The Paris Agreement states that Parties will scale up their commitments with every consecutive nationally determined contribution. A new paper by Ecologic Institute shows how EU legislation can help implement this requirement. The paper is available for download.

The Dialogue Forum "Business mitigates climate change" aims to increase networking within the German economy to improve climate protection. From 2017 to 2020, 180 companies from all sectors of the economy cooperated, exchanged and developed ideas to further promote climate action in their respective fields.

Ecologic Institute has developed a web-based monitoring tool within the framework of the National Climate Initiative's Strategic Development Project, which enables grant recipients to create interim and final reports.

In January 2017, the Ecologic Institute hosted a group of students from the University of Maryland for a Seminar on Energy, Climate Change and Options for a Low-Carbon Economy. Berlin was the host city for the first leg of the two-week seminar – followed by a week in Venice, hosted by the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)

<p>In 2017, Ecologic Institute is continuing to analyze key legislative proposals and political processes related to the 2030 energy and climate policy framework of the European Union (EU). This includes specifically the proposed regulations for the post-2020 Effort Sharing and for the Governance of the Energy Union. This work is being done in support of and as a contribution to an initiative by the European Climate Foundation (ECF), with the aim to advance the overall understanding of the options for future EU energy and climate governance in collaboration with many fellow research institutions.</p>&#13;

Albert, Christian et. al. 2017: Towards a National Ecosystem Assessment in Germany. A Plea for a Comprehensive Approach. GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, Volume 26, Number 1, 2017, pp. 27-33(7).

This policy brief presents the SWITCH-ON toolbox that guides innovators to identify target markets and select a suitable business model consistently. This toolbox, called the Market Analysis Framework (MAF), has been applied by the developers of the 14 SWITCH-ON open data products and services, making it a tested and validated framework. By promoting demand-driven product development, the MAF can help European innovators increase their chances of achieving commercial success, ultimately contributing to the region's smarter, more sustainable, and more inclusive future economy. The Policy Brief No.1 is available for download.

Bach, Inga; Nick Evans; Zbigniew M. Karaczun et. al. 2016: Bau einer emissionsarmen Wirtschaft. Praxis auf lokaler Ebene in Polen und Deutschland. Warschau.

This report provides an overview of measures to reduce nutrient pollution from point and diffuse sources, as well as an analysis of the implementation of European policies for eutrophication abatement of inland, coastal and marine waters. Examples of eutrophication abatement strategies in eight case studies are presented and analyzed regarding different aspects such as governance issues, the role of research, stakeholder participation and the choice of measures and funding instruments. The report is available for download.

The CIRCULAR IMPACTS project website has been updated with an evidence library on the circular economy. The Circular Impacts online library created by Ecologic Institute centralized information related to the circular economy transition. The library helped policy professionals in conducting impact assessments on the transition to a circular economy. It was a useful resource for policy-makers, journalists, scientists, NGOs and anybody else interested in increasing their knowledge of circular-economy concepts. The library formed an integral part of the website and was an important project outcome.

The Water Directors of European countries agreed to set up a specific Ad-hoc Task Group (ATG) on best practice and guidance to deal with hydromorphology. One of the core activities of the Working Group (WG) ECOSTAT of the WFD CIS has been to compare the ecological quality expected by different countries for water bodies impacted by water storage. This report is based on information collected via a template on mitigation measures for water bodies impacted by water storage, which was completed by 23 countries.

The ECONADAPT project website advances the knowledge and evidence base on the economics of adaptation, and converts the findings into practical material to support decision-making. Innovative methods were co-developed and tested in a participative way with a diverse user groups engaged in adaptation policy at multiple governance scales. The results and findings from the project brought together in a toolbox.

This booklet gives an overview of the POCACITO project, focussing on the methodology used and most importantly on the major findings, results and outcomes of the project.

Stelljes, Nico: Using Active Public Participation in the Co-development of Coastal Protection Strategies for a Touristic Beach City. Timmendorfer Strand, Germany. in: Ng, K., Campos, I., Penha-Lopes, G. (Eds.). (2016). BASE adaptation inspiration book: 23 European cases of climate change adaptation to inspire European decision-makers, practitioners and citizens. Lisbon: Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 122-125.

In the United States, there are no explicit goals at the federal level to limit or even reduce final energy consumption or the use of fossil fuels in the future. Nevertheless, many measures have been taken in recent years to increase energy efficiency. Some U.S. states, such as California or Massachusetts, are considered pioneers in energy efficiency policy by global standards. Read this report to learn more about the U.S.' energy efficiency policies.