Ecologic Legal | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Publication

Ein europäisches Klimaschutzgesetz

The new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has promised a European climate law. What it should look like describe Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf and Katharina Umpfenbach in the Tagesspiegel. The law should close five gaps.Read more

News

What is the Use of a Climate Change Act at Federal State's Level?

In a broadcast on Bayerische Rundfunk on 30 July 2019, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, expressed his views on the core elements and added value of climate change acts at federal state's level. The broadcast aired on the occasion of the meeting of the Bavarian Climate Cabinet on climate protection in Bavaria. Stephan Sina co-authored a study on climate change acts at federal state's level with Dr. Heidi Stockhaus for WWF Germany, which was mentioned in the broadcast.

Publication

The Future of the EU – Background Paper

Compromises for expanding ordinary legislative procedure and majority voting in climate and energy policies

The EU adopts essential climate issues – such as carbon taxation – by special legislative procedures. This means that the European Parliament is not an equal co-legislator and the Council decides by unanimous vote, providing each Member State with a veto. This is a problem because the urgency of climate action requires swift and bold EU action. EU climate action cannot afford a governance structure that allows one Member State to hold all others hostage in essential areas of climate action. A new Ecologic paper explores how to address this problem.Read more

Project

Climate

Public Diplomacy

Ecologic Legal

Supporting the Climate Negotiations on Questions under the Paris Agreement

May 2019 to December 2022

Ecologic Legal is supporting the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the international climate negotiations, particularly on the identification and analysis of German, EU and international negotiation positions. This project builds on previous work conducted in the project "Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Future Climate Regime".Read more

Presentation

A Climate Change for Germany – What can we learn from other European Countries?

TimeLoc

28 May 2019

Berlin

Germany

Dr. Stephan Sina

On 28 May 2019, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, moderated a panel discussion on the lessons Germany could learn from the experiences of other European countries regarding a climate change act. The panel was composed of Chris Stark from the UK Climate Change Committee, Petter Hojem from the Swedish Ministry of the Environment, and Dr. Dirk Weinreich from the German Federal Ministry of the Environment. The panel discussion was part of the event "A Climate Change Act for Germany - What can Germany learn from the experiences of other countries?" organised by the Stiftung Umweltenergierecht and the British Embassy in Berlin.Read more

Publication

Klimaschutzgesetze in Europa

Überblick und Bedeutung für ein deutsches Klimaschutzgesetz

This study by Ecologic Institute shows that Germany can learn a lot from experiences made in its neighbouring countries to give its climate policies a robust framework and thus make it more reliable, also for investments in climate-friendly measures. At the same time, Germany could establish a new standard through legislation adapted to the latest EU requirements, which would than again serve as an example for our neighbours.Read more

Publication

Landesklimaschutzgesetze in Deutschland

Überblick und Bedeutung für ein Klimaschutzgesetz des Bundes

In the current debate about a Federal Climate Change Act, people often overlook that in Germany about half of the federal states already have a climate change law as a comprehensive legal framework. In a study for WWF Germany, Ecologic Institute gives an overview over core elements of federal climate change laws and their impact on a potential Federal Climate Change Act. The study underlines the added value of such climate change laws. It concludes that climate change laws at the federal and state levels are not only compatible but strengthen each other. The study can be downloaded at the WWF website.Read more

Publication

Geeignete Rechtsinstrumente für die nationale Umsetzung der bodenbezogenen sustainable development goals, insbesondere des Ziels einer "land degradation neutral world"

Abschlussbericht

The research report by Ecologic Institute provides a legal assessment of whether German law is suitable to achieve the sustainable development goal "land degradation neutral word" (LDN) by 2030, and recommends options for improvement. The analysis focuses on rules for erosion, sealing by human settlement and pollution by industry. The report also compiles and explains key insights and lessons learned in English, as a contribution to the international discussion on implementing LDN. The report is available for download.Read more

Event

What Kind of Climate Protection Law is Needed?

TimeLoc

9 May 2019

Berlin

Germany

Speaker

Dr. Dirk Weinreich

At the launch of the new event series ZUKUNFTSFORUM ECORNET on 9 May 2019, scientists, politicians and representatives of civil society debated the need for a legal framework for climate protection in Germany and its possible components under the guiding question "What kind of climate protection law is needed?" Matthias Duwe, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, emphasised the advantages of a legal framework in his presentation on the experiences of other EU countries.Read more

Publication

How Can We Make the Energiewende Digital and Sustainable?

The Energiewende means a transition from the old, nuclear-and-coal based, to a sustainable and digitalized energy system. This is a complex endeavor: the number of actors involved increases and their functions overlap. While digital technologies bring automation and potential for relief, they are an ambivalent phenomenon: with no comprehensive laws on data protection, it is unclear what is going to happen to the tremendous amount of data collected by digital appliances. Besides, technologies like blockchain are often so energy-intensive that they eat up the amount of resources that they are trying to save. Therefore, political design must actively shape a digital and ecologically sustainable energy transition – it will not happen by itself.Read more