Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is responsible for various policy areas in the Federal Republic of Germany, essential ones of which are reflected in the naming of the ministry. Until 1986, three different ministries within the Federal Government were responsible for environmental concerns: the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health. Then, in the middle of the same year, a single government authority for the federal environmental policy was created for the first time, the then Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). In the course of the following decades, additional responsibilities were temporarily transferred to the authority, such as including urban development, housing, rural infrastructure, public building law, construction as well as federal buildings, which also led to name changes thoughout the years (e.g. BMUB between 2013 and 2018). At present, the ministry is also responsible for consumer protection policy and therefore uses the extended abbreviation BMUV. For more than 30 years now its main task has remained unchanged however: to ensure the protection of the population from environmental toxins and radiation, the wise and economical use of raw materials, the protection of the climate and the use of natural resources in a way that preserves the diversity of animal and plant species and their habitats. A key responsibility is to prepare legislation in order to design the legal framework in the areas of responsibility. This also includes shaping regulatory law and transposing EU directives into national law. Furthermore, this includes the financial promotion of research and development, support for the market introduction of innovative technologies, cooperation at national and international level, and communication for broad social participation and acceptance in the protection and careful use of the environment and resources.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)
The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is the supreme federal authority for the political concerns and objectives of the Federal Government in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, nutrition, consumer protection and food safety. At the same time, the BMEL is committed to providing prospects in the many rural regions of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as to animal welfare and safeguarding the world's food supply. Healthy, safe and affordable food for all, supported by clear information for the individual consumer, the preservation of vital rural regions and sustainable, strong agriculture and forestry make up some of the central objectives in the ministry's activities and legislative initiatives. Changes in the focus of the ministry's work and the expansion of its competencies resulted in several name changes in the course of the past decades, for some time the ministry thus used to be abbreviated as BML and BMELV. Whilst running under the designation BMELV, the ministry included the topic of "climate protection and adaptation to climate change" as early as 2008 as one of the seven main goals of its departmental research. With its funding support for research, innovation, new processes and technologies in the relevant policy areas, the ministry is strongly oriented towards topics to secure the future, including, for example, climate protection, renewable raw materials and a stable as well as sustainable nutrition for the world's population.
