<p>A group of 17 representatives from think tanks, policy and business as well as journalists from various European and non-European countries were invited to Germany as part of the Visitors Programme of the Federal Republic of Germany. During their stay, the group explored green technologies in the water and resources sector as well as the policies that shaped the legal framework for innovative products and technologies. Participants could speak with representatives from ministries, research institutes, think tanks, public-private partnerships and businesses in Berlin, Freiberg and Leipzig.</p>

How have stakeholders and citizens participated in the development, implementation and monitoring of regional bioeconomy strategies? How has the involvement of stakeholders and citizens affected the strategies' development, implementation and monitoring? What are good practice examples of stakeholder and citizen participation in national and regional bioeconomy strategies? These and other questions are addressed in this report on regional bioeconomy strategies across Europe, focused on four regional case studies: Scotland, South-West Netherlands, Saxony-Anhalt and Veneto. Ecologic Institute was tasked with researching the Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany). The report is available for download.

This brief highlights the links between EU policy objectives and global targets for sustainable development, centring on aquatic ecosystems. It describes current research within the EU Horizon 2020 project AQUACROSS (Knowledge, Assessment and Management for AQUAtic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services aCROSS policies), focusing on an integrative approach – ecosystem-based management (EBM) of aquatic ecosystems – to understand and balance common social, economic, and environmental objectives towards a more sustainable future. The brief is available for download.

On 17 August 2016, McKenna Davis, Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on "Barriers and Success Factors for cooperation under Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA)" for the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Bonn. The results presented came from a study commissioned by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Both the presentation and original study are available for download.

Citizens from around the Mediterranean participated in adaptation planning for the management of their local river basins. Based on a novel approach developed over the course of the EU-funded BeWater project, stakeholders from four case study river basins were engaged in a collaborative process with experts and policy makers to draft River Basin Adaptation Plans. Ecologic Institute was also part of this collaboration.

What can we learn from European best practices on the existing Monitoring &amp; Verification schemes and coordination mechanisms in Europe? Can bottom-up methodologies contribute to a more reliable measurement and verification process? The first two policy briefs produced by the multEE project feature a set of policy recommendations, six on M&amp;V schemes and five on coordination mechanisms, aimed at policy makers at different policy levels engaged in the development of effective and coherent energy efficiency policies. The recommendations reflect the conclusions from a broader "Synthesis report on European best practices for M&amp;V schemes and coordination mechanisms" that, based on an initial mapping of existing M&amp;V schemes and coordination mechanisms across Europe, identifies and analyses a vast array of Best Practice cases on M&amp;V schemes and coordination models. The recommendations are available for download.

Ecologic Institute coordinated the organisation of the Decarbonisation conference 2016 "Decarbonisation and Resource Efficiency – 100% Renewable Energy and more". A programme flyer were developed and designed to provide relevant content on conference context, agenda, and the venue in a concerted way to participants. The design of the brochures and the color scheme were based on the visual style of UBA. Print-outs of the flyer will be done on recycled paper.

The Europe 2020 strategy is the EU's strategy for creating smart, sustainable and inclusive growth since 2010. In this strategy, the European Union has set five ambitious objectives - on employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate/energy - to be met by 2020. Each Member State adopted its own national targets for each of these areas. Concrete actions at EU and national levels underpin the strategy. Andreas Prahl and Katharina Umpfenbach (Ecologic Institute) authored chapter 3 on climate change and energy where the recent development of key indicators in the field of climate change and energy, including data on greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and energy efficiency, is analysed. The publication is available for download.

The 2015 Paris Agreement requires the world's countries to overhaul fossil-fuel based economies and transition to low-carbon societies by mid-century - and asks that all develop national long-term strategies towards that end. Ecologic Institute has developed a concept for the evaluation of such long-term climate strategies for the project MaxiMiseR, run by WWF, which has now published results for the EU countries based on elements of this concept. The concept is available for download.

Between July and October 2016 this six-part webinar series brought together Arctic experts, professionals and students. The webinar series covered topics including shipping and marine governance, energy, environmental impact assessments, science, security, and indigenous communities in the Arctic.

This brochure is directed to US policy decision makers and provides information on the German energy transition. In the document Brendan O'Donnell and Max Gruenig of Ecologic Institute, Washington DC define and explain the different phases of the German energy transition. The brochure is available for download.

O'Donnell, Brendan; Max Gruenig 2016: How Germany is Building a Secure, Affordable, and Climate-friendly Energy System for the 21st Century. Ecologic Institute: Washington, DC. Flyer.

On 5 July 2016, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on "The Energy Transition in Germany and the Renewable Energy Sources Act: Context, Legal and Procedural Aspects" for a delegation from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People's Republic of China. The presentation was part of a study tour on European and German Climate Change Legislation organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. The presentation slides are available for download.

From 4 to 15 July 2016, the 16th ICAP Summer School on Emissions Trading brought together experts from emerging economies and developing countries to learn about emissions trading as a tool for climate protection and to discuss the options and experiences of implementing such systems in developing countries. The Brussels course was the sixteenth of its kind since 2009. 28 mid-career professionals from eleven countries attended the course, which was facilitated by Benjamin Görlach and Matthias Duwe of the Ecologic Institute.

BASE Consortium 2016: Key Policy Issues in Implementing and Evaluating the EU Adaptation Strategy. BASE Policy Brief # 4.