The third policy brief of the EU-funded research project "Climate Change, Hydro-conflicts and Human Security" (CLICO) presents preliminary results on the relationship between climate change and conflicts related to water in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Sahel region. The policy brief, written by Christiane Gerstetter and Rodrigo Vidaurre of Ecologic Institute, and a summary in eight different languages are available for download.

Werner, Beate; Robert Collins et. al. 2012: Towards efficient use of water resources in Europe. EEA Report | No 1/2012, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen.

In this paper, researchers from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Ecologic Institute propose that a more decentralized governance structure is one possible solution for dealing with complex problems. The authors argue that highly complex problems, such as achieving sustainable development, are better solved by networks of diverse actors interacting and collaborating both inside and outside of government - what the authors call "governance networks". Such collaboration would make solutions more effective at the implementation stage. The report is available for download.

This empirical report presents the four case studies of the InContext project: GELA - GEmeinsam LAndwirtschaften, a community-supported agriculture project and Thursday Veggie Day, an initiative to reduce meat consumption, and Municipal Energy Transition Process and Emission-Zero cooperative, two projects for citizen-led investments in renewable energies. The study is available for download.

Binda Zane, Edoardo; R. Brückmann, D. Bauknecht, F. Jirouš, R. Piria, N. Trennepohl, J. Bracker, R, Frank and J. Herling (2012): Integration of electricity from renewables to the electricity grid and to the electricity market – RES-INTEGRATION. Öko-Institut & eclareon, Freiburg/Berlin.

A workshop co-organized by Ecologic Institute in Annapolis, Maryland investigated how the public's view of climate change can influence local government's ability to adapt to climate change. It was a part of the exchange activities of the RADOST project (Regional Adaptation Strategies for the German Baltic Sea Coast) with partner regions in the USA. The examples provided at the workshop focused on the coastal zones of the US state of Maryland and the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein.

In order to meet its renewable energy targets by 2020, the EU is likely to increase its demand for biomass, not only for biofuel crops but also for woody biomass. A significant portion of this biomass will likely come from developing countries, particularly those in West and Central Africa, as well as Latin American countries. This demand can have significant negative impacts in these developing regions, including environmental degradation and threats to food security. In this brief for the European Parliament, researchers at Ecologic Institute (Stefanie Wunder, Timo Kaphengst, Krista Timeus and Kristine Berzins) analyze some of those main impacts, focusing particularly on woody biomass. The study is available for download.

The EU-funded research project "Climate Change, Hydro-conflicts and Human Security" (CLICO) investigates how climate change influences water, human security, and conflicts in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and the Sahel region. Ecologic Institute recently published a working paper written by Elizabeth Tedsen that examines current initiatives of the European Union and United Nations relating to these themes of climate, water, human security, and conflict.

The Committee of the Regions is engaged in the monitoring of the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy from the perspective of regional development and cohesion. This short survey by the Committee of the Regions serves the collection of opinion and feedback regarding the Europe 2020 initiatives for social change and innovation in the regions and EU Member States. Ecologic Institute and RIMAS are analysing the results in a ten-page report. The report is available for download.

On 9-10 February 2012, DG Environment of the European Commission organized the 2nd Stakeholder Workshop for the Fitness Check of EU Freshwater Policy in Brussels. Lessons learned from this workshop contribute to the design and assessment of policy options for the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources. Eleftheria Kampa and Johanna von der Weppen contributed to the workshop conclusions. The conclusions are available for download.

In preparation for the Rio+20 conference, which took place in June 2012, the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) published a guide for citizens. The publication discusses trends and statistics concerning sustainable development from the viewpoint of Anne, a 17 year old student. Anne seeks answers to everyday questions and tries to find out if Europe has actually moved towards sustainable development over the past 20 years.