This report contains the results of a survey of the EU Committee of the Regions about the impacts of the financial and economic crisis on SMEs. It points out how the affected regions and cities reacted to this challenge by supporting their local businesses in various ways. Furthermore it concentrates on the question, whether these steps were of any help and what could have been solved in a better way. The report is available for download.

This study about the costs and benefits of adaptation measures in Germany shows that many such measures can deliver results and are economically viable. Included here are green roofs that protect against heat waves in cities, the restoration of floodplains, and heat-resistant asphalt for street cover. Measures to increase awareness of adaptation opportunities were also found to have positive effects.

RADOST-Consortium (2012): RADOST – Regional Adaptation Strategies for the German Baltic Sea Coast.

After the Fukushima incident, Germany was unique in being able to pass a law aiming to close all nuclear power plants by the end of 2022. Investments in the development, demonstration, and deployment of renewable energies over the past decades, along with the "feed-in tariff," which since 1991 has rewarded successful operators of renewable power plants, enabled Germany to do so.

The EU research project BASE supports action for sustainable climate change adaptation in Europe. The Ecologic Institute designed and developed the project's website. It contains an interactive map, which gives an overview of the BASE case studies. Furthermore the webpage provides detailed information on the project and its events as well as publications for download. Users can also subscribe for the newsletter.

The Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognized that there remain significant gaps in the understanding of the impacts of geoengineering on biodiversity, while also noting the relevance of other treaties and organizations for filling such gaps. A highly authorative group of experts, among them Dr. Ralph Bodle, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, contributed to the publication's first part, entitled "Impacts of Climate-Related Geoengineering on Biological Diversity." A team of authors from Ecologic Institute, consisting of Dr. Ralph Bodle as leading author, Gesa Homan, Simone Schiele, and Elizabeth Tedsen wrote the publications second part entitled "The Regulatory Framework for Climate-Related Geoengineering Relevant to the Convention on Biological Diversity." The publication is available for download.

This study follows the analysis of the role played by Local and Regional Authorities (LRA) in the first round of National Reform Programme (NRP) submissions in 2011. The 2012 study is based on the same set of questions and evaluation protocol used in 2011. Three additional assessment questions were added to reflect the dynamic nature of Europe's economic and policy landscape, including the pressing need to promote sustainable job growth and the fiscal consolidation of the public sector.

Geoengineering describes a range of techniques that are proposed to counteract some of the negative impacts of climate change at a global scale, without actually reducing emissions. This chapter provides an overview of geoengineering techniques and the existing international law applicable to them.

For a brief study, the Ecologic Institute and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy carried out a needs analysis on how actors in German civil society can help shape the process of social transformation towards a decarbonised world. By means of a screening, the project team investigated which organisations are active in climate protection, in which thematic areas they work and how the actors finance themselves. The aim of the clients is to obtain a rough mapping of the current activities and to identify white spots on this map in order to support them more strategically and effectively, if necessary, and to attract new sponsors for such gaps in funding. The short study is available for download.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) required Member States to report their River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) by March 2010. In November 2012, the European Commission published a report which included among other things a review of progress in the implementation of the Directive and a survey of the River Basin Management Plans, including suggestions for the improvement of future plans. In addition, in November 2012 the European Commission published a Blueprint for Water which identified the future direction for EU Water Policy. The Blueprint built upon the results of a Fitness Check of EU Water Policy, an in-depth analysis of certain aspects of the RBMPs, and other technical studies. As part of a pan-European consortium of 14 institutions in a core team led by WRc, Ecologic Institute supports the European Commission in the development and implementation of EU freshwater policies.

Does international law allow implementing climate policies of different speeds? Can countries form pioneer alliances for ambitious climate protection or are the UN Framework Convention and the Kyoto Protocol a straight jacket? A new Ecologic paper answers these questions. It discusses whether and in what form legally binding measures outside the Convention are lawful and meaningful. The paper is available for download.

In a chapter for the edited volume Metropolitan sustainability: Understanding and improving the urban environment, Max Grünig from the Ecologic Institute discusses non-technical approaches for developing sustainable transport and mobility plans in urban areas. The chapter 'Sustainable urban transport planning' emphasizes that it is important to understand consumer behavior and the characteristics of different urban transport choices in order to find the best solution for different urban areas.