When it comes to climate and the environment, in many cases, the eleventh hour is already upon us. But to make reliable statements about climate change, quantitative, accurate and reliable measurements are needed – and this in a highly complex system with a very large number of relevant physical and chemical measurement parameters. As environmental and climate processes know no boundaries, one of PTB's most important partners in climate monitoring is the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which operates, among other things, the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). The latter defines, for example, 54 essential climate variables (ECVs), i.e. physical, chemical and biological measurement quantities designed to describe the global state of the climate. Changes in these quantities are small; in order to recognize developments unambiguously, long-term, highly accurate and reliable measurements (i.e. measurements that are traceable to the International System of Units SI) are necessary. Therefore, PTB has increased its participation in the traceability of these measurements.
When it comes to environmental protection, the German Environment Agency (UBA) is an important partner of PTB; the legal framework is provided by European framework directives for air and water, among other things. PTB is also responsible for the traceability and certification of vehicle exhaust gas and particle measurements and is continuously expanding its capabilities in this field. Within the framework of the radiation protection network, PTB maintains close contact with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the control centers of the Integrated Measurement and Information System (IMIS), which monitors radioactivity in the environment, as well as with the measuring stations of the federal and state governments. PTB is very active in European research programs such as EMPIR and is highly involved in the European Metrology Networks (EMNs) which are derived from these programs. PTB communicates intensively with the various stakeholders in legislation, standardization, industry and research in order to achieve and support continuous improvement and expansion of these activities. Please feel free to contact us!
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