<p>The Special Theme Day "Taste of the Future of the Seas" on 21 May 2017 will offer a number of activities on the topics of seas and oceans and sustainable consumption for all age groups.</p>&#13;

Ever tried oysters from a natural heritage site, or discussed plastics pollution of the oceans while sipping seaweed cocktails? Participants at the second Science Sips event got to experience exactly that on 28 April 2017 while sitting across the impressive dinosaur fossils exhibited at the Berlin Museum for Natural History.

Ever tried bycatch curry, or discussed ocean sustainability while sipping seaweed cocktails? Participants of the first Science Sips event got to experience exactly that on 30 March 2017 while sitting across the impressive dinosaur fossils exhibited at the Berlin Museum for Natural History.

At an Ecologic evening event on 21 February 2017, Prof. James McGann and Sascha Müller-Kraenner discussed the future of US and EU think tanks under a the Trump administration.

On the evening of 28 November 2016, Ecologic Institute, in cooperation with the American Security Project (ASP), hosted a private screening of the new documentary Film, "The Age of Consequences".

On 18 November 2016, the ELEEP Network and the POCACITO project hosted an official COP 22 side event in Marrakech on the topic "Transatlantic Perspectives on Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in Cities".

On 14 October 2016, the documentary film "Soils2Sea: Reducing nutrient loadings into the Baltic Sea" premiered in Poland. Developed and produced by Dr. Grit Martinez (Ecologic Institute) and Anne Berrini (berrini films) with support from Dr. Przemyslaw Wachniew (AGH University of Science and Technology Krakow), the movie illustrates the societal story of implementing the EU's nitrate directive at regional realities in the EU member states, particularly in the Kocinka catchment area in south central Poland. The 35-minute film will be available soon on Ecologic Institute's website.

Ecologic Institute and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) co-hosted a talk with Dr. Rick Spinrad, Chief Scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). An internationally recognized scientist and executive with more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Spinrad was invited to Germany on behalf of the US Embassy to share insights on the topic of oceans and sustainability. The event was moderated by R. Andreas Kraemer, Founding Director of Ecologic Institute.

Within the framework of the 11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2016) organized by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and taking place in Potsdam from 20 to 24 June 2016, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), in cooperation with the Embassy of Canada and the Ecologic Institute, will hold an event on the topic of "Permafrost Research at the Science-Policy Interface". Registration for ICOP 2016 is open until 31 May 2016.

On 23 May 2016, the ELEEP Network hosted a Side Event at the May UNFCCC meeting in Bonn. The event featured guest speakers Aki Kachi (ELEEP Fellow 2015/2016) and Michael Mehling (MIT). Matthias Duwe (Head of Climate, Ecologic Institute) moderated the event. During the event, the speakers discussed existing options for the development of carbon markets post-Paris and provided a perspective on what they could mean for carbon markets in the US and the EU. A video recording of the event can be viewed on the ELEEP Network YouTube Channel.

Amory Lovins supplied the intellectual DNA for the Energy Transition, notably with his concept of "Soft Energy" and how it promotes peace and prosperity. In recognition of his many contributions, he received the German Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse (Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) on 17 March 2016 at the Federal Foreign Office. Ecologic Institute and the Hertie School of Governance held a reception in celebration of Amory Lovins' achievements the following day.

Cities are at the forefront of the global carbon revolution, breaking established structures and creating new models for integrated systems. At an official side-event at COP21 in Paris, members of the POCACITO project consortium, including Max Gruenig and Camilla Bausch from Ecologic Institute, discussed how cities, serving as hubs of knowledge and learning, are essential catalysts in the global transformation to a post-carbon society.

In advance of COP21, more than 170 countries have so far pledged to implement national climate actions, INDCs. While the Paris negotiations will decide the future framework for these INDCs, this event looked at means of supporting implementation of national contributions that already exist and could be strengthened. Specifically, the discussion focused on technology needs assessments (TNAs) and current climate finance flows.

Ahrensfelde was a "city of the future" as part of the project "City of the future - living together sustainably" and creates a vision about what the community should look like in 2030 and beyond. In order to develop the vision, a survey was conducted among the citizens of Ahrensfelde in November 2015. Doris Knoblauch presented the results of the survey at a town hall meeting on the 30 November 2015 and she also moderated the evening.

The fourth expert workshop of the discussion series "Improving climate protection – for Paris and beyond" dealt with the topic "Closing the post-Paris ambition gap: enhancing ambition before 2020 and the role of climate action pioneers." The event took place on 27 October 2015 in Berlin.