The Canadian province of Alberta is well-known for being the home of the country’s current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and the infamous tar sands. The traditionally conservative province has been criticized for its contribution to climate change. Binnu Jeyakumar, Consulting Advisor at Pembina Institute, led a discussion on this topic at Ecologic Institute. The seminar focused on the current political change in Alberta and its implications for the province’s involvement in the fight against climate change.

The second expert workshop of the discussion series “Improving climate protection – for Paris and beyond” dealt with the topic “National mitigation commitments and MRV – The political relevance of technical rules”. The event took place on 23 June 2015in Berlin.

On 29 April 2015, Ecologic Institute US and the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law at New York University School of Law hosted a discussion about the German Energiewende (Energy Transition). The event provided an opportunity for participants to speak with experts with first-hand insight into the Energiewende and the lessons it may hold for policymakers in New York State, currently pursuing their own comprehensive energy reforms. A summary and a video of the discussion are available for download.

The first Trade Night, held at Ecologic Institute, focused on the environment-related provisions of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a bilateral trade and investment agreement negotiated between Canada and the EU. Trade Nights are a regular series of events convened by Ecologic Institute that provide a forum for the trade community in Berlin to discuss current trade policy issues in an informal setting.

The first expert workshop of the discussion series "Improving climate protection – for Paris and beyond" dealt with the topic "Paris 2015 – Signals for non-state actors?" The event took place on 15 April 2015 in Berlin.

On 27 February 2015, experts from Germany and the United States joined in Washington, D.C. at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to discuss their work as it related to the conference theme, The Geopolitics of Energy. This conference was sponsored by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University with participation by Ecologic Institute Berlin.

On 22 January 2015, R. Andreas Kraemer presented the 2014 Global Go To Index Report of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, the University of Pennsylvania ((TTCSP). TTCSP launched its 2014 Report in the USA at the same day. Simultaneously, more than 50 global partners implemented local events to present the report in the national language and to discuss it with leading think tank representatives in a regional context.

The Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders Fellowship (ACCEL), Barents Regional Youth Council, Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy Network (ELEEP), Reykjavik University, and Youth Arctic Coalition convened a workshop as well as a question-and-answer session with Admiral Robert J. Papp, U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic and the top U.S. Government Arctic official. The session took place at the 2014 Arctic Circle Assembly on 31 October 2014. A video of the event is available online.

On 13 October 2014, the first in a series of discussions covering different aspects of Arctic science and policy during the Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council was held at the Embassy of Canada. Ecologic Institute plays an active role in organizing the series in partnership with the Embassy of Canada, Berlin, International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), Alfred-Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS).

At the 5th World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists, held in Istanbul 2014, the Ecologic Institue organised a policy session to discuss the perspectives of EU Climate Policy for 2030 and beyond. The session featured four distinguished panelists: Andreas Barkmann (European Environment Agency), Aldo Ravazzi (Italian Ministry of the Environment), Paul Ekins (University College London) and Andrew Błachowicz, moderated by Benjamin Görlach of the Ecologic Institute.

At a Trade Night on 19 June 2014, Steve Charnovitz shared his views on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and discussed with the audience the vision needed to create a TTIP that reaches beyond a simple trade agreement for reduced tariffs between the US and the EU. Steve Charnovitz is an Associate Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School.

The event highlighted the main results of the report “Environment Component of the Commitment to Development Index.” The presentation of the report, prepared by Ecologic Institute, served as the basis for discussions on the most urgent issues in the environment–development nexus and for identifying suitable policy recommendations for EU member states and EU institutions.

Which invasive species can be found in Berlin and Brandenburg? Have you ever wondered what they taste like? Come try it out at our final event of the series Biodiversity - local/global and learn more about these organisms from Prof. Dr. Jasmin Joschi from Potsdam University and Peter Becker from NewTritionInk.