Piria, Raffaele (2008): Nucleare, una Fata Morgana in Finlandia, in Qualenergia. https://www.qualenergia.it/articoli/20081027-nucleare-una-fata-morgana-finlandia-1/

<p>&#13; Since the Security Council debated the security implications of climate change in April 2007, security aspects of climate change rank high on the political agenda of the UN. In a presentation at Haus Rissen Hamburg, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf discussed the contribution of the UN to environmental security.</p>&#13;

On 14 October 2008 Greenpeace published a study on illegal timber imports to Germany which was compiled by Ecologic. The study analyses how illegal timber imports impact the economic viability of the timber and forestry industries in Germany. The study shows that the substantial long-term economic damage can result from reputation problems, price dumping and the unsustainable use of the industry’s resource base. On the 17th of October 2008 the European Commission unveiled a legislative proposal for combating imports and trade from illegal wood sources. Greenpeace criticizes the proposal for not going far enough. They demand concrete penalty measures for the possession and trade of wood from illegal sources.

This report, written as part of the Project PICCMAT (Policy Incentives for Climate Change Mitigation Agricultural Techniques), provides information on different mitigation practices and identifies priorities for policy action. Additionally, it describes current rural development, introducing options for the future European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The report is available for download.

The aim of this project is to support the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment, and Water Management (BMLFUW) in the preparation of a programme of measures in context of the EU - Water Framework Directive (WFD). The work includes determining the methodology for the identification of exemptions under Article 4.4 – 4.7.

Mainstream economic indicators such as GDP are useful measures with great influence on public and private decisions, but they are flawed as measures of human welfare and give little feedback on progress on environmental goals and sustainable development. This project, through both qualitative and quantitative analysis, aimed to develop new recommendation for indicators that measure progress in economic success, human well-being, environmental protection, and long-term sustainability.

<p>&#13; The Hertie School of Governance and Ecologic Institute cooperated on international energy and climate policies as agents of change. During the fall term of 2008, Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Partner of Ecologic, taught a course on "International energy and climate policy" at the Hertie School of Governance.</p>&#13;

The implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has been an intensive on-going process since the Directive’s adoption in 2000. The aim of the WFD is the achievement of "good status" of surface water and groundwater by 2015. To reach the environmental objectives of the WFD, river basin management plans and programmes of measures must be formulated and implemented in all river basin districts (RBDs) of the EU, including international RBDs.

Looking at the Amudarya river basin in Central Asia, Ecologic Institute's Nicole Kranz, Holger Gerdes and Cornelius Laaser elaborate in this article on how the NeWater project assists with the development of new water governance tools in transboundary river basins. The article was published in the Fall 2008 issue of Schlossplatz³ by the Hertie School of Governance.

The hope for a reversal in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions – especially CO2-emissions – was not fulfilled again this year. Nevertheless, greenhouse gas emissions in Annex-B-countries, which (except the USA) committed to emissions caps or reductions, decreased in 2007 by 0.7% from 2006 levels – by 16% from 1990 levels. Ecologic Policy Advisor Hans-Joachim Ziesing’s article, published in "Energiewirtschaftliche Tagesfragen" Vol. 58, Issue 9, presents an overview of trends in the development of global C02 emissions and greenhouse gas emissions in Annex-B-countries, from 1990 to 2007.

<p>&#13; During a further vocational training for management assistants in the energy sector Ms. Hanna Schumacher gave an introduction to the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) with a focus on the amendment which will come into force in 2009.</p>&#13;