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

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Event

EU Reform Process after the European Elections: What role for climate and energy policy?

TimeLoc

13 June 2019

Berlin

Germany

In response to Brexit, the EU has initiated a process of self-reflection and, if necessary, reform - the so-called Bratislava Process or the Process of the Future of Europe. As a contribution to this process, the Ecologic Institute explored with different partners how climate policy can support this process and how climate policy can benefit from it. On June 13, the Ecologic Institute presented the project results in Berlin.Read more

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

Publication

Measures for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles

This study, commissioned by Greenpeace, analyses a range of existing measures that have a direct impact on the increased uptake of electric passenger cars with respect to 1) the measures’ overall effectiveness in incentivising electric vehicles (EV purchases); 2) the ease of administering them; 3) affordability for governments; and 4) the consistency with other goals, mainly with the goal of reducing traffic. The study is available for download.Read more

Publication

Statement of the Expert Commission for the "Energy of the Future" Monitoring on the Second Progress Report of the German Government

In June 2019, the joint statement of the Expert Commission on the second progress report of the German government was published. Ecologic Institute provides scientific support to the work of the Expert Commission with a focus on the key topics that the Expert Commission selected for their joint statement.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Water

Meat and Soy Products: Comparison of environmental effects

This infographic compares the environmental effects of meat and soy products. It visualises that, with the same protein content, considerably more land, water and fossil energy is used for the production of meat than for the production of soy-based vegetable products. The infographic is licensed under a Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 4.0, i. e. it can be used without any changes, if the author is mentioned.Read more

Event

Planning for 2050 – Conference

TimeLoc

23 May 2019

Brussels

Belgium

Speaker

Dr. Camilla Bausch

Matthias Duwe

The conference "Planning for 2050", organised by Ecologic Institute, will take place on 23 May 2019 in Brussels. It takes stock of the experience with long-term climate strategies gained in Europe and presents lessons learnt as well as challenges encountered in different Member States – and seeks to connect them to the EU's own overall 2050 vision. It is based on insights, conversations and contacts made through a set of dialogue meetings held under the "Climate Recon 2050" project, which brought together policymakers and technical experts involved in long-term strategies from around the EU. A conference brochure, summarising insights from the Climate Recon 2050 project, is available online.Read more

Publication

Long-term Climate Strategies in Europe: Experience from National and EU-wide 2050 Climate Planning

This case study, prepared by Ecologic Institute and published by World Resources Institute (WRI) describes the status quo and relevant recent developments at the EU and national levels on long-term climate strategies, detailing relevant insights on legal obligations, specific features, existing challenges, and potential future processes. The case study, written by Ecologic Institute's Matthias Duwe and Ewa Iwaszuk, is available for download.Read more

Publication

Planning for Net-zero: Assessing the Draft National Energy and Climate Plans

A report by Ecologic Institute and Climact shows that the draft National Energy and Climate Plans presented by governments at the start of 2019 are in acute need of improvement. They suffer from inadequate targets and insufficient details on the policies and financing needed to move towards net-zero emission economies in Europe. Member States also need to do better in involving their national stakeholders in providing input to the plans, to benefit from their expertise and to get them on board for future policies. The report is available for download.Read more

Presentation

Legal Aspects of Big Data in the Energy Sector – Summer School Lecture

TimeLoc

15 May 2019

Potsdam

Germany

Christine Lucha

Lisa Meinecke

Ecologic Institute was asked by IASS to give a lecture on "Legal aspects of big data in the energy sector" at the ENavi Summer School 2019 on Digitalisation in the Energy Transition. Its participants consisted of persons with a strong interest in sustainability and energy topics at the beginning of their professional careers. The lecture presented the legal issues arising from the use of Big Data technologies in the context of energy supply.Read more

Event

Webinar

Energy

Public Diplomacy

Transatlantic Program

The Future of Coal – The Economics and Politics of the German Coal Phase Out

TimeLoc

14 May 2019

Online

Speaker

Benjamin Görlach

Matthias Duwe

In January 2019, a stakeholder commission established by the German government agreed upon a schedule to decommission coal-fired power plants by 2038 at the latest and a framework for financial assistance to regions affected by the transition. Environmental groups have argued for years that Germany will not get back on track to its climate targets if it does not tackle the coal question. However, as a historic ingredient of Germany's industrial might, coal as source of energy was considered taboo for policy-makers until recently. How did this major paradigm shift come about – and what made an agreement among different stakeholders possible?Read more