InContext promotes a new form of open and exploratory research for addressing societal challenges toghether with citizens. This policy brief outlines the main characteristics of this approach and the challenges that these pose for research funders. It discusses wheter and how this kind of research can be scaled up and how EU funding mechanisms could support-oriented, transformative research.Read more
In an issue focusing on "Transformative Science" of the German-language journal "Ökologisches Wirtschaften", Thomas Jahn of the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOeE) and R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute present the Ecological Research Network (Ecornet) and explain the historic, current and expected future roles of the participating, independent policy-relevant research institutes.
With their specialization on trans-disciplinary sustainability research, the Ecornet institutes serve important functions in the current reformation of the research and science system...Read more
This Issue Paper contains final conclusions and recommendations from the workshop "Water Management, Water Framework and Hydropower" which took place in September 2011. Additionally, it provides background information as well as the summary of a questionnaire on hydropower and the WFD filled-in by 24 European States.
The workshop created a platform for discussion and a dynamic exchange of information between the 110 participants, which included representatives from the European States, the European Commission, relevant European-level organisations and...Read more
This report, written as part of the Project PICCMAT ("Policy Incentives for Climate Change Mitigation Agricultural Techniques"), provides information on different mitigation practices and identifies priorities for policy action. Additionally, it describes currrent rural development, introducing options for the future European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The report is available for download.Read more
This report summarizes the in-depth conversations of the workshop "Transatlantic Environmental Relations", concentrating on energy security, values and transatlantic communication. On 15 December 2005 Ecologic Institute, with support from the Robert Bosch Foundation, organized this workshop in Berlin to identify and raise awareness about those environmental policy issues. The workshop report is available for download.Read more
This background paper informs the participants of the Strategic Workshop about the three central topics energy security, values and transatlantic communication. It provides information on the background, suggests topics for discussion and recommends further literature on the topic. On 15 December 2005 Ecologic Institute, with support from the Robert Bosch Foundation, organized this workshop in Berlin to identify and raise awareness about those environmental policy issues. The briefing is available for download....Read more
In a book chapter (in French), R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute and Bernard Barraqué trace the historical development of modern water services in Britain and Germany, and decribes the different roles of municipalities and central government in the process.
Today, Germany and the United Kingdom have very different legal and policy frameworks, and institutional arrangements for organizing, investment and financing, managing and supervising their water services. In Germany, local or municipal government retains the original right (and obligation) to provide these essential...Read more
In this policy paper, a group of young researchers, among them Ecologic Institute's Holger Gerdes, provides possibilities and suggestions for a transformation of the approach taken in Germany towards ecosystem services, which should allow for the integration of this concept into relevant policy areas and cross-cutting issues. The policy paper is available for download.
The policy paper specifies seven guidelines for the protection and promotion of ecosystem services within man-made environments and shows how these could be realized and implemented within the existing German political...Read more
Which lessons for future projects can be learned from earlier stormwater management schemes in Germany? The authors of the report "German Experience in Managing Stormwater with Green Infrastructure" – among them Ecologic Institute's alumnae Darla Nickel, Wenke Schoenfelder and Melissa Keeley – specifically address this question. Based on two case studies, the authors examine policies, strategies and instruments integrating grey and green infrastructure. The article can be downloaded on the publisher's website.
Following the introduction, which explains the political and...Read more
In this journal article, the authors – among them Darla Nickel and Melissa Keeley, both Ecologic Institute alumnae – analyze the stormwater infrastructure of the two cities. The focus lies on the question of how green and grey infrastructure can most successfully be combined and integrated for rain-water management. While grey infrastructure refers to conventional piped drainage and water treatment systems, the term "green infrastructure" encompasses land and plant based ecological treatment systems and processes. The report can be purchased on the homepage of the publisher "Springer-...Read more
Climate change will most likely impact the effectiveness and cost of measures to improve water quality. This must be taken into account in the future when selecting measures in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Until now, the consequences of climate change have not been systematically incorporated into the economic analyses called for by the WFD. A new study in the RADOST focus topic "Water Management and Agriculture" evaluates analytical approaches used to date, thereby contributing to the necessary discussion on how existing and future programs could consider and...Read more
In a chapter for the edited volume Metropolitan sustainability: Understanding and improving the urban environment, Max Grünig from the Ecologic Institute discusses non-technical approaches for developing sustainable transport and mobility plans in urban areas. The chapter 'Sustainable urban transport planning' emphasizes that it is important to understand consumer behavior and the characteristics of different urban transport choices in order to find the best solution for different urban areas.
Max Grünig covers options for smart growth, which links land use planning and transport...Read more
On the EU Water Blueprint Conference 2012 different stakeholders, member states, and the European Commission discussed the implementation of the policy proposals of the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources. The summary report of the conference is available for download. Also available are key findings in five other languages.
EU water policy has successfully contributed to water protection over the past three decades. However, the EU
In their article for the Zeitschrift für kommunale Wirtschaft (Magazine for Local Economy), Nadine Herbke, Ecologic Institute, and Dr. Nicole Weiß, Verband kommunaler Unternehmen (Association of Local Businesses) (VKU), present the results of the "Entwicklung lokaler Wasserpartnerschaften" (“Development of Local Water Partnerships“) workshop, which took place on 23 November 2005 in Bonn.
The event, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, dealt with the decentralized cooperation of German and foreign companies regarding...Read more
Electric vehicles have the potential for significant contributions towards achieving the EU’s climate protection goals in the transport sector. However, the environmental impacts of a large scale introduction of electric vehicles are still unknown. This project has developed scenarios for the increased dissemination of electric vehicles in the EU until 2050 and formulated policy recommendations from these findings. The full report of this project is available for download.
In order to reach the long-term EU climate goals, a severe reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in...Read more
The European Union (EU) wants to increase the share of renewable energy in the transport sector to 10% by 2020. This 10% target was set in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). However, it currently focuses on the use of biofuels in transport and assumes a grid-average for electricity used in transport. No methodology is available for biomethane and hydrogen from renewable sources. The study "Shifting Renewable Energy in Transport into the Next Gear" was performed to determine whether there are conditions under which it is possible and beneficial to amend the RED to include new...Read more
This report presents an analysis of the Peatland Rewetting Project in Belarus, which explores the potential of carbon emission reductions from rewetting degraded or depleted peatland located within the Belarusian territory and the opportunity to trade credits representing these reductions in a voluntary carbon market. Peatland rewetting as applied in the Belarus Project represents an ecosystem-based approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation and is approached in this report as such. The report is available for download.Read more
Agricultural management is a key priority area for achieving the objective of good ecological status of European waters under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This report presents the outcome of work by the River Basin Network (RBN) on WFD and Agriculture in the period from 2010 to 2012. The RBN is a technical network established within the Expert Group on WFD and Agriculture. Comprised of 21 River Basins representing 14 Member States, the RBN mandate was to facilitate exchange of practical experiences and knowledge on good practices in support of the WFD implementation. The...Read more
This policy report compares approaches to sustainable transportation financing in the U.S. and Germany, with a focus on Northern Virginia and the Stuttgart region. Max Gruenig and Dominic Marcellino, Senior Fellow Ecologic Institute Berlin and Fellow Ecologic Institute Washington DC respectively, are co-authors with Andrea Broaddus, PhD Candidate at the University of California at Berkeley. The policy report is available for download.
This policy report is an outcome of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies' project...Read more
