No international regime operates in complete isolation from other regimes and the wider body of international law. Conflicts and tensions, but also potential synergies, are inevitable consequences of regime coexistence. Such interactions are particularly apparent in the case of the climate regime, which is analysed in this article in relation to the international law on biodiversity protection and free trade.

The article by Dr. Camilla Bausch and Jonathan Donehower analyses the flexible mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol used by the international community to fight rising carbon emissions. The most prominent example of regional implementation of emissions trading, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), is presented in detail with an outlook on potential future improvements.

The Water Framework Directive acts as a driver for integrated water management in EU member states. In this paper, Eleftheria Kampa, Fellow at Ecologic, and Hans Bressers, Professor at the University of Twente, use a conceptual framework from institutional resource regime theory to characterize and explain the development of the Greek national water regime in terms of integration. The article was published in the Journal "Water Policy" 10/5.

In a Discussion Paper for the German Development Institute (DIE), Sascha Müller-Kraenner analyses the energy-related foreign policies of China and India, both "anchor countries" with fast-growing economies. Their quest for energy security as well as climate policy have become defining elements of both countries' foreign policies, a fact that the EU and the US must respond to.

Internationally, the European Union has been acknowledged as a forerunner in the adoption and implementation of sustainable energy and climate policies. But despite remarkable successes, the EU has also encountered serious difficulties on its way – yielding important learning experiences. In their reflection on "Climate and Energy – Lessons Learned: The European Perspective", Michael Mehling and Dr. Camilla Bausch outline the history and present of climate policy efforts in Europe, and identify the most important lessons that can be drawn from the European experience.

Raggamby, Anneke von and Olympia Papadopoulou 2008: "A Review of Dissemination Activities in the Duration of the Project", in: GEM-CON-BIO. Governance and Ecosystems Management for the Conservation of Biodiversity. Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 253-255.

Naumann, Sandra and Anneke von Raggamby 2008: "Biosphere Reserve Schorfheide-Chorin", in: GEM-CON-BIO. Governance and Ecosystems Management for the Conservation of Biodiversity. Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 114-116.

More and more instruments require the internalisation of greenhouse gas emissions costs. Yet, it is very unlikely that a single global price for carbon will prevail. A frequently voiced concern is that states with stringent climate policies will place domestic industries at a disadvantage relative to competitors in states with less ambitious climate efforts. In this chapter, published in the briefing paper "Competitive distortions and leakage in a world of different carbon prices" for the European Parliament, the Ecologic authors Michael Mehling, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf und Ralph Czarnecki analyse restrictive trade measures to offset the regulatory burden of climate policies, particularly border adjustments, from a legal point of view.

Germany's population is shrinking. While a growing population has long been understood as a threat to the environment, a shrinking population does not automatically improve the environmental situation. But what are the environmental sustainability implications of demographic trends in Germany? In their publication "Demographic Change and Sustainability: A Generational Balance", R. Andreas Kraemer, Daniel Blobel, Anneke von Raggamby and Doris Knoblauch develop approaches for a generational balance in selected areas, namely natural resource use (energy supply, settlement and transport) and nature conservation.

Corruption in the development sector had been a ‘no issue’ until the beginning 1990s. It was assumed that safeguards and controls were put in place somehow and that corruption could cause nothing worse than costs on top of development aid projects. Evidence has since been gathered that shows the lack of access to clean water supply, sanitation and sustainable ecological development is not due to a lack of natural resources nor of technical solutions: It is a crisis of governance. Grit Martinez, Fellow at Ecologic, and Kathleen Shordt elaborate the role and responsibilities of donors in the fight against corruption in the water sector.

Past energy policies are largely to blame for climate change, and now, more than ever, the security implications demand a transformation of energy systems and infrastructure. In this commentary, R. Andreas Kraemer, Director of Ecologic, argues that such a transformation would be possible both technically and economically, but that it requires political will and coordinated action and would need to be accompanied by reform of international institutions.

The participation requirements (§14) of the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) launched, for the first time, a broader discussion about participatory approaches in water management. Still, the demand for policies, which are oriented toward the public and public participation, is nothing new. Many forms of participation have been known and tested since the 70s and 80s. Most of them emerged from city and regional planning projects and discussions. In this book, the INTERREG III B project "RhineNet" presents its experiences based on its own as well as external case studies regarding the participation requirements of the WFD in the Rhine basin area.

Ecologic, together with IÖW – Institute for Ecological Economy Research, will host a summer school on Methods and Tools for Impact Assessment from 16 - 20 June this year in Berlin. The summer school addresses young scientists and consultants from European institutes who are involved in sustainable development and environmental research and want to improve their knowledge and skills in impact assessment. The programme combines input lectures with practical training sessions on relevant methods, such as stakeholder participation, scenario building, multi-criteria analysis, and cost-benefit analysis.