The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) report aims to assess whether Europe is meeting the goals of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The authors, among them scientists at Ecologic Institute, argue that the European Union is not on a path to fulfill its ambition of achieving sustainable use of its seas; despite being fully capable to do so using the current array of existing policies and knowledge. The report is available for download.

On 22 June 2015, Eleftheria Kampa, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute gave a presentation on the German Forum on fish protection and downstream migration at the 5th International Fish Passage Conference in the Netherlands. In her presentation, she illustrated how the Forum has been a successful instrument for participation and improving acceptance for measures on fish protection and downstream migration, which are a topic of intensive and often controversial discussions in recent years in Germany. The presentation slides are available for download.

In the debates about the new climate and energy framework for 2030 and the proposed Energy Union, the European Commission and the Council call for increased regional cooperation between Member States. In addition to strengthening the internal market, this cooperation is meant to facilitate the implementation of the EU 2030 energy efficiency and renewable targets. Both are defined for the Union as a whole, but not for single Memeber States. On 17 June 2015, Katharina Umpfenbach presented the working paper "Regional cooperation in the context of the new 2030 energy governance" in Berlin that takes a closer look at the existing landscape of regional institutions in the European electricity sector to explore their potential contribution to an effective furture governance framework. The presentation is available for download.

The European Council decided to develop a "reliable and transparent governance system" for the 2030 EU climate and energy policy framework. The European Commission proposed a number of details of the new governance framework. However, neither the European Council nor the Commission specified the relationship between relevant legislation, up-coming legislative processes and this new governance system. Against this backdrop, this paper discusses options and requirements for an effective governance framework for climate and energy policy beyond 2020. The discussion paper is available for download.

Tröltzsch, Jenny; Daniel Blobel; Martin Peter et. al. (2015): Development of a Tool for the Prioritisation of Measures and Policy Instruments for Climate Adaptation. Poster.

Three leading Australian journalists participated in a study tour on "Climate and Energy Policy in Germany" in Berlin, from 13 until 18 June 2015. Ecologic Institute designed and organised the tour on behalf of the Foreign Office.

The Energy Union is a central project of the European Union. The aim is to build an integrated energy market that provides secure, affordable and sustainable energy to all European citizens. On 10 June 2015, Katharina Umpfenbach discussed options for implementing the Energy Union with stakeholders from central and eastern Europe at a conference jointly organised by the Prague Institute for Global Policy (glopolis), the Delegation of the European Commission to the Czech Republic and the Heinrich Böll Foundation Prague. In her contribution, Katharina Umpfenbach emphasised the opportunities of putting decarbonisation at the heart of the Energy Union. Renewable energies and energy efficiency have enormous potential to replace costly energy imports and drive innovation in the EU.

From 1 June to 11 June 2015, the meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies for the UN climate negotiations in the lead up to COP21 took place in Bonn (Germany). Members of the CECILIA2050 consortium hosted a side event entitled "Improving Europe's Climate Policy Toolbox to Reach the 2050 Low-Carbon Targets: Insights from the CECILIA2050 Project."

Multiple international environmental agreements govern countries' treatment and protection of their natural resources and environment. The treaties have different requirements for the Parties to report on the implementation, e.g., regulations, policies, strategies, etc. However, to date there has been no comprehensive assessment regarding implementation of these agreements on the national level. The Global Environmental Governance Project, spearheaded by Prof. Dr. Maria Ivanova, Associate Professor of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at University of Massachusetts Boston, aims to fill this knowledge gap.

What is climate change adaptation? How can we best approach implementing it across Europe? What lessons can we learn from people already working on adaptation today? In this video from the BASE project, four young reporters from the fictional 'BASE Broadcast Studio' interview a group of 'adaptation professionals' from across Europe, to learn more.

The AQUACROSS website provides information on the AQUACROSS project, approach and case studies. Project outputs such as deliverables, policy briefs and publications are regularly promoted on the website. Ecologic Institute is responsible for the concept, design and programming.

Tröltzsch, Jenny; Manuel Lago; Josselin Rouillard et. al. (2015): Reviewing the Use of Non-monetary Metrics/Weights for Use in Decision-making of Adaptation to Climate Change Projects. Poster.

In the article "Why do we decide to live with risk at the coast?" recently published in "Ocean and Coastal Management", Dr. Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute and Susana Costas and Prof. Oscar Ferreira of the University of Algarve explore risk perception in a community found in the vulnerable coastal region, Praia de Faro, on the southern coast of Portugal. The study addresses the identification of factors shaping risk perception and the reasons leading to settlement of high-risk coastal areas.

Grünig, Max et al. 2015: Milesecure 2050 Deliverable 3.2 - Report Describing Scenarios for Societal Energy Transition. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.

The objective of this report was to establish a starting position for potential advances in DRR strategies through review, data collection and historical analysis. In particular, the report reviewed (supra-)national DRR management plans for all CSs and analysed large-scale historical events to derive lessons-learned at RISC-KIT European CSs in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Italy, and France. Large-scale events like tropical cyclones and hurricanes were also analysed for Bangladesh and the USA. An interdisciplinary approach drawing on the physical, economic, social and historical sciences was used to ensure that all aspects relevant to the project were considered.