In this presentation, Ecologic Institute's International Climate Protection Fellow Mario Alejandro Delgado Galarraga reviews whether the evolution of Rights of Nature in America has influenced International Environmental Law, especially at a Regional level. It appraise and contrast national legal conducts with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' Advisory Opinion "OC-23/17" (Environment and Human Rights). Thus, it centre on Comparative Law and International Environmental Law. The presentation was held during the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2021.

Coasts and seas both are characterized by intense social-ecological interactions, recently the industrial appropriation of coasts worldwide and oceans as a waste disposal site for port industries and land-based production facilities. In September, White Horse Press' transdisciplinary history journal Global Environment published a special issue dedicated to Coastal Cities and their struggle for coping mechanism to the recent crisis. The special issue was edited by Ecologic Institute and starts with an introductory chapter on the more-than-ever-growing need to consider different ideas, narratives and power relations of coastal and maritime actors and groups in order to shape a coastal management that is ecologically and socially sustainable.

Space and water heating accounts for almost one third of the European final energy consumption. Thus, the sector needs special attention in the decarbonisation process. This study aims to provide a better information basis for policy design targeting decarbonisation of the space and water heating sector.

In EU policy, the textile value chain is currently in the focus of efforts to build a circular economy. Textile recycling in the EU is still in its infancy, although promising innovative technologies are about to enter the market. How can policy support the industrial uptake of textile recycling? This was topic of a webinar held on 31 August 2021. Members of Ecologic Institute's Circular Economy Team presented policy recommendations to the European Commission to enhance systems for the collection, sorting and recycling of textile waste - and to create a market for recycled textiles.

From 16 August to 10 September 2021, the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) convened the first ICAP Online ETS Academy. The Academy consisted of four modules (ETS basics, ETS implementation, policy & politics of emissions trading, global & regional action on emissions trading) of one week each. These modules were designed as self-contained learning units, focusing on different aspects of ETS design and implementation, and progressing from basic to intermediate to advanced. Applicants could apply for one, two or three modules. 40-45 carefully selected professionals from the public, nongovernmental, academic and private sectors participated in each module. Participants came from 35 different countries from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. The course offered participants an opportunity to deepen their understanding of ETS design and implementation and provided illustration through hands-on examples, practical experience and case studies.

With the purpose of providing scientific evidence to support the development of a policy framework for renewable energy communities in Eastern European Member States, this article compares key factors for the development of such communities in Bulgaria and Germany, combining a literature review with expert interviews to collect primary information on Bulgaria.

This UNITED project report deals with the development of an environmental assessment framework to determine the ecological feasibility of multi-use platforms. This assessment framework is based on the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and applies an integrated cumulative effects assessment (iCEA) in the scoping and identification phases of key impacts. The report aims to assess the added environmental value ("benefits") of multi-use in the marine environment.

Christiane Gerstetter, Senior Fellow in Ecologic Institute's Legal Team, examines in this book how the dispute settlement bodies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have decided non-trade cases. These are cases in which national measures that serve non-trade objectives such as environmental and health protection are under judicial scrutiny.

Bueb, Benedict, Tröltzsch, Jenny, Reichwein, David, Oldenburg, Clara, Favero, Fausto (2021): Case Studies of Sustainable Adaptation Pathways. Appendix to the Paper "Towards Sustainable Adaptation Pathways: A concept for integrative actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework". Climate Change | 48/2021. Dessau-Roßlau: Umweltbundesamt

The devastating flash floods and forest fires in Europe in summer 2021 have highlighted the need for stronger linking disaster risk management with climate adaptation efforts. This report introduces the concept of Sustainable Adaptation Pathways that can act as guidance when planning and implementing integrated policies to foster adaptation measures in line with disaster risk reduction efforts and sustainable development.

A few days after the US and Germany agreed to launch a new climate and energy partnership, Dr. Bausch (Director of Ecologic Institute) and Samantha Gross (Director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings) were invited to discuss new dynamics, opportunities and challenges presented by transatlantic climate cooperation.

In this analysis, Ecologic Institute focused on four product streams: plastic/packaging, waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), batteries and textiles to investigate the four cross-sectional aspects: modulation criteria, size of the fees, cost coverage and revenue use. The analysis suggests a systemic change in EPR and ecomodulation of fees is required which is more focused on waste prevention measures.

On 7 July 2021, Ecologic Institute organized an online event to discuss insights on Sustainable Adaptation Pathways gained in the project "Joint implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement". The panel discussion was moderated by Camilla Bausch, Director of Ecologic Institute and took place as a virtual event parallel to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2021 of the United Nations.

Kemper, Melanie, Jan-Erik Thie 2021: Website Concept for 4i-TRACTION. 4i-traction.eu. Berlin, July 2021, unpublished.

Across Europe, national climate advisory bodies exist in many shapes and forms. Most countries have one or more such institutions. While many of the existing advisory bodies bring together a range of stakeholders and cover a broad range of sustainability issues, over the past five years there has been a surge in the creation of independent scientific councils, dedicated to climate policy.