Analysis of Electric Moped Scooter Sharing in Berlin: A Technical, Economic and Environmental Perspective

Electric moped scooter sharing services have recently experienced strong growth rates, particularly in Europe. Due to their compactness, environmental-friendliness and convenience, shared e-mopeds are suitable modes of transport in urban mobility to help reduce the environmental impact. However, its traffic-related, economic and environmental effects are merely represented in academic research. We used passenger car traffic data in Berlin generated by the multi-agent transport simulation framework MATSim to develop a python-based simulation, resembling an e-moped sharing system. Based on the results, a total cost of ownership and a life cycle assessment for fleet sizes of 2,500, 10,000 and 50,000 vehicles were conducted. The results indicate that a substantial part of all passenger car trips in Berlin can be substituted. The larger the fleet, the more and longer trips are replaced. Simultaneously, the efficiency in terms of fleet utilization decreases. The scenario with 10,000 e-mopeds offers the lowest total distance-based costs for sharing operators, whereas a fleet consisting of 2,500 vehicles exhibits the lowest environmental emissions per kilometer driven over the expected lifespan of a shared e-moped. Based on the renewable energy potential for 2050 forecasted by the German Federal Environment Agency, a significant overall decline in environmental impacts can be achieved.

How Bulgaria Can Contribute to Energetic Refurbishment of Real Estate in Germany

On 28th September 2010, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany set a political goal to achieve a “nearly climate-neutral building stock by 2050”. Due to the long period from now up to 2050, an intermediate goal was set in 2019: Emission of climate-damaging gases in Germany must decrease by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. Up to now, however, Germany has only marginally come closer to either of these goals. According to the Federal Environment Agency, emissions of CO2 equivalents from the building sector in Germany in 2011 amounted to 128 megatons. In 2020 the emissions summed up to 120 megatons. Thus, the target set for 2050 cannot be achieved with the current refurbishment rate, especially not if the climate protection targets are now even tightened up by politicians and are now to be achieved by 2045 instead of 2050. But plants from Bulgaria and other Middle and Eastern European countries may play a decisive role to speed up the energetic refurbishment of buildings. Why and which plants may make significant contributions to the energy-efficient renovation of buildings in Germany is presented in this article.

MVOC-Konzentrationen in Klassenräumen und mögliche Einflussfaktoren/MVOC concentrations in classrooms and possible influencing factors

Der neue Schimmelpilzleitfaden des Umweltbundesamtes (UBA) weist darauf hin, dass die Anwesenheit flüchtiger organischer Verbindungen mikrobiellen Ursprungs (microbial volatile organic compounds, MVOC) in der Raumluft ein Indikator für einen verdeckten Schimmelbefall sein kann. Zudem wurde eine Standardmethode für das Messen von MVOC veröffentlicht. Dies war Anlass, die Aussagekraft von MVOC-Messungen unter dem Aspekt von Schimmelpilzbelastungen in Räumen anhand der Messergebnisse aus der Studie „Gesunde Luft in Schulen“ der Unfallkasse Nordrhein-Westfalen (UK NRW) noch einmal kritisch zu hinterfragen. Im Ergebnis wurden in 370 der 381 untersuchten Klassenräumen MVOC nachgewiesen. Eine Korrelation zu den gemessenen Schimmelpilzkonzentrationen im Sedimentationsstaub konnte allerdings nicht festgestellt werden. Auch war keine Korrelation zu den Raumklimaparametern oder der Ausstattung der Räume erkennbar. Die gemessenen (M)VOC werden wohl eher aus Bauprodukten und Einrichtungen emittiert als durch Schimmelpilze erzeugt.   Summary The new mould fungi guidance document issued by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) states that the presence of microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) in indoor air can be an indicator of hidden mould infestation. A standard method for measuring MVOCs has also been published. This prompted a critical review of the validity of MVOC measurements for determining exposure to mould fungi in rooms. The review was based on results of measurements obtained during the „Healthy air in schools“ study conducted by the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the public sector in North Rhine-Westphalia (UK NRW). MVOCs were detected in 370 of the 381 classrooms examined. However, a correlation to the measured mould fungi concentrations in the deposited dust was not established, nor were correlations observed to the room climate parameters or the furnishings of the rooms. The (M)VOCs measured are more likely to be emitted from building products and furnishings than to be produced by mould.

