the most precise global maps around. They depict the global distribution of permafrost in high-resolution images and are available on Google Earth.

On 17 February 2012, the US Department of Interior approved an oil spill response plan for Shell's proposal to drill in the Chukchi Sea.

On 16 February 2012, the United States, Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico and Sweden, with the support of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), launched the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, which aims to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and methane.

On 14 February 2012, the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health opened in Bonn. Since 1 January 2012 the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH) has been located entirely in the UN city of Bonn. The tasks of the Rome office, which was closed in December, have been transferred to the Bonn office. The WHO European Centre for Environment and Health in Bonn deals with the impacts of environmental factors on human health.

Released by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the first EU Classification and Labelling Inventory lists the classification of all the chemical substances used in the EU which allows identifying those that are potentially hazardous and may damage health and the environment. The aim is to provide industry, and in particular small companies, with easy access to information on the hazardousness of a given substance, facilitating the task to correctly classify and label substances and mixtures, as well as substitution of hazardous substances with less damaging alternatives where feasible.

Forest certification body FSC has revised its standards following a long consultation with its members. On 10 February 2012 the majority of them backed the changes, which aim to update and clarify the scheme's principles and criteria (P&C). This was the first comprehensive review and revision of the FSC Principles and Criteria since their approval in 1994.

On 9 February 2012, Sub-Saharan Africa's first privately developed hydropower plant went online in Bugali, Uganda. With an installed capacity of 250 MW, the power plant will increase Uganda's available generating capacity by more than 50%, thus improving the energy supply for industry and private households. The hydropower plant sets an example in two ways. First, it has attracted private investors to a high-risk country. Second, complementary environmental and social campaigns have successfully demonstrated how hydropower plants can be built in a manner that respects the needs of the people and the environment.

On 27 January 2012, the California Air Resources Board approved a new emissions-control program for model years 2017 through 2025. The program combines the control of smog, soot and global warming gases and requirements for greater numbers of zero-emission vehicles into a single package of standards called Advanced Clean Cars. By 2025, when the Advanced Clean Cars rules are fully implemented, one in seven new cars sold in California – 1.4 million – would be those that emit with very little or no pollution, including.

On 18 January 2012, President Obama rejected the permit for the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

KfW has created the new foundation "Future of the Carbon Market" on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The foundation will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries through targeted promotion of climate protection projects. It officially was launched at the beginning of 2012. BMU is providing the endowment capital of EUR 10 million in the framework of the International Climate Protection Initiative (IKI).

To focus more public attention on the environmental protection potential of ecodesign and in order to foster innovation in this area, the Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU) and the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) are tendering the first Bundespreis Ecodesign in 2012. The contest offers businesses and designers a platform to present products and ideas that demonstrate outstanding ecological and design quality.

North Spanish city Vitoria-Gastei had been named as winners of the European Green Capital award for 2012. Vitoria-Gasteiz, a regional capital of northern Spain, has made great progress in greening a traditional urban environment. The Green Belt, a semi-natural green area partially reclaimed from degraded areas, surrounds the centre, ensuring its entire population of almost a quarter of a million people lives within 300 metres of an open green space. Numerous measures are in place to assist and increase biodiversity and ecosystem services. Flora and fauna are monitored and habitat fragmentation is reduced wherever possible. The city is successfully coping with water scarcity and has steadily decreased its water consumption over the last decade. Many water related investments have been made to improve water supply and quality, reduce losses, and work towards sustainable consumption. Vitoria-Gasteiz has an ambitious objective of reducing domestic water consumption to below 100 litres per capita per day.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, launched the 40th anniversary celebration of the World Heritage Convention in a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters on 30 January 2012. It was the first of a series of events States Parties to the 1972 Convention are organizing around the world over 2012.

The German environment associations NABU (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union) has named Ilse Aigner, Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, as its “Dinosaur of the Year” in 2012. NABU has presented the award every year to personalities who distinguish themselves with antiquated ideas about environmental protection since 1993.