Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
| Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit (BMUB) | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 6 June 1986 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Germany |
| Headquarters | Robert-Schuman-Platz 3, 53175 Bonn, Germany |
| Employees | 814 |
| Annual budget | €8,256 million (2009) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Child agencies |
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| Website |
www |
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, (German: Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit), abbreviated BMUB, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn with a branch office in Berlin. The current minister of the environment is Barbara Hendricks, who assumed office on 17 December 2013.[1]
The ministry was established on 6 June 1986 in response to the Chernobyl disaster. The then Federal Government wanted to combine environmental authority under a new minister in order to face new environmental challenges more effectively. Prior to this responsibilities for environmental issues were distributed among the ministries of the Interior, Agriculture and Health.
Functions
The ministry's primary functions include:[2]
- Fundamental national environmental policy
- Informing and educating the public about environmental issues
- Environmental remediation and development in Eastern Germany
- Climate protection and energy
- Air quality control
- Noise abatement
- Conservation of groundwater, rivers, lakes and seas
- Soil conservation and remediation of contaminated sites
- Waste management and recycling policy
- Chemicals safety, environment and health
- Precautions against emergencies in industrial plants
- Protection, maintenance and sustainable utilization of biodiversity
- Safety of nuclear facilities
- Nuclear supply and disposal
- Radiological protection
Organization
The ministry is led by the Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. The current Minister is Barbara Hendricks, appointed by Chancellor Angela Merkel. The minister is supported by two parliamentary state secretaries (members of the cabinet and federal government, "deputy ministers") and two career state secretaries (public servants)[3] who manage the ministry's nine directorates:[4]
- "Z" directorate (Abteilung Z) is the central office responsible for internal affairs
- "G" directorate (Abteilung G) is the central office responsible for policy and collaboration
- "KI" directorate (Abteilung KI): climate, renewable energy and international cooperation
- "RS" directorate (Abteilung RS): radiation protection, nuclear safety, nuclear supply and radioactive waste
- "WR" directorate (Abteilung WR): water management, waste management, soil conservation and contamination
- "IG" directorate (Abteilung IG): air pollution, health impacts, environment and traffic, hazardous locations and materials
- "N" directorate (Abteilung N): conservation und species richness, genetic engineering, environmental impacts of agriculture and forestry
- "SW" directorate (Abteilung SW): urban development
- "B" directorate (Abteilung B): building
See also
- Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz
- List of German ministers of the environment
- Nuclear phase-out#Germany
- Nuclear power in Germany
- World Nuclear Industry Status Report
Federal Environment and Building Ministers
Political Party: CDU Green SPD
| Name (Born-Died) |
Party | Term of Office | Chancellor (Cabinet) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety | |||||
| Walter Wallmann (1932-2013) |
CDU | 6 June 1986 | 22 April 1987 | Kohl (II) | |
| Klaus Töpfer (b. 1938) |
CDU | 7 May 1987 | 17 November 1994 | Kohl (III • IV) | |
| Angela Merkel (b. 1954) |
CDU | 17 November 1994 | 27 October 1998 | Kohl (V) | |
| Jürgen Trittin (b. 1954) |
Green | 27 October 1998 | 22 November 2005 | Schröder (I • II) | |
| Sigmar Gabriel (b. 1959) |
SPD | 22 November 2005 | 28 October 2009 | Merkel (I) | |
| Norbert Röttgen (b. 1965) |
CDU | 28 October 2009 | 22 May 2012 | Merkel (II) | |
| Peter Altmaier (b. 1958) |
CDU | 22 May 2012 | 17 December 2013 | ||
| Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety | |||||
| Barbara Hendricks (b. 1952) |
SPD | 17 December 2013 | Incumbent | Merkel (III) | |
References
- ↑ "Wie Merkel Röttgen abschaltete". Spiegel-Online. retrieved 16 May 2012.
- ↑ Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety - primary functions retrieved 25-May-2012
- ↑ BMUB. "Heads of the Ministry". bmub.bund.de. BMUB. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ↑ BMUB (4 March 2015). "Organisational Chart - Heads of Ministry". bmub.bund.de. BMUB. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
