In their policy paper for the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation’s Dialogue on Globalization section, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf and Christiane Gerstetter of Ecologic Legal, shed light on the most important aspects of the relationship between trade and climate change policies. They investigate which trade-related policies should be adopted to combat climate change and review the compatibility of those measures with the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Particular attention is given to issues that are of relevance to developing countries. The first focus of the paper is on the transfer of climate-friendly technologies to developing countries.

Emissions trading systems emerging in the United States offer the opportunity of a future trading link to the European carbon market. While such a link promises more efficient allocation of resources in a larger and more liquid market, differences in the design of trading systems can undermine the effectiveness of the linked trading systems. The study is available for download.

"A New Transatlantic Partnership" is the theme of the first issue in 2009 of the Global Edition of the journal "Internationale Politik" (IP Global Edition), published by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). R. Andreas Kraemer contributed a preview of the possibilities for future cooperation between the US and Europe both on climate and energy policy for jointly meeting the transformational challenges ahead and on the Arctic, where the future of international relations may well be decided.

Valuing both the environment and the changes in the level of environmental quality is of central importance to environmental policy formulation, as it puts the costs of obtaining certain environmental goals into perspective. In this article, which was published in the December 2008 issue of "Ökologisches Wirtschaften", Holger Gerdes and Anneke von Raggamby propose a methodology to assess the policy impacts of environmental valuations.

This brochure provides a general survey and overview of the range of topics addressed by the Ecologic Institute. It includes examples of relevant events and projects, and key financial information. The brochure captures the essence of the Ecologic Institute at a crucial time in our development. The past years have brought consistent growth, increasing diversification, strong management, and the establishment of a number of offices and subsidiaries.

The final symposium of the PICCMAT project (Policy Incentives for Climate Change Mitigation Agricultural Techniques) on 28 October 2008 in Brussels generated high interest among stakeholders. The agricultural sector will be under increased pressure in the future to contribute to the realization of ambitious climate change mitigation targets. Almost 90 participants from the farming, policy and scientific communities engaged in discussions on potential ways forward. The PICCMAT policy recommendations are available for download.

This report, written as part of the Project PICCMAT (Policy Incentives for Climate Change Mitigation Agricultural Techniques), provides information on different mitigation practices and identifies priorities for policy action. Additionally, it describes current rural development, introducing options for the future European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The report is available for download.

Looking at the Amudarya river basin in Central Asia, Ecologic Institute's Nicole Kranz, Holger Gerdes and Cornelius Laaser elaborate in this article on how the NeWater project assists with the development of new water governance tools in transboundary river basins. The article was published in the Fall 2008 issue of Schlossplatz³ by the Hertie School of Governance.

<p>On 11 and 12 September 2008 in Berlin, Germany, Arctic TRANSFORM held an Expert Workshop, which brought together more than 50 experts on Arctic policy in the areas of environmental governance, indigenous peoples, hydrocarbons, shipping, and fisheries. The workshop was designed to examine policy options for confronting the rapid changes occurring in the Arctic. The workshop synthesis report summarises the key policy insights that emerged during the workshop. Emphasis is placed on cross-sectoral synergies, stakeholder participation, and governance options in the Arctic.</p>&#13;

This paper presents an overview of the existing institutional and legal framework relevant to environmental governance, as well as formal and informal governance structures in the Arctic marine area. It highlights the complexity of approaches applicable at the local, regional and international scales, rather than identifying gaps in governance at the sectoral scale. The background paper is available for download.

This background paper, prepared by the Arctic Centre in September 2008 as part of the Arctic TRANSFORM project addresses the magnitude of current oil and gas activities in the offshore Arctic and outlines the potential environmental, social and economic consequences of the offshore hydrocarbon activities. It examines the international legal framework for offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic, including transboundary environmental assessment of oil and gas activities and addresses the current policy context in offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic.

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 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.