As the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol from 2008 to 2012 is drawing near, it is becoming evident that some countries will face major difficulties in fulfilling their commitments under the EU Burden Sharing Agreement, while other countries are already close to achieving their targets. What is the motivation of countries that carry out an effective climate policy, and how do countries that are far away from achieving their reduction targets justify their behaviour? In her essay on European climate policy, Helen Lückge looks at these questions from an economic point of view.

As part of the Annual Foreign Policy Conference 2005 of the Heinrich Boell Foundation on European Neighbourhood Policy, R. Andreas Kraemer moderated the session on "Free Tade and Environmental Partnership" on 3 June 2005.

Interwies, Eduard; Benjamin Görlach; Pierre Strosser et al. 2005: The Case for Valuation Studies in the Water Framework Directive.

The Impact of Climate Change on the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic was the theme of a an Expert Roundtable with Representatives of Circumpolar Indigenous Peoples moderated by R. Andreas Kraemer in the context of opening the new Canadian Embassy in Berlin. It was convened jointly by the Embassy of Canada in Berlin, in partnership with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ecologic, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat of the Arctic Council on 18 May 2005.

Between 1998 and 2004, Europe suffered more than 100 major flooding events, including the catastrophic floods along the Danube and Elbe rivers in the summer of 2002. In the wake of these events, the European Commission has embarked on the development of a European policy on flood risk management, resulting in a proposal for a floods Directive that was tabled in January 2006. This paper by Thomas Dworak and Benjamin Görlach tracks the development of the European approach to flood risk management and discusses future options for a European policy on floods.

Policy makers are increasingly in need of accurate and timely information in order to meet reporting requirements linked to environmental legislation. This paper explores the extent to which Earth Observation (EO) based services, addressed by the joint ESA and EC initiative "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES)", can contribute to meeting the special reporting requirements of the major European Union water policy, namely the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

A crucial factor for improving water management is the use of economic approaches and instruments. Eduard Interwies, Senior Fellow at Ecologic, illustrated the possible use of European experiences in the Mediterranean region.

With the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the European Union aims to redefine the relationships between itself and the new neighbours it acquired in the EU Enlargement of 2004. Economic integration remains at the heart of the ENP, but increased co-operation in the areas of environmental and energy policy is addressed as well. This Ecologic Newsletter by Sascha Müller-Kraenner examines this important issue and also surveys questions that the EU and its new neighbours will need to address together.

The printed edition of the handbook "Learning together to manage together – improving participation in water management" was published in January 2006. Ecologic actively contributed to the development of the handbook, which is one of the main outputs of the European project Harmonising Collaborative Planning (HarmoniCOP).

In order to meet reporting requirements linked to environmental legislation, policy makers are increasingly in need of accurate and timely information on water quality. This paper explores how and to what extent new monitoring devices can help European Union members meet the special requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Görlach, B., R. Landgrebe-Trinkunaite, E. Interwies, M. Bouzit, D. Darmendrail and J.-D. Rinaudo (2004): Assessing the Economic Impact of Soil Degradation. Volume IV: Executive Summary. Study commissioned by The European Commisson, DG Environment, Sudy Contract ENV.B.1/ETU/2003/0024. Berlin: Ecologic

2004: Deliverable 5 - EUROMARKET Water Liberalisaion Scenarios - Identification and Description of Plausible Water Liberalisation Scenarios. IDD/IHE/EPFL/Paris VIII/Delft UT/ENGREF/University Bocconi/Ecologic/UCL/University of Zaragoza.

Görlach, B., R. Landgrebe-Trinkunaite, E. Interwies, M. Bouzit, D. Darmendrail and J.-D. Rinaudo (2004): Assessing the Economic Impact of Soil Degradation. Volume IV: Executive Summary. Study commissioned by The European Commisson, DG Environment, Sudy Contract ENV.B.1/ETU/2003/0024. Berlin: Ecologic