ABSTRACT
In line with developments at European level, Germany saw in the early seventies the beginnings of a systematic environmental policy. The federal social/liberal coalition government (1969-1982) established the basis for an environment policy in an extremely short period. The first environmental programme began in 1971, a committee of environmental experts was established in 1972 and the federal environment agency came into being in 1974 (see Weidner, 1997). There was, however, no environmental ministry within the federal government until the mid eighties.1
