Join the SPRINT Horizon 2020 project's final conference, "Shaping the Future of Sustainable Plant Protection," on 25 June 2025 in Brussels or online. This free, one-day event will present research on the health and environmental impacts of pesticides, introduce the new SPRINT Toolbox for risk assessment, and explore policy tools to support a transition to reduced reliance on pesticides. Space for in-person attendance is limited – register early to secure your spot.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), with the support of Agencia Estatal de Meteorologia, is organising a workshop dedicated to the use of climate data and services in Spain. The workshop will take place on Wednesday, 4 June 2025.

The Directorate-General for Climate Action of the European Commission invites selected stakeholders to a half-day workshop in Brussels focused on the design of a purchasing programme for CRCF Permanent Carbon Removal Credits.

Together with five other EU-funded initiatives, the SCALE-UP project will host the European Rural Circular Bioeconomy Conference (EuRCBC), taking place on 13–14 May in Brussels. This two-day event brings together key stakeholders from local communities, policymaking, industry, and rural regions to explore the approaches and strategies implemented across the six projects.

In the workshop we will explore resources such as a comprehensive guidance on developing ambitious local long-term climate neutrality strategies, present insights from working with small and medium-sized pilot municipalities in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia to support their progress towards reaching climate neutrality and discuss ways forward for local climate action in the EU in the current dynamic political context.

This review explores the potential synergies between marine conservation and climate adaptation strategies, which are critical for addressing climate change impacts in European coastal and marine areas. The article, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, identifies and evaluates integrated approaches that support both marine ecosystem protection and climate adaptation.

On 14 April 2025, 80 municipal representatives, researchers and urban planning experts came together to explore practical approaches to mitigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. The workshop featured case studies from Athens, Milan, and Vienna, highlighting local adaptation strategies, analytical tools, and implementation mechanisms that support urban resilience.

A new paper by the Ecologic Institute and Oeko-Institut discusses how to design climate target for Member States. The paper explores seven options how to best design national climate targets for the time after 2030. This paper is available for download.

We are pleased to invite you to the Ready4NetZero Final Conference: "Climate Transition of Cities – From Planning to Action", an international event dedicated to the knowledge exchange on climate neutrality strategies in cities.

This report presents the conclusions of the study titled "Macro-economic / Top-down Assessment of Climate Impacts on the EU Economy." Commissioned to assist the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), the study explores how climate change-induced hazards may influence the EU's socio-economic landscape. Its central aim is to deliver both qualitative and quantitative perspectives on the broader macro-economic effects of significant climate hazards. It also investigates how these climate-related shocks ripple through different sectors of the economy. By compiling and analysing relevant data, the study provides a knowledge base to help the European Commission assess how such impacts could potentially challenge the EU’s ability to meet its climate mitigation objectives.

A new analysis of 22 updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) shows that many EU Member States are falling short of the bloc’s 2030 climate targets. The study, led by Ecologic Institute in collaboration with the New Climate Institute and Reform Institute, identifies critical gaps in both ambition and implementation across key areas.

On 25 March 2025, Ecologic Institute hosted an online workshop as part of the EU-funded 3-CO project, bringing together 21 participants from across Europe to discuss how policy can better support social innovation. The discussion centered on key barriers and policy recommendations, grouped into two areas: financial & regulatory and collaboration & networking challenges.

Three years have already flown away, and it is time to look back at our achievements. The final conference of the NICHES project took place online on 24 March 2025. This one-day event provided an overview of the project's innovative work, focusing on the progress toward advancing nature-based transformations of urban water systems. Together with renowned international experts in panel discussions and keynote speeches, we discussed approaches to NBS implementation and governance.

On 17 March 2025, Doris Knoblauch (Ecologic Institute) gave a presentation on "Plastics and the Environment", highlighting the negative impacts of plastics and plastic pollution at a post-graduate course attended by 21 experts from ministries, authorities, municipalities, NGOs and industry from low-income countries and emerging economies. The focus was on why plastic pollution is a problem for both the environment and human health, the role of textiles, and why we urgently need an international, legally binding plastics treaty.

Plastic pollution has become a severe global crisis, posing grave threats to the environment, human health, and sustainable development. Driven by unchecked plastic production, the problem worsens through the entire lifecycle of plastics—from creation to disposal—releasing not only large debris but also microscopic particles, monomers, and thousands of chemical additives. These pollutants travel worldwide via air and water currents, damaging ecosystems and wildlife, including marine species that suffer from entanglement, ingestion, and toxicity. This editorial is part of a Special Issue "An effective plastic treaty for marine life".