Longer and warmer summers on the German Baltic Sea coast: this is a possible implication of climate change that could certainly also serve as an opportunity for the tourism sector. At the same time however, negative impacts such as increased algae growth are also expected. Communities and stakeholders in the coastal region will have to adapt to these impacts in the near future. In the first RADOST annual report, the RADOST project partners present both impacts and possible adaptation strategies in the fields of coastal protection, tourism, water management and agriculture, ports and marine economy, renewable energy and conservation and land use.

After two years of project work, the second annual report of RADOST (Regional adaption measures for the German Baltic Sea Coast) presents research results and experiences of cooperation with political decision makers in ministries, administrations and communities. The annual report is available for download.

Leonardo Mazza, Leonardo; Samuela Bassi and Thibaut Henin 2011: Energy and Resource Efficiency: Modelling, Analysis, Indicators. Report on the IN-STREAM Workshop of 7 April 2011. IEEP/Ecologic Institute: London/Brussels/Berlin.

Electric vehicles have the potential for significant contributions towards achieving the EU’s climate protection goals in the transport sector. However, the environmental impacts of a large scale introduction of electric vehicles are still unknown. This project has developed scenarios for the increased dissemination of electric vehicles in the EU until 2050 and formulated policy recommendations from these findings. The full report of this project is available for download.

This study investigates the prevailing theories about the effect of trade openness on environmental quality and resource management, providing new insights and empirical support to refute some of these theories. It builds on data collected through the Yale-Columbia 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which covers 163 countries and an extensive database of trade-related measures from academic and international sources. Senior fellow Tanja Srebotnjak contributed statistical analyses to the study. It is available for download.

In the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine, the member Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and the European Commission work cooperatively and successfully towards a sustainable development of the Rhine River. This presentation focused upon experience with transboundary control of pollution.

<p>&#13; Pollution and prevention of pollution from industrial sources is a central field of European and German environmental policy. This presentation of Alexander Neubauer, Coordinator European Research and Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, introduced the basic terms, concepts and instruments that European and German industry-related environmental policy employs.</p>&#13;

2011: Climate Adaptation – Modelling Water Scenarios and Sectoral Impacts (ClimWatAdapt). Workshop Report – Assessment results and Annexes.

In a policy brief for the European Parliament, researchers at Ecologic Institute examine how access to land affects development and poverty eradication in developing countries. The authors Christiane Gerstter, Timo Kaphengst, Doris Knoblauch and Krista Timeus discuss the assumption that land ownership increases productivity and provide an overview of land reforms and large-scale land acquisitions in developing countries. Finally, the brief provides a series of recommendations for European policy-makers. The brief is available for download.

The study addresses the following aspects: 1. Identification of the types of costs associated with biodiversity policy in the EU: both direct and indirect as well as opportunity costs. 2. A review of the available literature to find any gaps in the cost analysis – such as the opportunity costs of conversion to other uses – and to assess the extent of these gaps. 3. An estimate of the total economic costs of biodiversity policy (including opportunity costs) in the EU. 4. Information on how to systematically fill any such gap in the future and on the methodologies that can be used to comprehensively address all types of economic costs.

Waste policy is developing dynamically in Europe and Germany. The presentation of Alexander Neubauer, Coordinator European Research and Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, dealt with both the basic European requirements for waste policy and current German developments.&#13;&#13;