In order to overcome the negative effects of conventional meat consumption, many alternatives are emerging that could offer solutions. But is that really the case? In the webinar "The future of meat: from trend analysis to policy action" Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute and Sylvia Veenhoff from the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) presented and discussed the results of a trend study commissioned by the UBA describing three core trends: artificial meat, plant-based meat and insect food.

Facing fundamental challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss, Europe needs to accelerate the speed and ambition of action and policies. These policies and action need to be informed by science. To this end, leading sustainability think tanks joined together to form Think Sustainable Europe, a network dedicated to providing policymakers across the continent with sound analysis and recommendations.

What do environmentally friendly economic stimulus programs look like? In the Tagesspiegel, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf takes stock of the stimulus packages adopted during the 2009 financial crisis. Stimulus packages should clearly exclude measures that harm the environment.

In 2009, many countries adopted economic stimulus programs to combat the economic crisis. The United Nations estimated that these programs totaled three trillion Dollar. The Ecologic Institute analyzed the environmental impacts of the 2009 economic stimulus programs in Germany, France, Great Britain, Austria, Slovenia, the USA, China, Japan, South Korea and the measures taken by the EU.

On 5 May 2020, the expert workshop "Urban nature-based solutions in Germany – experiences, successes and future challenges" took place online as part of the NATURVATION project. At this workshop, more than 60 experts from policy, administration, practice and research jointly discussed current challenges, need for action and options for a broader application of nature-based solutions in Germany.

Alken, K., Smieszek, M., Riedel, A., Rachold, V., Grosfeld, L. 2020: Arctic Governance. Current Knowledge on the Theme. Fact Sheet by German Arctic Office at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar und Marine Research, Potsdam.

This study analysed the effects of the agricultural water protection measures implemented in the collaborative approach, e.g. with regard to their potential for reducing nitrogen leaching into groundwater and regarding the level of acceptance among farmers. The study area consisted of 18 drinking water cooperations covering 20 drinking water protection zones.

COACCH Project (CO-designing the Assessment of Climate Change Costs) launched a webinar series to share its results on economic assessment of climate change and adaptation. On 30 April 2020, the project hosted its first webinar "Insights from the COACCH project I: Climate change impacts on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and coastal areas" and focuses on sectoral economic assessments.

The objective of this preparatory study was to provide evidence upon which future policy developments in the field of green transition can be based, in particular for consumer products.

This project sought to boost the capabilities of climate advisory bodies across Europe through a knowledge-exchange dialogue. Key players involved were mainly independent scientific councils composed of research and academic community members. The focus was to uncover insights and challenges these bodies face in aiding policy-makers develop proactive climate policy, while also identifying means for ongoing engagement.

Faced with the COVID-19 crisis, there is great temptation for recovery plans to prop up yesterday’s economy. Instead, recovery plans and any economic stimulus must “build back better” and contribute to a resilient and sustainable future. In an EURACTIV op-ed, the directors of five leading think tanks and founders of the new Think Sustainable Europe network argue that any stimulus must be informed by science, strengthen resilience as well as solidarity, support the transformation towards low-carbon, sustainable societies and deal with the current challenges on an appropriate scale.

The conviction of an everlasting economic growth is increasingly pushing our planet to its ecological limits. Life within these limits would be possible if sustainable consumption patterns were to become firmly established in our society. The policy of sufficiency can make a beneficial contribution to this. It aims to reshape the political, economic and social framework conditions in such a way that consumers are induced to demand sustainable products and services and voluntarily resign from excessive consumption. Against this background, the Institut für zukunftsfähige Ökonomien (ZOE), the Institut für Partizipatives Gestalten (IPG), Ecologic Institute, and R. Andreas Kraemer develop sufficiency policy project drafts that are closely aligned with the needs and requirements of the respective specialist units at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

Local governments have little influence on short- and long-term climate policies taken at national and supranational levels. As the role of global cities is put to test by the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for an urgent and coherent management of the emergency in urban realities places further emphasis on the quest for sustainable urbanisation processes and strategies worldwide. Ewa Iwaszuk (Ecologic Institute) provides a commentary on the contribution of global cities to meeting the SDG13 within the ISPI Dossier "Global Cities in the Age of Covid-19: Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development".

The vade mecum on complaint-handling and citizen engagement delivers one of the nine actions in the European Commission's 2018 environmental compliance assurance action plan. It was prepared between May 2018 and May 2019 by Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission together with the Ecologic Institute and individual experts nominated by members of the Environmental Compliance and Governance Forum.