This project is focused on assessing and improving the impact of Climate-ADAPT through an evaluation that looks both backward and forward. The primary objective of the project is to comprehensively evaluate Climate-ADAPT, including its subsites such as the European Climate and Health Observatory and the EU Mission on Adaptation Portal.

The project's ambition is to contribute to the systemic transformation needed for a nature-positive economy through collaborative multi-stakeholder research and innovation to provide clarity and guidance for policy, industry and society.

The PONDERFUL Sustainable Finance Inventory consists of a total of 22 financing instruments for nature-based solutions (NBS). Each instrument is matched by at least one concrete example of the financing instrument in action. Different financing instruments have different strengths and weaknesses, making them more or less appropriate for different contexts and actors. The Inventory aims to support pondscape developers to understand financing options and identify the finance instruments best suited to their pondscape NBS project.

This policy brief offers a nuanced analysis of the outcomes from CBD COP15. It particularly focuses on the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and its ramifications for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The document articulates policy recommendations designed to ensure the GBF’s ambitious restoration targets are achieved efficiently and on schedule.

This UNITED project business brief discusses the legal framework and environmental implications of a project in the Greek Aegean combining aquaculture and tourism, including laws and regulations, particularly in relation to marine conservation, permitting and marine spatial planning.

This UNITED project business brief discusses the legal framework and environmental impacts of a project in the German North Sea that combines offshore wind energy and aquaculture, including the laws and regulations that apply to offshore installations in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

This Business Brief of the UNITED project examines the legal and environmental aspects of a project that successfully combines offshore wind energy production with innovative tourism activities.

This UNITED project business brief examines the legal and environmental aspects of a Belgian project using offshore wind farms in the North Sea for the cultivation of flat oysters and seaweed. Particular attention is paid to environmental benefits, such as improved water quality and biodiversity, as well as potential challenges, including permitting procedures.

Securing agricultural land is a relevant challenge. The authors of the policy brief see a number of different approaches to safeguarding agricultural areas against other land use claims and are primarily addressing the state and municipal levels. The authors argue that the topics of agriculture, food, sustainability and rural development should be more closely integrated. They also recommend using spatial planning instruments to curb the current consumption of agricultural land and thus protect it from conversion.

This report discusses on the implications of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for imports of PtX products to the EU. PtX means essentially hydrogen based on electrolysis and its derivates. After providing an overview of the CBAM mechanism, its implementation phases and the roles and responsibilities of producers within CBAM, the report provides insights into the calculation of embedded emissions for PtX products, including examples for imported ammonia and crude steel.

The Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) proposal of the European Commission and the proposed amendments by Council and European Parliament include minimum sustainability criteria for carbon removals. These criteria are vague and require specification. A new paper by Oeko-Institut and Ecologic Institute examines the sustainability criteria in detail. The German Environment Agency published the paper.

This report presents a stock-taking analysis of drought policies, planning and management in EU Member States and an outlook of planned work within the Member States and at EU level. It has been developed based on individual Member State assessments of the corresponding legislation, planning and management, including the latest available versions of (draft) River Basin Management Plans in spring 2022, using a common questionnaire, as well as more than 70 interviews with Member State administrations and stakeholders and a wide review process.

During a parliamentary evening, Aaron Scheid presented an analysis of the environmental economic impacts of animal-based food production on 12 December 2023. Focusing on external environmental costs, particularly greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, and with quantitative evidence of costs in the billions, Scheid proposed tax incentives to internalize these costs. His presentation emphasized the need for a comprehensive strategy that considers political, social, and economic aspects, and provided policy options for a sustainable food policy.

This study aims to provide actionable recommendations to the European Commission for how to make progress on selected international climate finance instruments.

The 4i-TRACTION research has identified additional instruments with untapped potential and possible game changer qualities, that can help tackle challenges of transformative change other policies struggle to address. In this side event, the 4i-TRACTION project presented three policy instruments that can support transformative change: transition plans for banks, public procurement for climate neutrality and integrated infrastructure planning.