Deutsche Umwelthilfe

Berlin – September 15, 2026 -- The Mittelplate oil platform in the UNESCO Wadden Sea World Heritage site generated just 0.2 percent of Schleswig-Holstein's state budget in 2025, according to a new analysis by German environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH).

Harbour Energy paid 45 million euros in extraction levies against a 21.9 billion euro state budget

British operator Harbour Energy paid 45 million euros in so-called extraction levies to the state of Schleswig-Holstein for 2025 oil production at Mittelplate. Measured against the state's total budget revenue of roughly 21.9 billion euros, that payment amounts to only about 0.2 percent, DUH said. The analysis draws on new figures Harbour Energy submitted during an ongoing court case brought by DUH against the platform's main operating plan.

Berlin – September 15, 2026 -- Saxony recorded temperatures as high as 41.5 degrees Celsius this summer, with an estimated 550 heat-related deaths registered in the state by mid-August, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The German Environmental Aid organization (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) has conducted a heat-vulnerability assessment across Saxon municipalities in response, examining how prepared local governments are for extreme temperature events.

Record heat hit Klitzschen bei Torgau at 40.3 degrees and Bad Muskau at 41.5 degrees

The 2026 summer set new local temperature records in Saxony, with Klitzschen bei Torgau reaching 40.3 degrees Celsius and Bad Muskau reaching 41.5 degrees Celsius. The Robert Koch Institute attributed roughly 550 deaths in the state to heat exposure through mid-August.

Berlin – September 10, 2026 -- German environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has accused auto parts retailers and workshop chains of selling substandard replacement catalytic converters that leave up to 2.7 million gasoline vehicles with insufficient exhaust cleaning.

Lab tests find near-zero precious metal coating in five new replacement converters

Laboratory analysis commissioned by DUH on five new aftermarket catalytic converters found precious metal content approaching zero in nearly all units tested, undermining the long-term effectiveness of exhaust cleaning. Citing data from Germany's Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), DUH said the majority of the roughly 300,000 replacement catalytic converters sold annually in Germany are substandard, prompting its conservative estimate of up to 2.7 million affected gasoline vehicles.

Berlin – September 10, 2026 -- Germany's Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) will lead a coalition of more than 70 organizations in a protest outside Berlin's Rotes Rathaus on September 10, 2026, demanding that state building ministers halt what the group calls the country's "demolition mania" ahead of the Bauministerkonferenz.

Official data shows 12,000 buildings demolished annually in Germany