Key Topics of the Helmholtz Forum Earth and Environment in 2026/2027

Air Quality, Environmental Observatories, and Methane Removal

ACT-AQ – ACTing to improve Air Quality

Air pollution remains the most significant environment-related health threat worldwide: The WHO estimates that more than 7 million people die prematurely each year as a result of exposure to particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide.

The revised European Air Quality Directive (AAQD), which came into effect in December 2024, presents new challenges for authorities: stricter limit values, new monitoring requirements—particularly for ultrafine particles (UFPs)—and the mandatory use of atmospheric models. Germany must transpose the directive into national law by the end of 2026 and comply with the new limit values by 2030.

ACT-AQ brings together experts from atmospheric research, climate science, epidemiology, and neuroscience to fill key knowledge gaps. How are ultrafine particles formed and distributed, and what health risks do they pose? Why do ozone concentrations remain high despite falling emissions? How can authorities use air quality models to meet limit values? Authorities, cities, NGOs, and industry are involved from the outset. Concrete outcomes include scientific review articles, policy briefs, a guide to implementing the AAQD, and a parliamentary event.

The project is led by Volker Matthias (Hereon) with participation from Hereon, FZJ, KIT, RIFS (GFZ), and the Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU), as well as the Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF) and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPI-B). External partners include the Federal Environment Agency (UBA).

TERENO:Connect – Synthesizing Environmental Observations for Societal Impact

The TERENO network (TERrestrial ENvironmental Observatories) is one of the most important long-term environmental monitoring networks in Germany. Since 2008, it has operated four observatories stretching from the North German Plain to the Bavarian Alps, and has facilitated hundreds of scientific publications over more than 16 years of operation. Despite this success, the extensive long-term datasets remain largely untapped by many policymakers, government agencies, and the general public—not due to a lack of interest, but because of limited visibility and data accessibility.

This is precisely where TERENO:Connect comes in: The project aims to significantly increase the societal impact of this unique infrastructure. The focus is on questions such as: How can 16 years of environmental monitoring data be made available to scientists, government agencies, and policymakers? Which communication formats effectively reach government agencies, ministries, and the public? How can the relevance of TERENO to current policy processes such as the National Water Strategy or the EU Soil Protection Strategy be made visible?

Specifically, the project plans to develop interactive data visualizations, infographics, updated brochures and fact sheets, establish an active presence on social media, and organize stakeholder workshops with representatives from government agencies, the water sector, and politics.

The project is led by Prof. Dr. Sabine Attinger (UFZ) and involves scientists from UFZ, KIT, FZJ, and GFZ, including RIFS. The contact person is Dr. Martin Schrön (UFZ). Other external partners include the German Weather Service (DWD) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA).

Methane Removal – Assessing Atmospheric Methane Removal Technologies

It is now all but certain that we will surpass 1.5°C of global warming in the coming decade, making the urgency of achieving net zero greenhouse gases (GHGs) – which can lead to gradual temperature decline after a peak – more relevant than ever. In this context, methane (CH4) mitigation plays a critical role: scenarios consistent with limiting warming to 2°C require CH4 emissions reductions of circa 40% by 2040 (compared to 2019 levels); instead, global emissions continue to rise. Given that CH4 is 80 times more potent a warmer than CO2 over a 20-year time frame, proposals for Atmospheric Methane Removal (AMR) – analogous to Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), but for methane – have been increasing. At present there are no available technologies for AMR, making this an emerging area of research.

While some scientists argue that we will need AMR in the future to meet our climate goals, others argue that, given the high expected costs, investing in methane mitigation and further CDR development would be a better use of scarce resources. The Project Methane Removal asks: Which AMR technologies are technically feasible, and what risks do they carry? Which approaches are most promising, and what should a research agenda for the field look like?

This project will perform a critical assessment of potential AMR technologies, examining the possible advantages and risks of differing options. Based on this assessment, we will identify which approaches are most promising and articulate a research agenda for AMR to guide early-stage research on the topic. Planned outputs include scientific review papers, a fact sheet, and a parliamentary breakfast at the German Bundestag to initiate exchange with relevant policy makers, particularly at the German federal level.

The project is led by Kathleen Mar (RIFS/GFZ) and Ralf Sussmann (KIT/IMK-IFU), with participation from GFZ, KIT, GEOMAR, and AWI.