Untersuchung der Geräuschemission von Drohnen/Investigation of the noise emission of drones

Drohnen werden für vielfältige Zwecke eingesetzt. Die stetig zunehmende Zahl von Drohnen wirft die Frage nach den Geräuschauswirkungen dieser Fluggeräte auf. Hierüber liegen derzeit weder national noch international fundierte Erkenntnisse vor. Das Umweltbundesamt hat daher mit akustischen Untersuchungen von Drohnen begonnen. Es wurden unterschiedliche Flugmanöver verschiedener Drohnenmodelle akustisch vermessen sowie die horizontale und vertikale Richtcharakteristik ermittelt. Darüber hinaus wurden binaurale Messungen durchgeführt, die psychoakustische Erkenntnisse liefern sollen.   Summary Drones are used for a variety of purposes. The steadily increasing number of drones raises the question of the noise effects of these aircrafts. Neither nationally nor internationally well-founded knowledge is available. The Federal Environment Agency has therefore started with acoustic investigations of drones. For example Overflights were measured with different drone models and the horizontal and vertical directional characteristics were determined. In addition, binaural measurements were performed to provide psychoacoustic findings.

Simulation games in the Regulatory Impact Assessment – Simulation of the implementation of the EIA Amending Directive 2014/52/EU

Laws have the task of influencing the behaviour of the respective addressees in such a way that the legislator achieves their intended goals. A (new) law would not be required if existing framework conditions were already designed such that regulatory goals could be achieved. In this case actors would already have sufficient incentives to behave in a targeted manner. But this is not usually the case; on the contrary: legislation has the task of addressing "non-conforming" behaviour and of getting actors to participate in the implementation of regulatory goals. This is a demanding task and applies even in cases where compliance can be assumed. However, it is even more difficult if evasive behaviour is to be expected or it is feared that the addressees could develop and implement individual or collusive counter-strategies. The present contribution and the underlying simulation games on the EIA Amending Directive were funded by the German Federal Environment Agency in the research project "Further development of the EIA instrument – solution proposals and simulation game for the implementation of the EIA Amending Directive 2014/52/EU" (duration 2015 – 2017) within the environmental research plan. This essay is split into two parts. The first part primarily regards the experience from the simulation game on the EIA Amending Directive, which was aligned with the new version of the German Environmental Impact Assessment Act (EIAA). The second part of the essay, which will be published in the next issue of the elni Review, deals with experiences from other simulation games and, based on this, describes more comprehensively the possibilities and limits of simulation games for the purpose of regulatory impact assessment.

Streamlined Environmental Assessments: Picking the Greenest Option Despite Limited Time and Data at the Federal Environment Agency in Germany

The Federal Environment Agency of Germany (Umweltbundesamt: UBA) is expected to provide information regarding the environmental performance of products and technologies — even in cases with limited time and data availability. Therefore, the streamlined environmental assessment (StreamEA) methodology has been developed which combines the competences available throughout the agency. Based on scientific assessment models, a ranking of alternatives can be determined for 15 impact categories, like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nuisance, pathogenic emissions or physical killing of animals. Since the overall environmental burden depends on the specific impact per product and the total number of products, a macroeconomic assessment at the level of the product entirety is included. The applicability of the method, which can be adapted to other regions, and the robustness of results have been tested by means of case studies. The method is currently applied in the daily work of the agency to provide guidance to the general public and policy makers.

CREATION OF A HIGH-RESOLUTION PRODUCT CLC2006_BACKDATING BY A BACKWARD LOOK FROM THE DIGITAL LAND COVER MODEL DLM-DE2009 TO 2006 - A CONTRIBUTION TO THE GERMAN CORINE LAND COVER 2012 PROJECT WITHIN A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH

For the update 2012 of CORINE Land Cover, in Germany a new approach has been developed in order to profit from the higher accuracies of the national topographic database. In agreement between the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), CLC2012 has been derived from an updated digital landscape model DLM-DE, which is based on the Official Topographical Cartographic Information System ATKIS of the land survey authorities. The DLM-DE 2009 created by the BKG served as the base for the update 2012 in the national and EU context, both under the responsibility of the BKG. <br><br> In addition to the updated CLC2012, a second product, the layer "CLC_Change" (2006-2012) was also requested by the European Environment Agency. The objective of the project part of DLR-DFD was to contribute the primary change areas from 2006 to 2009 in the phase of method change using the refined 2009 geometry of the DLM-DE 2009 for a retrospective view back to 2006. A semiautomatic approach was developed for this task, with an important role of AWiFS time series data of 2005 / 2006 in the context of separation between grassland – arable land. Other valuable datasets for the project were already available GMES land monitoring products of 2006 like the soil sealing layer 2006. The paper describes the developed method and discusses exemplary results of the CORINE backdating project part.