Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection is a ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its first headquarters is in Bonn. It has a second base in Berlin.
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 6 June 1986 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Germany |
| Headquarters | Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen |
| Employees | 814 |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Website | www.bmu.de/ |
Headquarters in Bonn.
Structure
changeThe Federal Ministry of the Environment (German: Bundesumweltministerium) is in charge of the ecological policy of the federal government. It is also in charge of environmental protection. Being in charge of nuclear reactor safety helps the BMU protect the environment. The Federal minister appoints two junior ministers (German: Parlamentarischen Staatssekretäre) to help him. These two help the minister in the Bundestag and in making policy, they have no power to make rules or change the way the department works.
814 people work for the ministry, in one of six departments:
- Department ZG: Central division, environmental protection
- Department AI: Climate protection, renewable energies and international cooperation
- Department WA: Water-supply, waste management, soil conservation and residual wastes
- Department IG: Pollution protection and health consequences, environment and traffic, plants and chemical safety
- Department N: Nature and protection of species, genetic engineering, countryside and forestry *Department RS: Radiation protection,
In addition,
- The Federal Office of Conservation Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN),
- the Federal Office of Radiation Protection Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS) and
- the Federal Environment Agency Umweltbundesamt
are controlled by the BMU.
If extra help is needed the BMU can get expert help from
- Rat von Sachverständigen für Umweltfragen (SRU), the Committee of Experts on Environmental Questions *Wissenschaftlichen Beirat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen (WBGU), The Scientific Advisory Board on Global Environment Changes
- the Reaktorsicherheitskommission (RSK), the Reactor Safety Commission
- the Strahlenschutzkommission (SSK),the Radiation Protection Commission
- the Störfall-Kommission (SFK), the "Disruptive Incident" Commission
- the Technischen Ausschuss für Anlagensicherheit (TAA) the Technical Committee on Systems Safety and
- the Umweltgutachterausschuss (UGA) Environmental Experts Committee.
In 2005 the BMU's budget was 769 million euros. This is about ten percent of the total amount spent on the environment by the federal government. This is because several other ministries also have money to spent on environmental tasks.
History
changeThe ministry was set up on 6 June 1986, about five weeks after the serious reactor disaster at Chernobyl. The Federal Government wanted to bring all responsibility for preventing a disaster in Germany, or clearing up if a disaster happened, under one ministry.
The first minister stayed for less than a year, because he became Minister President of Hesse. His successor became director of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP. The time when Angela Merkel was in charge was not very good for the BMU. Economic problems became more important than environmental protection .
The red-green coalition of 1998 saw Jürgen Trittin of (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) become minister. The idea of an environmental tax and ending nuclear power became important.
Ministers
change| Federal Minister for Environment, Conservation and Reactor Safety | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Name | Term start | Term end | Party |
| 1 | Walter Wallmann (1932-2013) | June 6, 1986 | April 22, 1987 | CDU |
| 2 | Klaus Töpfer (1938-2024) | May 7, 1987 | November 17, 1994 | CDU |
| 3 | Angela Merkel (1954-) | November 17, 1994 | October 27, 1998 | CDU |
| 4 | Jürgen Trittin (1954-) | October 27, 1998 | October 18, 2005 | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen |
| 5 | Sigmar Gabriel (1959-) | November 22, 2005 | October 27, 2009 | SPD |
| 6 | Norbert Röttgen (1965-) | October 28, 2009 | May 22, 2012 | CDU |
| 7 | Peter Altmaier (1965-) | May 22, 2012 | December 17, 2013 | CDU |
| 8 | Barbara Hendricks (1952-) | December 17, 2013 | 14 March 2018 | SPD |
| 9 | Svenja Schulze (1968-) | 14 March 2018 | 8 December 2021 | SPD |
| 10 | Steffi Lemke (1968-) | 8 December 2021 | In office | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen |