Nature and the Surroundings - Messner on climate protection: The majority of people have grasped the concept.
The present severe flooding that's mainly affecting southern Germany, as stated by the President of the Federal Environment Agency, highlights the necessity of making adjustments concerning climate change. "Most Germans have realized that something drastically wrong is happening and we need to take a different approach," claimed Dirk Messner in an interview with the German Press Agency.
Messner's opinion is that these extreme circumstances are convincing people that a shift in mindset is necessary. "However, carrying out long-term alterations is challenging due to how strongly structured our systems are towards short-term thinking."
The role of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) entails counseling and evaluating politics on matters related to climate change, in addition to determining if proposed measures are successful. In Messner's estimation, quicker action is essential to attain the desired objectives by 2050. "We need to accelerate at least sixfold. There's no guarantee we can attain this - to be frank." This shift in acceleration is required, for instance, in the growth of renewable resources or the electrification of transportation.
The central office of the UBA is located in the Saxony-Anhalt town of Dessau-Roßlau. The organization employs approximately 1,800 people.
