This article by Christiane Gerstetter, Dominic Marcellino, and Elena von Sperber explores the state of the climate technology transfer negotiations following the COP 15 meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009. The article appears in the Spring 2010 edition of the journal Carbon and Climate Law Review.Read more
Illegal fishing and logging, and the international trade in illegally sourced fish and wood products cause enormous environmental and economic damage. Consumer countries contribute to the problem by importing fish and timber without ensuring legality – a problem the EU tries to address with two new regulations. In this briefing paper, Duncan Brack, Heike Baumüller and Katharina Umpfenbach compare the recently adoptedRead more
What is the state of sustainable development in the European Union? The 2009 Eurostat monitoring report reviews the progress and implementation of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy.
The 2009 monitoring report was published on the Eurostat website. As partner in a consortium with the Vienna University of Economic and Business (RIMAS), INFRAS, and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the Ecologic Institute played aRead more
The results of the study "Connecting public transportation with car and bike sharing programs" were presented by Dominic Marcellino at a transportation policy workshop organized by Ecologic Institute, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, and the Brookings Institution.Read more
Christiane Gerstetter, Fellow at the Ecologic Institute, contributed a paper to and gave a presentation at the Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions on Global Environmental Change. She discussed how the Dispute Settlement Bodies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) deal with international environmental law, thus contributing to the conference’s section on actors in international environmental governance. The paper and the presentation are available for download.Read more
Linking emissions trading schemes has attracted much interest as a means of reducing compliance costs, expanding market size and liquidity, and reducing volatility in the carbon market. It also offers a channel for climate cooperation across jurisdictions to complement the international negotiating process on a future climate regime. But linking also faces a number of barriers and poses potential risks if inadequately designed. In a series of peer-reviewed publications on this issue, Michael Mehling discusses institutional and legal implications, formulates design recommendations, andRead more
Legal and Institutional Dimensions of the Copenhagen Regime – this is the title of the most recent issue of the Carbon & Climate Law Review (CCLR). Camilla Bausch, Ralph Czarnecki and Michael Mehling edited this issue, which opens the stage for a timely discussion on the most recent international climate negotiations. It features a preface by Congressman Edward J. Markey, who co-authored the successful climate and energy bill for the U.S. House of Representatives.Read more
Technology transfer is one of the central issues in the international climate negotiations, reflecting a general consensus that effectively mitigating climate change and adapting to it will require the wide-spread use of climate-friendly technologies. Despite this consensus, many of the details – such as funding, institutional mechanisms and the role of intellectual property – remain controversial. Through this project, the Ecologic Institute examined national and international proposals made in the context of recent UNFCCC technology negotiations. Prospective rules andRead more
Some details of the climate bills discussed in the US may have undesired repercussions for the international climate negotiations, argues Stefan Theil in an article in the Newsweek Magazine issue of 4 May 2009. Benjamin Görlach of Ecologic Institute was interviewed for and is quoted in the article. The analysis points out that fears about the competitiveness impacts of climate policy on domestic industries are exaggerated, and that the measures discussed to counter such threats may backfire in international negotiations.
As part of the celebration of its 25th anniversary, the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) hosted a workshop on "Globalization, Trade, and Environment: German-American Cooperation or Confrontation?" in Berlin on 28 April 2008. R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic moderated the panel on Climate Change and the Economy.
The Speakers were:
