On 16 February 2012, Ecoscholars held an evening discussion in conjunction with the Hertie School of Governance. The event focused on the state of global climate after the latest round of UN negotiations, held in Durban, South Africa in November - December 2011. Opening talks were given by two expert speakers examining differing aspects of the negotiations and future scenarios for climate policy. These opening talks were followed by a question and answer session from the Ecoscholars participants, as well as informal discussion over food and drinks.
Dr. Susanne Dröge, Head of theRead more
Developing countries are the main providers of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Conversely, most intellectual property rights (IPRs) on seeds and medicines are concentrated in developed countries. The study concludes that this has some disadvantages for developing countries. Thus, patents on seed or pharmaceutical products sometimes make the access to such products for the poor more difficult and expensive; there are hardly any positive effects of IPRs on fighting poverty by contrast. This is the result of a study, presented by Christiane Gerstetter (Ecologic Institute) andRead more
Developing countries are the main providers of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Conversely, most intellectual property rights (IPRs) on seeds and medicines are concentrated in developed countries. This has some disadvantages for developing countries. Thus, patents on seed or pharmaceutical products sometimes make the access to such products for the poor more difficult and expensive; there are hardly any positive effects of IPRs on fighting poverty by contrast. This is the result of a study for the European Parliament that Ecologic Institute helped to write. The study and aRead more
The latest two climate summits - in Copenhagen in 2009 and Cancún in 2010 - have left critical questions unanswered: it remains unclear how to fund pledged climate finance commitments to developing countries, and there still is no effective follow-up regime for the Kyoto Protocol.
"Future Prospects for Climate Finance and the Carbon Market: A Legal Perspective" was the topic of a conference which was chaired by Michael Mehling, President of Ecologic Institute, Washington DC. Organized by the legal publisher Lexxion, the conference took place on 26 June 2011 at King's College inRead more
The Ecologic Institute conducts a study on gaps in the international regulatory framework on geoengineering for the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The study is mandated by Decision X/33 of the CBD COP10, which adopted a so-called "moratorium" on geoengineering. Ecologic Institute analyses from a legal and governance perspective which existing international legal rules are applicable to geoengineering. The study develops criteria for assessing gaps in the regulatory framework and for an appropriate governance of geoengineering.
GeoengineeringRead more
Regardless of the outcome in Cancun, the Post-2012 landscape will look substantially different than originally envisioned, with the potential emergence, or re-emergence, of national and sub-national programs. Michael Mehling joined a panel discussion on what this landscape may look like, examining trading blocs, linking of regional programs, and how these initiatives might eventually feed into international initiatives.Read more
