In this article, some of the several economic benefits entailed by digital solutions are estimated with a focus on leakage reduction in water distribution networks, reduction of combined sewer overflows and on the improvement of hydropower generation and operation. The benefits are calculated for each EU Member State and the UK, and then aggregated at the EU scale. Benefits were quantified in EUR 5.0, 0.14 and 1.7 billion per year (EUR 13.2 per person per year, on average), respectively, excluding environmental and social benefits, which may play a non-negligible role.

Politics needs polarization, but too much of it is problematic. The German climate debate has long been characterized by a healthy degree of polarization. At present, however, there is a danger of excessive polarization, writes Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the Tagesspiegel. His OpEd discusses solutions.

Newly published research from SPRINT explores the extent to which public consultations likely contribute to democratic decision-making surrounding agricultural pesticide use. Through a critical discourse analysis of submissions to the public consultation concerning the European Union’s Farm to Fork Strategy, the authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen, examine the role of public consultations as a democratic process and the extent to which their non-deliberative nature advances solutions to contentious and complex challenges.

The discussion on the certification of carbon removals seems technical, but it is one of the central debates in EU climate policy. It is primarily intended to pave the way for the integration of CO₂ removals into emissions trading. In doing so, the EU risks to build its most important climate policy instrument on sand, writes Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf of Ecologic Institute in the Tagesspiegel Background Energie & Klima. He makes suggestions how to mitigate this risk.

This article, co-authored by Mandy Hinzmann and Linda Mederake from Ecologic Institute, assesses the potential of the EU "Single-Use Plastics Directive" (SUPD) to reduce litter pollution in the environment with three scenarios. The scenario analysis revealed that the success the current SUPD can be an important first step, yet further legislative actions are needed to effectively prevent plastic waste pollution - bans alone are not sufficient. The success of the Directive is therefore highly dependent on implementation and enforcement.

What role do policies play in driving plant-based solutions for more sustainable food systems? In this article, Julia Jägle from Ecologic Institute explores policy strategies and approaches to foster plant-based solutions in Germany and offers an international comparison. She shows that Germany has potential for improvement and introduces political instruments to further promote plant-based food systems and diets.

The German CAP Strategic Plan has the potential for an ambitious CAP 2023 to 2027. While the debate on the next CAP post-2027 is already starting, in this article Aaron Scheid and Sophie Ittner from Ecologic Institute argue that the German government needs to exploit all potential in the current CAP to increase the ambition towards more climate change mitigation and the protection and enhancement of natural resources and biodiversity. The coalition agreement gives them the mandate to do so.

This blog post shows why the EU Renovation Wave should link environmental and social issues. EU member states are currently facing three crises: the climate crisis, an energy security crisis and a social crisis. The EU Renovation Wave has a key role in responding to all three crises. However, it can only fulfill this key role if the implementation of the renovation wave is socially fair.

Carbon pricing is a policy instrument that is very popular with researchers and many policy makers as well. To be implemented effectively, it requires widespread acceptance by society. This paper presents an empirical study carried out in Germany directly before the implementation of its new carbon-pricing scheme for fuels in 2021.

This article reviews the role of ponds and pondscapes in delivering Nature's Contributions to People and provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities for their broader implementation as Nature-based Solutions. The authors, among them Manuel Lago (Ecologic Institute) propose a conceptual framework that can help the implementation of pond Nature-based Solutions, and that outlines future research needs.

The European Commission has proposed a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to enable ambitious climate policies in EU member states and to incentivize emission reductions in other countries. This paper adopts a dynamic, multilevel, polycentric perspective to discuss how domestic as well as foreign interest groups would be affected by the policy.

The Commission's proposal to certify carbon removals is a climate policy milestone, but it steers EU climate policy towards dangerous shoals. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf – together with Anne Siemons and Hannes Böttcher from Öko-Institut – discusses how to circumnavigate them in the Tagesspiegel.

This article written by Dr. Ulf Stein and Benedict Bueb from Ecologic Institute together with researchers of the French National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRAE) presents insights of two case studies, in Paris and Berlin, which investigated the potential of two mobile applications to make urban water management visible to the public and thus increase awareness about certain water management aspects.

The COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh was intended by the Egyptian presidency to be an implementation summit. The key outcome agreed was a financing mechanism with a fund specifically for damage and loss. Apart from that, the substantive outcomes of COP27 were mostly disappointing. This article by Dr. Ralph Bodle, Arne Riedel and Dr. Camilla Bausch provides an overview of selected outcomes, as well as insights into the process and the assessment by German civil society.

To tackle the "plastic crisis", the concept of circular economy has attracted considerable attention over the past years, both by practitioners and scholars alike. Against this background, Linda Mederake, Ecologic Institute, reflects in this opinion paper from a political scientist's point of view on key issues currently under discussion regarding the implementation of a circular plastics economy.