On 9 May 2021, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CFE) will start. The CFE will provide a new space for citizens to engage in the debate on the future of the EU. A new Ecologic report examines the experience with citizens' assemblies on climate policies in France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and draws lessons for the CFE.

On 26 March 2021 the Climate Recon 2050 Platform hosted an online debate with the European Commission and national government experts, discussing the impact of the climate neutrality target on EU climate policy and national planning processes.

Based on a stocktake, we present options to improve international soil governance in the short, medium and long term. The stocktake includes existing international instruments and institutions that are relevant for soil protection and its governance at the international level. It assesses the actual and potential steering effect of, inter alia, the Desertification Convention, the Biodiversity Convention, the Paris Agreement and climate regime, regional treaties, FAO, UNEP, IPBES and IPCC.

The EU has raised its climate target for 2030 to at least -55 %. Agora Energiewende and Ecologic Institute sketch a "Fit for 55" package that can ensure both environmental integrity and solidarity. It investigates four options how to regulate heating and transport emissions, focusing in particular on the pros and cons of expanding emissions trading to these sectors. The paper makes the case for a smart mix of EU-level carbon pricing and companion polices.

How can the overexploitation of groundwater resources by irrigated agriculture be better managed? Dr. Josselin Rouillard together with colleagues from California, Spain and France, addresses this question in a new scientific article published in Water Resources Research. The research focused on how users and public authorities can work collaboratively and adopt collective rules to regulate access to, and use of, groundwater in agriculture.

As a part of the COACCH project, Ecologic Institute, University of Graz and Deltares organized a workshop with stakeholders and interested parties on the topic of "Addressing climate change in European supply chains".

The Urban Agenda for the EU recognizes the importance of nature-based solutions as tools for sustainable recovery and development. Yet implementation and mainstreaming at city level remain limited. Can the European Green Deal support these efforts? What role can European research projects play? To answer these questions, McKenna Davis was invited as an expert to contribute to the European Urban Knowledge Network’s (EUKN) Policy Lab on 'The Urban Agenda for the EU, its 'green' actions and the European Green Deal'. The 18 March 2021 event aimed to unravel the 'green' actions of the Urban Agenda for the EU and develop concrete messages for the ministers under Slovenia's Presidency on how to support cities dealing with regulatory obstacles when trying to reach environmental goals.

The final online conference of the FIThydro project brought together over 280 participants from across the globe to explore the latest research developments on the topic of sustainable and fish friendly hydropower showcasing the final project’s results in addition to presentations by experts from outside the project on related topics. The online conference was hosted by Ecologic Institute and the Technical University of Munich.

Legally binding reduction targets for Member States have been the backbone of EU climate policies since 2009. At a moment where the EU increases its climate ambition significantly, reduction targets for Member States must continue. They should be the unequivocal starting point of reforms to make EU climate rules fit for the EU's new climate targets – a new Ecologic Institute policy brief explains why.

In March 2021, two new handbooks on Evidence‐based Improvements in the Birds and Habitats Directives Implementation (E-BIND) are being released. They have been the achievements of a systematic review of the Birds and Habitats Directives Implementation. The core objective of the E-Bind handbook(s) are to advise the Commission, Member State authorities, decision makers, spatial planners, conservationists and NGOs in more effective implementation of the Nature Directives. This handbook does focus on guidance for improving the availability of data and information on species, habitats and sites (Focus area A).

In March 2021, two new handbooks on Evidence‐based Improvements in the Birds and Habitats Directives Implementation (E-BIND) are being released. They have been the achievements of a systematic review of the Birds and Habitats Directives Implementation. The core objective of the E-Bind handbook(s) is to advise the Commission, Member State authorities, decision makers, spatial planners, conservationists and NGOs in more effective implementation of the Nature Directives. This handbook provides scientific support for the successful implementation of the Natura 2000 network (Focus area B).

To deliver its climate targets for 2030 and 2050, the EU is starting to reform its climate policies. Extending emission trading to road transport and buildings is among the most consequential proposals for implementing the new targets. This proposal promises stronger economic incentives to reduce emissions, considerable certainties for target achievement and additional revenues to support Europe's decarbonization.

Governments around the world are seeking to improve the way they organize their climate policy-making. Many countries are adopting national framework laws to do so. Choosing the right design is key for making these laws effective. This paper provides an update on the core elements of ten European climate laws and identifies several best practice lessons that could inform future climate law design.

This policy brief provides an overview of the wide range of socio-economic benefits that nature-based solutions can generate. Co-authors IEEP and Ecologic Institute highlight the central role that such solutions can play in meeting the EU's 2030 commitments on climate action and biodiversity and identify recommendations to enhance their uptake. The paper is available for download.

As part of its work within the ETC-ICM, Ecologic Institute has contributed as lead author to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report examining the multiple pressures that agriculture put on Europe's water. The report shows that that a wider uptake of sustainable agricultural practices such as organic farming, agroecological approaches and nature-based solutions is necessary to protect the water environment. To achieve this, ambitious measures to promote sustainable agriculture must be adopted in the upcoming EU common agricultural policy 2021-2027.