This paper provides three recommendations to improve the public acceptance of bio-based products and processes. These recommendations are accompanied by concrete actions and good practice examples, based on stakeholder feedback received during the BIOBRIDGES project (2018-2020), relevant results of other EU-funded projects, as well as the results of a targeted literature review.

Plastics are all around us and make up an essential part of our daily lives. How much do we know about this material, its variety, the associated environmental problems and possible solutions? The quiz "Plastics in the environment - What do you know?" invites you to test your knowledge around the topic of plastics in five categories. Furthermore, the category "Questions for adults & children" contains questions suited for children.

Ecologic Institute has recently launched the Diagnostic Water Governance Tool, which is aimed at both water governance practitioners and researchers around the world. The tool provides a diagnosis of case-specific water governance as well as recommendations for appropriate instruments, with a focus on coordination and cooperation improvement.

This video gives a short introduction to the Diagnostic Water Governance Tool, a comprehensive diagnostic tool to support an integrated management approach in watersheds. Based on the data users enter for their particular case, they not only receive a diagnosis, but also case-specific recommendations for instruments to improve coordination in water management. Practitioners from water administration and management as well as development cooperation and consultancy, but also researchers are the target group of the tool and are invited to try it out.

With 2020 drawing to a close, Dr. Camilla Bausch was invited to contribute to "The World in 2021". This publication is an annual end-of-year publication by ISPI, a leading foreign policy think tank in Italy, on trends, crises and 10 key "questions" that are relevant for the upcoming year.

Invited by the Indian Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), McKenna Davis (Ecologic Institute) joined the "International Knowledge Conclave on Green Infrastructure" and presented on 'Policy instruments to promote urban nature-based solutions in Europe'. She focused on the range of policy, planning and financial instruments relevant for nature-based solution design, implementation and maintenance within a European context. Her presentation slides and a guidance document she co-authored are available for download.

The Climate Action Regulation (CAR aka Effort Sharing Regulation) regulates 57 % of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the EU cannot achieve its new climate targets without major contributions from the sectors regulated by the CAR. This makes reforming the CAR one of the EU's most important legislative processes in 2021. There are various ideas about how to turn the CAR into a strong driver for achieving the EU's climate targets. This Ecologic Institute paper discusses these ideas, and makes proposals for reform.

National framework laws represent the most concrete form in which climate governance systems are being established. Globally, the number of such framework laws is growing, with the majority arising around the time of the adoption of the Paris Agreement or shortly thereafter – especially those that include a long-term time horizon (e.g., 2050). Even without a detailed empirical analysis, arguably there has been an evident 'Paris momentum' behind the spread of these national climate laws. In chapter 2 "‘Paris Compatible’ Climate Change Acts? National Framework Legislation in an International World" of the book "National Climate Change Acts. The Emergence, Form and Nature of National Framework Climate Legislation", Matthias Duwe and Dr. Ralph Bodle show how national climate policy is at least partly determined by obligations at the supranational level, in particular of the European Union (EU), and at the international level.

Diffuse pollution is one of the key reasons European water bodies are failing to meet environmental objectives as specified in the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Outbreaks of toxic green algae affect rivers, lakes and coastal waters creating so-called "dead zones" where no aquatic life can thrive. Such outbreaks are by-products of dangerously increasing nutrient levels in water. Nutrient and soil losses have been recognised as challenges for decades across Europe and have been a key driver for freshwater biodiversity losses. With climate change, these challenges are likely to get worse: higher temperatures, lower river flows and more frequent and more violent flooding events. Other human-induced changes (such as dams and weirs) have modified the course of rivers and affected their natural flows.

A robust framework is a precondition for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050. Such framework includes, for example, enhanced gross reduction targets for 2030, emission budgets, independent scientific climate advisory bodies, phasing out fossil fuel subsides, and strong support to ensure a just transition in Member States. The spread between national targets from currently 0 % to 40 % should be scaled up, taking into account previous individual emission reduction performance and national capabilities.

The ICAP online ETS Workshop conducted with focus on Latin America under the theme "Emissions Trading in Latin America: Developments on the Ground, Role for Cooperation" was held virtually from 8 to 10 December 2020, convened by the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) and co-organized by the Ecologic Institute, Get2C and ICF.

CIRCASA 2020. Deliverable D3.1: "Strategic Research Agenda on soil organic carbon in agricultural soils." European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme grant agreement No 774378 – Coordination of International Research Cooperation on soil CArbon Sequestration in Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.15454/LSWRDG

Published by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences a new book deals with the reduction of food loss and waste globally. It includes an article that sums up results of the EU research project REFRESH, and in particular the work on policies to reduce consumer food waste, lead by the Ecologic Institute. The book is available for download.

In the wake of Joe Biden's election as 46th President of the United States, Dr. Camilla Bausch contributed a blog post for the Global Public Policy Institute's Peace Lab on how multilateralism could help address the climate crisis. This is a timely contribution as it is complimentary to the current work on the German government's new White Paper on multilateralism. In her blog post, Dr. Bausch addresses a broad range of climate diplomacy topics, taking into account the role of Germany as well as the European Green Deal, the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Agenda 2030, the dynamics within the G20 and the role of science.

Countries around the world are considering the introduction of national framework laws to make their climate policy more effective. A debate is underway in Israel on the adoption of such a climate law, to establish a clear institutional set-up and regular processes for climate action. Ecologic Institute's Matthias Duwe presented best practice lessons from European countries to policy-makers as inspiration for the law's design.