Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow of Ecologic Institute, held an online speech at the 8th International Forum on Environmental Rule of Law "Climate Change and Carbon Neutral Legal System: International Metropolitan Dialogue" on 6 November 2023 in Shanghai. He gave an overview of Germany's Federal Climate Change Act (KSG), its impact in Germany, and the current revision of the KSG.

As governments engage in final preparations for COP28 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Presidency continues to prioritise its Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda. The aim to have governments at COP28 commit to integrating sustainable agriculture in their national climate agendas is welcome, timely and essential. But, it would need to be part of a larger effort to modernise agricultural policy, particularly with respect to agricultural subsidies and the role of private sector collaboration. This policy brief highlights priority areas in moving from political declarations to concrete action.

This report answers a selection of questions raised by participants of a series of nine online workshops organized on behalf of PtX Hub International by Ecologic Institute, in collaboration with Oeko-Institut and adelphi between March and September 2023. In each workshop, between 20 and 120 stakeholders from the following countries took part: Colombia, Uruguay and Chile, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Jordan, India and Vietnam. The paper complements our previous briefing 'EU requirements for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives', which provides an in-depth systematic analysis of the contents of these two delegated acts.

Discover valuable insights from the collaboration of the ALL-Ready Pilot Network, which included 20 members across 13 partner countries. This factsheet offers essential recommendations, derived from the challenges of the pilot project, for establishing the European Network of Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures.

Utility-scale solar photovoltaics and onshore wind are now the cheapest sources of new power in most countries, and according to a 2022 report by the International Energy Agency, renewables will account for over 90% of global electricity expansion over the next five years. To support the rapid change to renewables, dramatic changes in energy infrastructure such as grids are also needed.

The 88th UNEP/UNESCO/BMUV International Short Course held at the TU Dresden focused on Nature-based Solutions (NBS) to emerging water challenges. The seminar featured several contributions over a period of three weeks, including a presentation from Ecologic Institute Fellows Gregory Fuchs and Dr. Benjamin Kupilas on the concept of NBS and relevant international and European policy frameworks for implementing NBS.

This webinar series explored how agroecology (including organic farming) and sustainable food consumption can enable a transition to climate friendly and resilient agri-food systems in Central Eastern Europe, while also addressing the biodiversity crisis and the economic crisis in agriculture. In each webinar, views on different elements of a transition to climate friendly and resilient agri-food systems were illustrated and exchanged, based on agroecology. Insights from research and practical examples were highlighted, followed by an exchange and networking among the participants.

At the occasion of the 10th Anniversary Edition of the European Urban Resilience Forum, Ecologic Institute's Doris Knoblauch gave two presentations, showcasing insights both of the CLEVER Cities project as well as the INTERLACE project.

Ecosystem restoration is gaining momentum in science and policy as a process that can jointly tackle biodiversity loss, climate change and other societal challenges. The human and social dimensions of restoration projects however, often insufficiently considered. The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) hosted a hybrid workshop entitled Making people part of ecosystem restoration in Europe from 17 to 19 October 2023 to explore this topic. McKenna Davis, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a keynote presentation on "Creating enabling conditions for ecosystem restoration: Tools and guidelines for local impact".

On 16 October 2023, Doris Knoblauch (Ecologic Institute) gave a lecture on "Plastics, green urban environments and local climate protection" at a postgraduate course, where 19 experts from ministries, authorities, municipalities, non-governmental organizations and industry from low-income countries and emerging economies were represented and exchanged. The focus was on showing how the triple crisis – plastics pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change – are intertwined and reinforce each other, and what role cities could play in tackling this triple crisis.

The European Regions Research and Innovation Network's (ERRIN) Blue Economy Working Group held a hybrid meeting entitled "Water issues in the era of climate change" on 5 October 2023. McKenna Davis, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute and Coordinator of Nature-based Solutions, was invited to hold the keynote presentation to set the scene. Her contribution – entitled "Nature-based solutions in European policy: A framework for enhancing local action" – introduced the variety of nature-based solutions available for water management, current research focusing on these solutions (including the Ecologic-led NICHES project), the surrounding EU policy framework, and examples of enabling local policy instruments from the Urban Governance Atlas.

This report elaborates the main challenges faced by water management institutions in implementing e-flows in EU Member States, presents country progress in developing relevant good practices and presents relevant implementation examples.

The CLEVER Cities Guidance online platform developed by Ecologic Institute features insights, tools, indicators and lessons learned about nature-based solutions (NBS) emerging out of the CLEVER Cities project and its nine partner cities. Filling a gap in available resources, the Guidance focuses on (1) policy and planning strategies, (2) how to generate and measure social impacts of NBS, and (3) approaches for co-creation and engaging stakeholders.

The CLEVER Cities project's final conference "Nature in the City – Advancing social impact through nature-based solutions (NBS)" was held on 26 and 27 September 2023. McKenna Davis, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, moderated the session "Putting Theory into Practice: Mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions into Policy". The session explored the fundamental question: How can we integrate NBS into the fabric of urban policy and governance to bridge the gap between theory and action?