<p>&#13; At a panel discussion, Stephanie Schlegel, Fellow at Ecologic, gave a presentation on the current achievements and crucial discussion points of renewable energy politics in Europe. The presentation focused on the developments in the context of the "Climate action and renewable energy package" - the recently published legislative proposal of the European Commission.</p>&#13;

On 25 February 2008, an Ecologic Dinner Dialogue was held in Berlin in honour of Mark Halle, European Director of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) as well as Global Director of Trade &amp; Investment. Mark Halle introduced key aspects of the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in international environmental governance (IEG). He pointed out that environmental issues for governments often come second, leaving NGOs as important actors in the field of IEG.  The decisive question of how to move environmental issues to the centre of political decision making still needs to be tackled.

<p>&#13; As part of a series of European conferences on human dimensions research, the Berlin conference this year focused on governance of social-ecological change. Timo Kaphengst showed in his presentation, how the current debate on sustainable standards for biofuels could be used to create an international standard-setting scheme for the sustainable use of all natural resources.</p>&#13;

Against the background of an increased number of flood events and the dependency of their impacts on how the surrounding land is used, it has become evident that technical solutions have only a limited effect.  New approaches to flood management, including the restoration of rivers’ natural flood zones, have become indispensable.  In this book section, Thomas Dworak, Head of Ecologic Vienna, analyses current EU policies and how they can be used for the restoration of floodplain areas.  He presents a detailed and systematic assessment of the opportunities and challenges arising from water and non-water related EU policies.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) identifies targets for several core environmental policy categories and measures how close countries come to meet them. Ecologic compiled and analysed the data sources of the EPI for Germany, and assessed the methodologies of the Index. Based on this assessment, both the scientific and political relevance of the index for German environmental policy performance were determined. The report was published by the German Federal Environment Agency in UBA-Texte 09/08.

The Yearbook Ecology 2009 was published at the beginning of September 2008. Ecologic is one of the institutes supporting this yearbook. This year's focus is on the loss of biological diversity.

The Yearbook Ecology 2008 will be published at the end of September 2007. Ecologic is one of the institutes supporting this yearbook. This year's focus is on the effects of climate change, learning from nature, culture and lifestyle as well as environmental assessment. <br /><br />

Impacts of climate change include increasing water scarcity and flood risk, along with decline in water quality. This study explores which ecosystems will be most impacted and analyses how the effects of climate change act as causes of additional emissions, thereby reinforcing global warming in a positive feedback loop. The paper was prepared for the European Parliament by Ecologic jointly with the Institute for European Environmental Policies (IEEP) and the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).

Air pollution damages human health and natural ecosystems. The enormous magnitude of long-range automotive transport as well as stationary sources such as combustion plants contribute to the depletion of biodiversity and natural resources. Willing to complement the EU’s efforts to halt this trend, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) promotes air protection policy cooperation between the EU and its Eastern and Southern neighbours. To support the effort, the European Commission has issued a guide to air protection for its European neighbours and Russia.

This project provides guidance to the European Commission and national authorities on the implementation of new state aid provisions to support eco-innovation. Ecologic contributed to the project by conducting a case study to analyse practices in Germany.

The study analyses how illegal timber imports impact the economic viability of the timber and forestry industries in Germany. On the basis of expert interviews and statistics, 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. The paper concludes with policy recommendations.

Dworak, Thomas; Ulrike Eppler; Jan-Erik Petersen et al. 2008: A Review of the Possible Impact of Biomass Production from Agriculture on Water. Background paper for the conference "WFD meets CAP - Looking for a consistent approach". Background paper for the European conference "Water Framework Directive and Agriculture", 21-22 September 2007, Paris.

At a Transatlantic Luncheon on 18 January 2008, Molly Hall introduced key aspects of sustainability management practices of two US and two EU companies that are recognised leaders in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Drawing on the history of CSR as it developed on both sides of the Atlantic, she highlighted differences in their respective approaches. Molly Hall teaches environmental law at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and is a consultant to the German Environmental Ministry.

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