The conference "Planning for 2050", organised by Ecologic Institute, will take place on 23 May 2019 in Brussels. It takes stock of the experience with long-term climate strategies gained in Europe and presents lessons learnt as well as challenges encountered in different Member States – and seeks to connect them to the EU's own overall 2050 vision. It is based on insights, conversations and contacts made through a set of dialogue meetings held under the "Climate Recon 2050" project, which brought together policymakers and technical experts involved in long-term strategies from around the EU. A conference brochure, summarising insights from the Climate Recon 2050 project, is available online.

As part of its long-standing cooperation with Duke University, the Ecologic Institute implemented a course on Germany's energy transition (Energiewende), offered to Duke students as part of the Duke in Berlin Summer Program.

This case study, prepared by Ecologic Institute and published by World Resources Institute (WRI) describes the status quo and relevant recent developments at the EU and national levels on long-term climate strategies, detailing relevant insights on legal obligations, specific features, existing challenges, and potential future processes. The case study, written by Ecologic Institute's Matthias Duwe and Ewa Iwaszuk, is available for download.

A report by Ecologic Institute and Climact shows that the draft National Energy and Climate Plans presented by governments at the start of 2019 are in acute need of improvement. They suffer from inadequate targets and insufficient details on the policies and financing needed to move towards net-zero emission economies in Europe. Member States also need to do better in involving their national stakeholders in providing input to the plans, to benefit from their expertise and to get them on board for future policies. The report is available for download.

Ecologic Institute was asked by IASS to give a lecture on "Legal aspects of big data in the energy sector" at the ENavi Summer School 2019 on Digitalisation in the Energy Transition. Its participants consisted of persons with a strong interest in sustainability and energy topics at the beginning of their professional careers. The lecture presented the legal issues arising from the use of Big Data technologies in the context of energy supply.

In January 2019, a stakeholder commission established by the German government agreed upon a schedule to decommission coal-fired power plants by 2038 at the latest and a framework for financial assistance to regions affected by the transition. Environmental groups have argued for years that Germany will not get back on track to its climate targets if it does not tackle the coal question. However, as a historic ingredient of Germany's industrial might, coal as source of energy was considered taboo for policy-makers until recently. How did this major paradigm shift come about – and what made an agreement among different stakeholders possible?

In response to Brexit, the EU has embarked on a process of reflection and possibly reform. As a contribution to this process, the Ecologic Institute explores the interlinkages between the process on the Future of the EU and EU climate and energy policies. This infographic presents how the EU climate policy can help with the EU reform and how the EU reform might improves the EU climate policy.

On May 9 and 10, 2019 the REFRESH conference took place in the Disseny Hub Barcelona. It brought together 150 participants from all across Europe, China, Australia and the US to present and discuss innovative ideas for food waste reduction and valorisation options acrosOn 9 and 10 May 2019 the REFRESH conference took place in the Disseny Hub Barcelona. It brought together 150 participants from all across Europe, China, Australia and the US to present and discuss innovative ideas for food waste reduction and valorisation options across the whole supply chain. The Conference Documentation is available for download at the REFRESH website.s the whole supply chain. The Conference Documentation is available for download at the REFRESH website.

On 9 May 2019, the European Council meets in Sibiu (Romania). Not long ago, this meeting was expected to be an important milestone in the Process on the Future of the EU. Now, expectations are much lower. Avoiding controversy is the first order of business. But the core questions of the Process on the Future of the EU will not go away: how to maintain and develop a strong EU? This question will stick with us, and it will keep the new Parliament and the new Commission busy. This article by Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf (Ecologic Institute) and Sebastian Oberthür (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) is available online.

Maintaining a strong EU and implementing effective climate policies go hand in hand with one another. Indeed, they are pretty much the best of friends. A stable, prosperous and climate-resilient Europe requires effective climate action; and effective climate action needs a strong EU. When addressed from this angle, there is a lot of agreement among EU policymakers, who often speak about the importance of climate action when addressing the future of the EU. However, there is more to it than general agreement. Climate policies and the future of the EU can reinforce each other in concrete ways. This article by Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf (Ecologic Institute) and Sebastian Oberthür (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) is available for download.

Bangladesh needs to turn its pledges into effective policy instrument to realize the promises about greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation made in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). In that regard, analyzing the energy and climate policies of Bangladesh and consulting with the stakeholders from Bangladesh and other countries, Shafiqul Alam provides insights on the possible policy instrument for Bangladesh to achieve the target of NDC and raises some fundamental policy issues. His study is available for download.

The production of food results in by-products. Instead of disposing them as waste, they can also be valorised into new products. This quiz lets you find out what new products can be made from this food waste. The player scrolls two image galleries and chooses two pictures that correspond as food waste and new product. There are eight possible pairs to be found. How many pairs can you find?

The Energiewende means a transition from the old, nuclear-and-coal based, to a sustainable and digitalized energy system. This is a complex endeavor: the number of actors involved increases and their functions overlap. While digital technologies bring automation and potential for relief, they are an ambivalent phenomenon: with no comprehensive laws on data protection, it is unclear what is going to happen to the tremendous amount of data collected by digital appliances. Besides, technologies like blockchain are often so energy-intensive that they eat up the amount of resources that they are trying to save. Therefore, political design must actively shape a digital and ecologically sustainable energy transition – it will not happen by itself.

Science is believed to provide the most objective basis for effective decision-making, though it is rarely implemented in environmental management. Here, the authors reflect on the results of a regional workshop aimed at exploring the knowledge and use of scientific evidence by environmental managers in an ecologically diverse region in southern Spain: Andalusia.

Energy security – the uninterrupted supply of energy at reasonable prices, as defined by IEA – has both external and internal dynamics. It can be ensured through local adequacy, that is, abundant and varied forms of indigenous energy resources, but the countries that face local shortages, as in Bangladesh, depend on imports. Shafiqul Alam explains in his online article in the Dhaka Tribune how internal measures could attenuate reliance on external sources.