In 2018, the European Commission will publish its report on the assessment of the second RBMPs and will start the process of evaluating the WFD (EC, 2017a). To accompany and inform this process, the EEA has produced this report on the state of Europe's water. In addition, the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) Freshwater visualisation tool presents more, and more detailed, results.

In June 2018, the joint statement of the Expert Commission on the "Energy of the Future" Monitoring Process was published. Ecologic Institute provides scientific support to the work of the Expert Commission with a focus on the key topics that Dr. Hans-Joachim Ziesing and the Expert Commission selected for their joint statement. The joint statement is available for download.

On 26 June 2018, the International Symposium on Energy Efficiency will bring together leaders from all over the globe as part of the EFEX project to talk about the ways in which energy efficiency has proven to be not only a tool for meeting environmental and sustainability goals and commitments but also an opportunity to increase participation and prosperity in all segments of society. Registration for the conference is open, and you can still get in at the discounted early bird rate. You'll find further information including registration details on the symposium's website.

The EFEX study tour from 25 to 29 June 2018 complements our 2018 International Symposium on Energy Efficiency with an in-depth exploration of energy lighthouse projects in the US American capital region. The program includes presentations and field trips on topics ranging from energy efficiency to renewable energy and sustainable mobility, with a special focus on the interconnections between these sectors. The program is designed for civil-society participants from the United States and Europe. The Ecologic Institute US is the lead organizer for the study tour. Applications are still open.

Germany seems to be missing its climate protection targets for 2020 – can a climate protection law help avoid such failures in the future? Will the Climate Protection Plan 2050 and its sectoral goals be bindingly anchored in the law? Within the context of the Energy Future Exchange (EFEX) project, a round of international experts discussed these questions at the Climate Talk at Ecologic Institute in Berlin. Bringing in a transatlantic perspective, the discussion also touched on the climate protection frameworks currently in place in California and Mexico.

Strong national climate governance frameworks are crucial to establish and maintain political support for the low-carbon transition and facilitate the implementation of policies. The truly robust governance frameworks combine key elements such as legally binding targets reached with high level of political support, broad stakeholder participation and review mechanisms that allow for adjustments over time. Creation of dedicated institutions with clearly assigned responsibilities and powers is essential to ensure the robustness and effectiveness of the framework. The study, co-authored by Ecologic Institute's Matthias Duwe, is available for download.

While diffusion patterns are quite well understood in the context of the Global North, diffusion research has only been applied to a limited extent to investigate how policies spread across developing countries. Ecologic Institute's Doris Knoblauch, Linda Mederake and Ulf Stein therefore analyze the diffusion patterns of plastic bag bans and taxes in the Global South and Global North to contribute to the further refinement of diffusion theory by specifically addressing the under-researched Global South. The article is available for download.

From 11 until 14 June 2018 transitions scholars and stakeholders from around the world met for the 9th International Sustainability Transitions (IST) conference in Manchester (United Kingdom). Dr. Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute spoke in a dialogue session about cultural conventions, system reconfigurations and transitions.

The RECREATE Green Horizons Scoreboard is a website that presents relevant indicators for tackling societal challenges in the areas of climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials. The Scoreboard provides indicators on ten different Environmental Innovation Systems, or fields of knowledge, that are of high relevance to the areas of climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials.

This summary pocket book presents key recommendations gathered in the project RECREATE regarding future research and innovation needs in "Societal Challenge 5: Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials". The results include very concrete recommendations on selected topics, overarching recommendations which shall help integrating the different research areas better and recommendations regarding the use of various methodologies. The summary pocket book is available for download.

Krüger, Ina et al., (2016): Marine Strategy Framework Directive, AQUACROSS Policy Review, European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation grant agreement No. 642317.

Ecologic Institute's Elizabeth Zelljadt explained emissions trading systems (ETS) at a workshop on carbon pricing in Latin America and the Caribbean hosted by the environmental advocacy group World Wildlife Fund (WWF). As several Latin American countries are implementing carbon pricing policies – from carbon taxes applied to fossil fuels to carbon markets similar to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) – Latin American WWF leaders brought their members together with external carbon pricing experts for a workshop on measures to price carbon around the world. The international group of participants, which included officials from the Mexican government and the United Nations, also addressed the status of global negotiations around this issue.

Bio-based industries aim to convert biological inputs, residue and wastes into greener everyday products. The industry is small compared to more traditional ones and it is a nascent industry undergoing rapid developments. Developing bio-based products demand technological innovations and market development. The fifteen success stories of specific bio-based products in this brochure, span over nine EU Member States, and they cover a wide range of products and applications. The brochure is available for download.

This brochure includes a set of infographics presenting the top 20 innovative bio-based products in Europe. Through an assessment of the active marketplace, EU-based development, innovation degree and market potential, the top 20 most innovative BBPs holding the greatest promise for commercial deployment within the next 5–10 years were identified. This selection includes engineering materials, new bioplastics, high added-value products for demanding applications in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields as well as sustainable substitutes for critical raw materials. The brochure is available for download.

This conference looked into the innovative bio-based products sector. It presented key insights on the environmental impacts, investment potential and innovative aspects of selected bio-based products.