EU | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

Pages

Event

Conference

Climate

Sustainability

Harnessing the European Green Deal to Address the Climate Crisis – Think2030 Conference

TimeLoc

16 November 2020 to 17 November 2020

online

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Ecologic Institute, together with the Institute for European Environmental Policy and TMG, is hosting this year's Think2030 conference "Harnessing the European Green Deal to Address the Climate Crisis: Anticipating Risks, Fostering Resilience". The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has instigated massive societal and economic disruptions, pressing policymakers and experts to think broadly, act quickly and remain adaptive. Now, more than ever, there is a widespread need for rapid knowledge sharing and the development of effective policy responses in this new and changing context. Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Handlungsoptionen einer nachhaltigen Bioökonomiepolitik

Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg

Bioeconomy currently enjoys a high political priority; at the same time, the concept, which last received a boost in 2018 in the form of the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy, is not without controversy and contains many conflicting goals. This is where the article by Zoritza Kiresiewa (Ecologic Institute), Franziska Wolff and Martin Möller (both Öko-Institut e.V.) comes in. The authors argue that bioeconomy can only contribute to the achievement of sustainability goals if the political framework is appropriate. Whether or not strategies will have an impact depends on each individual case. Bioeconomy pathways should be designed and tested accordingly.Read more

Publication

Article

Climate

European Climate Law: Parliament sets the direction for Europe

Article in the Tagesspiegel

The European Parliament improves the Commission's proposal for a European Climate Law. Gross reduction target for 2030, legally binding climate neutrality targets, emissions budgets and a European Climate Council would make the European Climate Law what it should be: a reliable compass for the path to climate neutrality by 2050, writes Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in his article for Tagesspiegel....Read more

Publication

Document

Climate

Soil

EU Framework for CO2 Removals – Targets and Commitments

The new EU climate architecture should include a separate CDR target that builds primarily on restoring degraded ecosystems. This target should be legally binding and quantified – for the EU and Member States. It should not be a combined target which treats reductions and CDRs equally. This EU's CDR target should be enshrined in the European Climate Law.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Analysing the Impact Assessment on Raising the EU 2030 Climate Target

How does the European Commission's approach compare with other existing studies?

On 17 September 2020, the European Commission proposed to raise the EU climate target for 2030, so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 1990. In this policy brief, CLIMACT and Ecologic Institute unpack the Commission's impact assessment for the new target. The brief analyses key policy options and analytical results and compares them to recent studies, in particular CLIMACT's 2030 modelling results. Within the framework of the tightened target, the EU Commission proposes to extend the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to buildings and road transport – a major change to the EU's current climate policy architecture. The team discusses potential implications and provides context to the sectoral developments and policies. The briefing highlights key points where the Commission diverges from other studies, identifying climate mitigation potentials that merit more attention in future analysis.Read more

News

Coastal + Marine

Winners Announced in #YoungOceanWaves Contest: Djemila Tassin, Mariana Mata Lara and Gabriele Tiskeviciute!

The #YoungOceanWaves contest, promoted by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), was looking for cool videos & photos that show how human beings and the ocean are connected. Over 136 amazing photos and videos have been shared on Instagram between 14 July and 18 August 2020. A wave of inspiring, intense, stunning images of the ocean, its creatures, landscapes and people who are emotionally connected to our blue planet.

Event

Designing Ocean Literacy Action in Europe – EU4Ocean workshop

TimeLoc

24 September 2020 to 25 September 2020

online

Launched on 8 June 2020 by our Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, the EU4Ocean Coalition, which aims at supporting collective ocean literacy in Europe, is moving to action! You are invited to join the first "EU4Ocean workshop Designing Ocean Literacy actions in Europe" on 24 and 25 September 2020 (online).Read more

Project

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Assessing the Impact Assessment for Raising the EU's 2030 Climate Target

September 2020 to October 2020

In this project, Climact and Ecologic Institute analysed the impact assessment for the new EU climate target proposed by the Commission in September 2020.Read more

Publication

Article

Governance

Water

Perception of Bottlenecks in the Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive

In this paper the authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Ulf Stein, focus on the governmental bottlenecks in the Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. The lack of horizontal, inter-sectoral communication; the insufficient land reserves; human resources and; the lack of financing were the areas that emerged as the most pressing issues. Further evidence suggests that the interaction of the WFD with other policy areas regulated at the European level might require closer inspection.Read more

Publication

Report

Governance

Plastics

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Hintergrundpapier: Plastikpolitik in Deutschland und der EU

Aktuelle Gesetze und Initiativen

This background paper provides an overview of existing and new laws and initiatives regarding plastics in Germany and the EU. Despite the multitude of approaches, guidelines and laws, regulatory gaps remain. The greatest need for action exists in the areas of strengthening recycling and use of recycled plastics as well as waste prevention. Waste prevention remains the unwanted child in the resource discourse, although it almost always represents the best option in terms of environmental policy.Read more