Mobility

The planning of roads must better harmonise the demand of society for mobility and the imperatives of protecting the environment, natural resources and landscapes. Contiguous areas must be preserved, and bio-corridors restored. Mobility concepts are also needed that take into account social and demographic trends as well as the rising number of older members of society. This will call for more efficient regional and settlement planning.

The Federal Government aims to support research and development, and help get innovative engine technology and fuels ready for the market, on a technology-neutral basis, supported by a broad-based mobility and fuel strategy. The government aims to get more of the general public back on their bikes in future; pilot projects are already helping to make cycling a more attractive option.

Forests

The German government would ideally like to see all of Germany’s forests managed in as natural a way as possible. The aim is to achieve a viable balance between the rising demands made of forests and what they can sustainably be expected to produce.

Health

Nursing care insurance must be further supported, so that all citizens will in future be able to claim their entitlement to care with dignity.

In-company health promotion schemes: The government makes a significant contribution to supporting older members of the workforce.

Social integration, demography and migration

A separate demography strategy presented in April 2012 provided the response of the Federal Government to the radical changes in the country’s population structure.

Global challenges

Parallel to climate change negotiations at UN level, the German government is placing its faith in concrete cooperation with developing countries and emerging economies. Over the last few years it has steadily stepped up its commitment to climate change mitigation and adjustment to climate change in developing countries. Since 2011, all official development cooperation measures have been subjected to an environmental and climate assessment.

Under the provisions of the International Climate Initiative, projects have been promoted in developing countries and emerging economies since 2008. The government provides more than 700 million euros every year to improve the health situation in developing countries.

Germany is also calling for sustainable environmental and development policy at international level. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro offered an opportunity to make genuine progress. Germany worked with the EU to achieve ambitious goals.

The Federal Government has affirmed its commitment to the goals laid out in the Millennium Declaration, and the commitments it has accepted in this regard. Germany will also be actively involved in thrashing out a model to replace the Millennium Development Goals as of 2015.

Sustainable development policy

The German government aims to enhance the effectiveness of development cooperation. That is why it has merged the three technical cooperation institutions, GTZ, InWEnt and DED, to form the GIZ. Parallel to this we have concentrated Germany’s development work on key sectors, stepped up the human rights approach, entered into more development partnerships with the private sector, and strengthened the role played by civil society.

General education and vocational training

The Federal Government is working to facilitate access to good education and training, to improve vocational training and to foster life-long learning.

Research and development

The Federal Government has made 2012 the science year of sustainability under the banner “Project EARTH: Our Future”. Various major research initiatives in the field of sustainability are also ongoing:

• The High-Tech Strategy
• The framework programme “Research for Sustainable Development”
• The master plan for environmental technologies
• The energy research programme.