Publisher

Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
Division KI I 1 - General and Fundamental Aspects for Renewable Energy
11055 Berlin
Germany
Telephone +49-30-305-3611
Telefax +49-30-305-3619

Federal Environment Ministry - Disclaimer and Privacy Policy General information
Occasionally the media reports about viruses that are sent with fake sender addresses. Often big companies and public authorities are affected that are generally trusted by Internet users. We would like to point out that the Federal Environment Ministry never sends out attachments with the extensions ".exe" or ".com". If you receive such an e-mail, please forward it to our Internet agency ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). If possible, please indicate your phone number so that the agency may contact you.

1. Web site content

The author takes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, completeness or quality of the information provided. The author is in no event liable for damages of any kind incurred or suffered as a result of the use or non-use of the information presented on this web site or the use of defective or incomplete information unless the author has been acting deliberately or in a wantonly negligent manner. The contents of this web site are subject to confirmation and not binding. The author expressly reserves the right to alter, amend or remove pages, whole and in part, without prior notice or to discontinue publication for a period of time or even completely.

2. References and links

In cases of direct and indirect references to third-party web sites (hyperlinks) that the author is not responsible for, the author can only be made liable if the author was aware of the content of the web site or if it would have been reasonable and technically feasible to prevent the use of web sites with illegal content. The author hereby explicitly states that, at the time of setting the link, there was no evidence of illegal content on the respective web site. The author has no influence on the current or future design, the content or the copyright of the linked web site. Therefore, the author dissociates him-/herself explicitly from all changes concerning the contents of linked pages that were made after the link was set. This statement is valid for all links and references within the web site created by the author as well as for links and references from third parties in guestbooks, discussion forums, lists of links and mailing lists. The provider of the linked page is exclusively responsible for illegal, defective or incomplete contents and especially for damages resulting from the use or non-use of the information presented on the linked page. The author referring to the page through a link is not liable for any of the above.

3. Copyright and acknowledgement of sources

The author aims to observe the copyright of any graphic, audio document, video sequence or text in all publications, to use his/her own graphics, audio documents, video sequences or texts or to make use of license free graphics, audio documents, video sequences or texts. All trade marks and brands mentioned on the web site, including those protected by third parties, are without limitation subject to the provisions under the respective labelling law and the rights of the copyright holder. The sole mentioning of a trade mark on this web site should not lead to the assumption that it is not protected by the rights of a third party!
The author of the web site has the exclusive copyright to all published objects created by him-/herself. The reproduction or use of any such graphics, audio documents, video sequences or texts in other electronic or printed publications is prohibited without the author's express consent.

4. Data Protection

On some pages you have the possibility to enter personal or business data (e. g. e-mail addresses, names, postal addresses). The disclosure of this data is voluntary. If technically feasible and where reasonable, all services offered can be used without disclosing personal information or by use of anonymised data or aliases. Third parties are prohibited to send unsolicited information to mailing addresses, phone or fax numbers or e-mail addresses published on the imprint page or similar pages. We reserve the right to take legal action against anyone violating this prohibition by sending so-called spam.

5. E-mail Communication

Security gaps can occur in e-mail communication. An e-mail sent to the Environment Ministry staff can be intercepted and read by experienced Internet users. If you send an e-mail to the Ministry (e. g. by completing the contact form), we assume that we are authorised to reply by e-mail. If you do not wish to receive an e-mail, we kindly ask you to consider alternative ways of communication, for example regular mail.

6. Privacy Policy

Every access to the Environment Ministry's web site will be stored on our web server as a protocol file for a maximum of 6 months for the purpose of data security. After 6 months the data will be anonymised using a random letter or number code and will then be stored in an archive for a maximum of 3 years. The protocol file includes the following data:
- files accessed
- date and time of access
- volume of data transferred
- notice whether data was successfully accessed
- IP address of the provider (will be anonymised within 6 months)
The data stored will be used exclusively to improve our Internet offer as well as for statistical purposes. We do not pass on data to third parties, neither for commercial nor for non-commercial use. We do not use cookies on our web site (see also 7. Cookies) or other technologies to trace the users' access habits. Data from the protocol files will not be combined with data collected from other pages of our web site for which a disclosure of personal information is requested.
It is impossible and excluded to identify you by the IP number from the protocol file. An IP address will only be analysed in case of an attack on the Internet infrastructure of the Federal Environment Ministry, in case of an infringement of the public order or in other cases of illegal actions in connection with the web site. An analysis of the IP number to reveal the identity of the user can only be made by the provider used and only if a prosecutor institutes an investigation.

If personal information is necessary to use a service on our web site, your active participation will be requested. Only the data necessary to process a request will be asked of you. Data is treated as confidential and will be used only within the framework of data protection law and for the purpose for which it was requested. If storing personal data (e. g. name, address, e-mail address) is needed to provide a certain service, the data will be stored only for the time period necessary to handle the request or to fulfil the task of the Environment Ministry for which the data was requested. If an offer is terminated or a user unsubscribes to an information service (e. g. a mailing list), personal data will be cleared irrevocably after a maximum of 6 weeks.

7. Cookies

You can access our web site and make full use of it without accepting cookies. We do not use cookies or other technologies to retrace your access. If you wish to use the note pad, you will have to enable cookies in your browser. The cookie will store the following information:
- date and time of access
- data specific identification number of the links chosen
- language version for cookie
This data will not be combined with any other data stored in connection with the access to the web site or any data from using offers for which personal data is requested. The data will not be evaluated for statistical purposes. The time for which this data is stored is limited to 6 weeks. After this period, all data connected to this entry will be deleted.

8. User's right to information

Pursuant to paragraph 19-20 Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), as a user of the Environment Ministry's web site you have the right to request information on the kind and volume of data stored during your visit at any time. On request, the information will be provided to you according to your interest concerning such information. This service is provided free of charge. Please contact the Data Protection Officer for the Federal Environment Ministry.

9. Data Protection Officer for the Federal Environment Ministry

If you have further questions on data protection, the Federal Environment Ministry's Data Protection Officer will assist you. Please contact our Data Protection Officer Mr. Hans-Georg Stotzem
Phone: +49(0)1888 305-2124
e-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
He also is the contact person for the enforcement of your rights as data subject.

10. Legal effect of disclaimer

This disclaimer is part of the web site linked to this page. If parts of this text or certain wordings are not, no longer or not completely covered by current legislation, it will not prejudice the rest of the document in terms of content or validity.