The report of the "Panel of Eminent Persons on civil Society and UN Relationships", which was established by the United Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan to advise on improving the involvement of civil society organisations in the work of the UN, has been published. Juan Mayr is member of the panel and former minister of environment in Columbia. In December 2003, he was...Read more
"The Transatlantic Dialogue on climate change is as important as ever". This was one of the results of a Dinner Dialogue with Prof. David A. Wirth. 19 representatives from policy making, research institutes, NGOs and business came together to informally discuss climate change and the future of the Kyoto Protocol from a transatlantic perspective.
The importance of resuming a transatlantic discourse...Read more
Why did Cancún fail to achieve an agreement on investment? This was the main question discussed during this Dinner Dialogue with Prof. Dr. Konrad von Moltke on 23 March 2004 in Berlin. Seventeen representatives from policy making, research, NGOs and business came together to informally discuss the importance of investment agreements with regard to the environment, development and sustainability.
"It is...Read more
International environmental governance, concerns about its current state and options to strengthen the global environmental regime were the subject of the Dinner Dialogue with Maria H. Ivanova, Director of the Global Environmental Governance Project at Yale University. The discussion started off with an assessment of UNEP's achievements. It focused on ways of reforming and strengthening the current system of international...Read more
The role of business in society as well as educating future leaders aware of the new responsibility of the private sector were the overarching topics of the Ecologic Dinner Dialogue convened on 15 September 2004 in honour of Dr. Francisco Szekely, adjunct professor at the European School for Management and Technology (ESMT) located in Berlin and Munich.
The event opened with...Read more
The Arctic has been described as an indicator region for global environmental health. Both in the case of persistent organic pollutants and in the case of global warming, detrimental effects on indigenous peoples are becoming visible throughout the region - impacts that will also be felt in other parts of the world. A Dinner Dialogue with John Crump discussed possible...Read more
With the launch of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Strategy Paper earlier this year, the EU has embarked on a new journey of restructuring and re-focussing relations to its Eastern and Southern Neighbours. Environmental policy plays little part in the ENP and this has prompted Ecologic and the Heinrich...Read more
The EU Neighbourhood Policy in the light of the recent presidential election events in the Ukraine was the topic of debate of the Dinner Dialogue hosted by Ecologic and the Heinrich Böll Foundation on 14 December 2004 in Berlin. The core questions centered on the applicability of the recently negotiated EU/Ukraine Action Plan...Read more
The Ecologic Dinner Dialogue on 17 February 2005 focused on the role of renewable energies in the USA. It was held to honour Jan McFarland and James H. Caldwell. This "zero-emission-pair" has shown great commitment over the last decades for a change in energy supply leading to an increased use of renewable energies in the USA. Read more
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, presented and discussed her ideas on „Green Ways to Growth“ at an Ecologic/IEEP Dinner Dialogue arranged in her honour on 28 February 2005. Considering the tensions related to emphasising synergies between the economy and the environment on the one hand and the plea for a strong independent environmental policy in its own right on the other, participant statements highlighted aspects of and debated solutions for a green path for growth. Read more
Since its last enlargement, the EU has had to redefine its geo-strategic interests in the relation to its neighbours in the East and in the Mediterranean Basin. The event “The European Neighbourhood Policy and the Environment?” aimed for an open discussion of the existing opportunities for in corporation of participatory and environmental concerns in...Read more
European Emission trading of CO2 certificates started at the beginning of 2005. A totally new environmental policy instrument for the European market economy was introduced which has to be proven in the first allocation period from 2005-2007. The U.S. is considered to be the leader concerning Cap&Trade. First steps with the concept of marketable emission...Read more
The United Kingdom put Africa and the Millennium Development Goals high on its agenda for its presidency of the G8 in 2005. In a discussion with Camilla Toulmin - Director of the Institute for International Environment and Development - the impacts of this initiative, its potential and possible implementation challenges were spelled out and debated. The Dinner Dialogue took place in Berlin on 6 June 2005. Read more
“Engaging the Climate Behemoths: Transforming Energy Policy in America and China” was the topic of the Transatlantic Climate Dinner in honour of William K. Reilly, co-chair of the US National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP). The challenges for China’s coal driven energy sector as well as for the US, considering not only energy and climate protection needs but also the wish for economic growth, were discussed in the light of the new proposals of the NCEP. This Transatlantic Climate Dinner Dialogue took place on 6 September 2005 in Berlin. Read more
US energy and climate policy was the topic of the Transatlantic Climate Dinner in honor of Lee Lane, Executive Director of the Climate Policy Center in Washington, D.C. The event participants discussed the possibility of and need for an effective US climate policy, in light of the developments at the sub-national, federal and international levels. This Transatlantic Climate Dinner took place on 14 December 2005 in Berlin. Read more
The protection and management of water resources at the river basin scale is gaining in importance world-wide. Only through careful and sustainable management can the current water problems be addressed, particularly in developing countries. The Nile River with its ten riparian states is like no other basin faced with specific challenges in terms of reaching integrated water resource management. On invitation of the German Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (gtz) and the German Ministry for Development and Co-operation, experts and decision-makers from the Nile riparian states visited several German and European water management institutions on 23 November 2005 and came together with Ecologic staff to exchange thoughts and ideas on experiences with the water management challenge in Europe and Africa. Read more
The US energy and climate policy was the topic of the Transatlantic Climate Dinner in honour of Dr. Susan F. Tierney, Managing Principal at Analysis Group, Boston. Against the backdrop of the new US Energy Policy Act, participants at the event discussed, trends and developments in the field of energy policy in the US and in Europe with a focus on climate and security related questions. This Transatlantic Climate Dinner took place on 20 February 2006 in Berlin. Read more