For the past 5 years, Ecologic Institute has maintained a top position in the prestigious ranking of political institutions or "Think Tanks," implemented by the University of Pennsylvania. Moreover, the Institute is currently 16th amongst "Think Tanks to Watch," i.e., those organizations that have earned a particular global profile according to assessment of the consulting experts. Ecologic Institute, founded in Berlin in 1995 and currently employing around 150 individuals, is the only Think Tank among the 55 Think Tanks in Western Europe that specializes in matters relating to the environment, climate, energy and resources and is also the sole organization of this nature among the 70 Think Tanks considered to have the most significant impact on public policy.

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 German research agenda in 2015 focuses on the future of cities ("Wissenschaftsjahr Zukunftsstadt"). This topic is also reflected in the curricula of schools. On 20 January 2015, ninety 9-year-old schoolchildren from Potsdam came together to watch the movie "Der blaue Tiger" and then discuss sustainable urban development from their perspectives. Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, was invited to talk with them about the challenges of urban development, sustainability, the participation of children, and other issues.

Since 2008, the European Commission (EC) publishes an annual communication on fishing opportunities. The communication provides an overview of the state of the resource and outlines the rules and principles the European Commission intends to follow for proposing Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and fishing effort limitations for the following year.

Despite the European Union's efforts to promote good governance in Armenia, economic resources and political power have become interwoven in often illicit ways. Corruption is widespread at all levels of the state apparatus. Against this background, this case study, co-authored by Christoph Stefes and Katherine Weingartner of Ecologic Institute, looks at the causes of environmental crime in Armenia-taking the mining sector as an example-and describes measures that the European Union could take to contribute to preventing future environmental crime in the country. The case study is available for download.

This project was carried out by Ecologic Institute and UCL Centre for Law and the Environment for the EU's Committee of the Regions (CoR). It informed the CoR's ex-post Territorial Impact Assessment on Natura 2000 and the EU Birds and Habitats Directives in light of the European Commission's Fitness Check of the Directives ('REFIT'). The final report "Implementation of Natura 2000 and the Habitats and Birds Directives" is available for download.

Ana Frelih-Larsen, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation to a group of international journalists during an Informational Tour for Journalists and Experts in the context of the Green Week in Berlin. She gave an overview of the process of climate change mainstreaming in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), outlining the underlying scientific evidence base and discussing the basic principles of mainstreaming. She further illustrated the various tools that Member States can use to integrate climate objectives in the CAP 2014-2020 and discussed the key practical aspects and barriers to mainstreaming implementation.

This think piece draws together evidence on the state of the economy, society and the environment to show that the EU's multiple challenges may be tackled simultaneously by the use of policy changes to change the direction of market demand. Christian Hudson, the author of this document is Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute. The document is available for download.

Impacts of environmental policy often only occur in the long term and there is no market price to value them. How can costs and benefits of these measures be evaluated and compared anyway? This working guide provides support for legislation impact assessment and supports the quantification of the impacts of environmental policies on environment and economy. The guide is available for download.

Ecologic Institute contributed key components of a comprehensive review of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as part of a consortium of institutions who specialise in environmental policy. The review informs a stakeholder process for improving the EU ETS that is part of Europe's "climate and energy package 2030."

<p>On 1 January 2015, Dr. Camilla Bausch took over management of Ecologic Institute. The 42-year-old lawyer follows in the steps of former Director and founder of the Institute, R. Andreas Kraemer.</p>&#13; Dr. Camilla Bausch has extensive expertise in the field of international environmental policy. As Associate Editor of the journal, Carbon &amp; Climate Law Review (CCLR), and through a multitude of projects, publications, and talks, she has distinguished herself both nationally and internationally. Dr. Camilla Bausch has been active at Ecologic Institute for over ten years and has proven her leadership qualities both internally and externally as part of Ecologic Institute's executive board and as board member and chair for Greenpeace Germany (2009-2014).

On behalf of the German Environment Agency, Ecologic Institute is carrying out the discussion series "Improving climate protection – for Paris and beyond." As part of the project, several expert workshops provide a platform for different stakeholder representatives to discuss and evaluate developments of the climate regime, the status of the UN climate negotiations and the outcome of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that will be held in Paris in December 2015.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) obliged Member States to develop the first River Basin Management Plans and Programmes of Measures by December 2009 and to make a report of those to the European Commission by March 2010. The purpose of the programme of measures is to achieve the environmental objectives of the WFD. Under its 'Framework contract to provide services to support the development and implementation of EU freshwater policies', the European Commission DG Environment awarded a Specific Contract to a European consortium to provide support in 'Compliance checking of the Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive Implementation'. Ecologic institute is partner in this consortium led by WRc.

This project aims at strengthening the financing of River Basin Organisations (RBOs) in Latin America. Adequate financing of RBOs is crucial for improving water management and increasing local capacities to prepare for and adapt to climate change. In order to achieve this aim, political and stakeholder dialogues on the role of financing in integrated water resources management will be facilitated, a guide on financing mechanisms will be developed and tested, and the relevance of financing mechanisms demonstrated in four pilot river basins. Best practice examples from Latin America and abroad will be collected and disseminated in the region.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) obliged Member States to develop the first River Basin Management Plans by 2009 and the second River Basin Management Plans by December 2015. Under its 'Framework contract to provide services to support the development and implementation of EU freshwater policies', the European Commission DG Environment awarded a Specific Contract to a European consortium to provide support in 'Compliance checking of the Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive Implementation'. Ecologic institute is partner in this consortium led by WRc.