The meeting of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Municipal Solid Waste Initiative, from 10 to 11 October 2013 in Vienna, brought together participating cities and initiative partners to strengthen international action to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) from municipal solid waste. The CCAC Initiative fosters peer-to-peer knowledge exchanges, provides training opportunities, and continues to build a supportive global network of cities taking action on SLCPs. The major objective for this meeting was developing plans for direct and on-the-ground action that the CCAC and new participating cities can carry out jointly through 2014.

Russel, Duncan et al. 2013: A BASE Project Analysis of EU Member State Climate Change Adaptation Strategies: Comparing Approaches and Drawing Lessons. Science for the Environment. Mapping Knowledge Needs for Future Horizons. Aarhus: Aarhus University, DCE-Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, 38.

Pedersen, Anders Branth et al. 2013: Coherent Policy Instruments for Climate Change Adaptation? Science for the Environment. Mapping Knowledge Needs for Future Horizons. Aarhus: Aarhus University, DCE-Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, 101.

Weiland, Sabine et al. 2013: Criteria for Evaluating Climate Adaptation Measures: A Meta-Analysis. Science for the Environment. Mapping Knowledge Needs for Future Horizons. Aarhus: Aarhus University, DCE-Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, 102.

Climate change policy, shale gas and oil, trade, and the advancement of renewables are highly current topics for the transatlantic exchange of best practices and ideas. The mission of the ELEEP Network is to foster transatlantic exchange and discourse. With this conference, the ELEEP Network convened a vital contribution to transatlantic exchange on these energy and climate topics.

Researchers of the project "GLOBALANDS – Global Land Use and Sustainability" have published a comprehensive governance screening analyzing the most relevant international policies with a high impact on global sustainable land use. The report further identifies current "windows of opportunity" to strengthen sustainable land use through international policies. The work was carried out by Ecologic Institute and the Öko-Institut, led by Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute. The discussion paper is available for download.

Ecologic Institute and BIO IS were commissioned by the European Parliament to investigate the potential impacts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on the EU's environmental and food safety policies and the EU's right to regulate. TTIP is currently being negotiated between the US and the EU. The study provides recommendations regarding the role of the European Parliament in the negotiation of TTIP. The study is available for download.

The ECONADAPT project, on the Economics of Adaptation, was a research project funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Recognizing that there is an economic rationale for climate change adaptation, the ECONADAPT project set out to advance the knowledge and evidence base on the economics of adaptation and to develop practical material to support decision making processes. ECONADAPT applied adaptation economics in several decision making scenarios that could require economic information including risk management, project appraisal, impact assessments and planning processes. Throughout the project innovative methods were co-developed and tested in a participative way with diverse stakeholders engaged in adaptation policy at multiple governance scales.

Fertile land areas to produce agricultural and forestry products are globally only available in a limited amount. The land footprint is a suitable indicator in order to assist the analysis of global land use related to consumption of a country or region and to monitor land use. Within this study a review of land flow studies and accounting methodologies is undertaken in order to elaborate recommendation for the methodology of future land footprint calculations. However, the land footprint is as an area-based indicator and unable to illustrate a large number of land-related environmental issues. The project therefore also provides an overview and discussion on possible environmental impact oriented indicators. Finally, the project team undertakes a calculation of possible indicators for the case of Germany based on the developed recommendations.

The project reviewed European environmental performance based on the Commitment to Development Index, which is annually published by the Center for Global Development. After assessing the indicators used in the Index and considering the policies of relevance, the Ecologic Institute developed policy recommendations at the national and European levels for improving environment and development.

Sustainable water management under climate change is an urgent challenge for the Euro-Mediterranean region. The BeWater FP7 project supports a transition to stakeholder-driven river basin water management planning in this region by working together with local partners and stakeholders. A highly participatory approach is utilized to develop river basin adaptation plans in four case study regions, which can then serve to guide the development of additional plans throughout the Mediterranean.

Recognizing that there is an economic rationale for climate change adaptation, the ECONADAPT project set out to advance the knowledge and evidence base on the economics of adaptation and to develop practical material to support decision making processes. ECONADAPT applied adaptation economics in several decision making scenarios that could require economic information including risk management, project appraisal, impact assessments and planning processes. Throughout the project innovative methods were co-developed and tested in a participative way with diverse stakeholders engaged in adaptation policy at multiple governance scales. Ecologic Institute designed and developed the project's website which presents the resources, case studies and the latest project news.