The UN climate negotiations are currently working towards a new global climate agreement, to be concluded at the end of 2015 in Paris. Until then, a marathon of negotiation sessions is scheduled to take place. In the run-up to the third of four rounds of negotiations in October 2014 in Bonn and just a few weeks before the start of the 2014 climate summit in Lima, Peru (COP-22), a group of 30 interested experts came together at Ecologic Institute for a Climate Talk to take stock.

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).

Tedsen, Elizabeth et al. 2014: "Marine resource management and coastal livelihoods: an Atlantic perspective". ATLANTIC FUTURE scientific paper, Vol. 15, 66.

Christiane Gerstetter, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, participated in a panel discussion at the representation of the German state of Baden-Württemberg in Berlin. She presented among other things the results of a study on regulatory cooperation in the context of the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The presentation is available for download.

On 7 October 2014, Ecologic Institute's Rodrigo Vidaurre held a presentation on regional governance responses to increasing drought risks at the 2014 international conference "Our Climate – Our Future". The talk, part of the Conference Session on "Integrated strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation", presented the methodology and insights generated by an analysis of the regional governance settings. The presentation slides are available for download.

The SWITCH-ON workshop brought together developers and end-users of a variety of open data based water information products from all over Europe to test these tools hands-on and to discuss their opportunities and challenges. The goal of the 1.5-day workshop was to identify the potential and operational needs of water-related information tools and services based on open data. SWITCH-ON develops state-of-the-art information products and services for water management and environmental awareness.

In this article, published in the journal Frankfurter Hefte, Christiane Gerstetter from Ecologic Instiute takes a stand on environmental aspects in the discussion on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that is currently negotiated between the EU and the USA.

A recent study provides the members of the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI Committee) with the needed expertise to monitor the ongoing negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement. The study was co-authored by Ecologic Institute, Bio IS, and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and serves as a follow-up to a 2013 study entitled "Legal Implications of TTIP for the Acquis Communautaire in ENVI Relevant Sectors."

From 5 until 11 October 2014, Ecologic Institute together with GIZ implemented a program on the German Energy Transition for 17 international experts and journalists. Participants were able to meet and discuss with representatives from ministries, think tanks, NGOs and business representatives in Berlin. Both national policies and examples of local and regional implementation of the German energy policy were highlighted during the tour.

The project serves to develop a dynamic and quantitative computer-based sustainabiliy model, that can be used in management games and enables to better understand societal interactions in the context of technological efficiency improvements, social innovation and socio-economic effects. The model focuses on further developing a systemic understanding on dynamic interactions of sustainable developments – much less on providing a clear-cut simulation prognostic or projection.

This project took a closer look at regional institutions in the European electricity sector and how they could potentially contribute to a future EU energy governance as proposed by the EU Commission in its 2030 climate and energy package. Ecologic Institute produced a policy paper on the challenges and opportunities of regional cooperation for reaching the EU 2030 climate and energy targets.

This study conducted by Ecologic Institute with support from the Heinrich Boell Foundation aims at providing factual background to the debate on regulatory cooperation within the TTIP. The study looks at whether fears are justified that regulatory cooperation could lead to loweer levels of protection in the EU (and to a lesser extent) in the US and parliamentary processes being bypassed. The study is available for download.

The aim of the brochure is to introduce and describe the project "Mainstreaming climate change in rural development policy". It presents goals of the project, its background, tasks and structure, as well as the methodology, used measures and indicators. The layout of the brochure is based on visual style European Commission DG Climate Action.

Pearson, Adam et al. 2014: Milesecure 2050 Deliverable 3.1 Report on Drivers of Societal Processes of Energy Transition. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.