In September 2019, the European Commission organized the 'European Research & Innovation Days' to shape the EU's future research and innovation policy. Holger Gerdes, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, had been invited to take part in a panel discussion, which focused on the challenges and potentials of bio-based products and innovations. The video recordings from the session can be watched online.

On 24 September leading voices from European Union and United States civil society converged on the Square in Brussels to share ideas and experiences to move the transatlantic energy transition forward in pursuit of a clean, climate-friendly energy future. Presentations, videos and photos are available on the conference website: https://www.energyfuturex.org/portfolio/bruconference/.

The aim of this EUSEW 2019 session was to launch the EEA report 'Adaptation challenges and opportunities for the European energy system: Ensuring a climate-resilient clean energy transition' and to discuss its key findings with relevant stakeholders. The report was presented by Eva Jensen (Head of Programme, Climate Change, Energy and Transport, EEA). Her presentation followed reflections from senior stakeholders from the European Commission (DG CLIMA and DG ENERGY), the International Energy Agency and a sector organisation (ENTSO-E), and a discussion with the audience. Matthias Duwe (Head, Climate, Ecologic Institute) moderated the session.

Helene Hoffmann, scientific researcher on marine topics at Ecologic Institute, presented the concepts of 'Blue Society and Ocean Literacy' at the Open Sea Lab Kick-off event in Brussels on 24 May 2019. The Kick-off marked the official opening of the applications to participate in the Open Sea Lab Hackathon 2019, which is taking place from 4 to 6 September 2019 in Ghent (Belgium).

The conference "Planning for 2050", organised by Ecologic Institute, will take place on 23 May 2019 in Brussels. It takes stock of the experience with long-term climate strategies gained in Europe and presents lessons learnt as well as challenges encountered in different Member States – and seeks to connect them to the EU's own overall 2050 vision. It is based on insights, conversations and contacts made through a set of dialogue meetings held under the "Climate Recon 2050" project, which brought together policymakers and technical experts involved in long-term strategies from around the EU. A conference brochure, summarising insights from the Climate Recon 2050 project, is available online.

The European CIRCASA stakeholder workshop took place in Brussels on 5 December 2018. This workshop was part of a series of workshops that took place in eight regions across the world. The workshop gathered 30 participants from across Europe, including representatives from the agricultural and food industry, farmers, regional and national policy-makers, non-governmental organisations and the European Commission. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the most promising management options for maintaining and enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) in Europe; barriers to and solutions for their implementation; as well as to identify the key knowledge and research needs for farmers and other stakeholders for bringing forward SOC management in Europe. On 16 January 2019, these results were reflected on with the CIRCASA Stakeholder Advisory Board. The outcomes of the stakeholder consultation will feed directly into the development of an international strategic research agenda on soil organic carbon.

Heat waves, droughts, floods - Europe was not spared from extreme weather events in 2018. To ensure that Europeans can still live a prosperous, healthy life in on a peaceful continent in the year 2030, the EU must take urgent measures to reduce resource consumption and pollution. The newly established Think2030 platform, of which Ecologic Institute is a member, has gathered 30 policy recommendations to this end – they are available for download.

In June 2017, the EU Commission adopted the new EU One Health Action Plan to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The "One Health" approach which lies at the basis of the Action Plan is centred on an integrative management of health risks; it leaves aside a purely human or veterinary approach in favor of a more holistic one which includes the environment. In this context, the UBA (Umweltbundesamt Deutschland) has prepared a background paper which presents various options for action in the areas of use prevention, entry and disposal of antibiotics. UBA supports the overarching objective of the EU One Health Action Plan, against the background of growing problems with antibiotic resistance, of maintaining the possibility of effective infection treatment in humans and animals.

The Think 2030 conference has launched a new sustainability platform, which aims to inform a science-based agenda for European environmental policy beyond 2020 and propose solutions to Europe's most pressing sustainability issues. Ecologic Institute's Matthias Duwe co-authored a paper on long-term climate planning in the EU together with Lola Vallejo (IDDRI), which was discussed during a dedicated session. A summary of the paper is available.

On 10 and 11 October 2018, the AQUACROSS Final Conference on "Ecosystem-Based Management for the Protection of Aquatic Biodiversity – Practice and Lessons Learnt" took place in Brussels. AQUACROSS project team members presented different tools and results regarding aquatic biodiversity protection developed during the project. Conference participants from 21 countries received the eight AQUACROSS Case Studies and the Case Study Gallery with posters, photos and information material with particular interest. The presentations held during the conference are now available on the AQUACROSS project conference website.

What is the best way forward for soil protection in the EU? How can we improve EU policies to secure the delivery of soil ecosystem services? These questions were the focus of the final policy conference of the RECARE project which took place on 27 September 2018 in Brussels. More than 100 participants from 21 countries participated in the conference.

The conference "Impacts of the circular economy transition in Europe" took place in Brussels on 5 September 2018, organised as part of the CIRCULAR IMPACTS project. Around 150 people attended the event, including officials from the European Commission, national ministries, the public sector, industry, and NGOs. Ecologic Institute, as project lead, and the CIRCULAR IMPACTS project partners presented their findings on the impacts of moving towards a more circular economy in Europe, one that uses resources efficiently and maintains the economic value of materials. In addition to discussing their insights regarding the policy frameworks necessary for fostering a resource-efficient economy, team members presented evidence on the impacts and potential benefits of moving towards circular-economy approaches in three sectors: electric-vehicle batteries, car sharing, and building materials.

This conference looked into the innovative bio-based products sector. It presented key insights on the environmental impacts, investment potential and innovative aspects of selected bio-based products.

On 17 May 2018, research partners and stakeholders from the COACCH (CO-designing the Assessment of Climate CHange costs) project met in Brussels for the first interactive co-design workshop. Ecologic Institute was responsible for designing the interactive workshop concept and for producing the synthesis of the current knowledge on climate change costs and research gaps, a copy is available for download. The key findings were presented by Ecologic Institute Fellow Jenny Tröltzsch and project partner Paul Watkiss.

Over a period of three years the BioSTEP project developed participation tools to involve the public in the development of the European bioeconomy. Different types of participation were sought. During the final conference on 22 February 2018 in Brussels, the participation formats and their possible impact as well as the BioSTEP research recommendations will be presented and discussed. Registrations are possible until 15 February 2018.