This article by Ecologic Institute's Linda Mederake and Doris Knoblauch uses a structuring qualitative content analysis to investigate the parliamentary debates of two recently adopted plastic policies in the EU – namely the EU Plastics Strategy and the Single-Use Plastics Directive – and assess the relevance of public health and environmental arguments for the EU debate.

On 7 October 2019, Eurostat published its most recent flagship publication "Smarter, greener, more inclusive?". The report assesses the EU's progress in implementing the Europe 2020 strategy. Commissioned by Eurostat, Katharina Umpfenbach and Amely Gundlach of Ecologic Institute edited the chapter on climate change and energy. It discusses progress towards the so-called 20-20-20 targets which aim at cutting EU greenhouse gas emissions, increasing renewable energy supply, and improving energy efficiency. The publication is available for download.

As Germany is debating the introduction of a national climate law, it can build on the experiences that already exist at many levels. Several fellow EU Member States have already adopted such framework laws, for example, to help them manage the achievement of their climate targets. But what do the existing climate protection framework laws actually look like at European level? This is the question addressed in the sixth episode of the environmental podcast "Knowledge for Future".

In a study for DG FISMA, Ecologic Institute and its partners supported the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance in the development of screening criteria for agriculture activities. The criteria are presented in the Technical Report on EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. The report is available for download and the call for feedback is open until 13 September 2019. Following this consultation, the TEG will issue recommendations to support the development of future legislation on EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.

The new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has promised a European climate law. What it should look like describe Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf and Katharina Umpfenbach in the Tagesspiegel. The law should close five gaps.

This publication is the third of Eurostat's regular reports monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an EU context. The monitoring report provides a statistical presentation of trends relating to the SDGs in the EU over the past five years ('short-term') and, when sufficient data is available, over the past 15 years ('long-term'). Ecologic Institute's authors covered the chapters on SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The publication is available for download.

This report arises from the European Commission's Environmental Implementation Review process, a biennial assessment of Member State performance on implementation of EU environmental law and policy. It addresses an issue identified in the 2017 review as a root cause of implementation weaknesses; poor environmental governance. The authors from IEEP, Ecologic Institute and the Central European University outline the development of, and the rationale for, a standard assessment template, the Environmental Governance Assessment (EGA).

Climate planning for 2050 has become a core strand of debate in the European Union. Focus has shifted to a potential revision of the EU's long-term climate objectives within the context of a new 2050 strategy, which is to be submitted to the United Nations under the Paris Agreement by 2020. In parallel, all EU Member States must develop national strategies of their own, albeit with little central guidance and no overarching structure in place for collaboration.

The EU adopts essential climate issues – such as carbon taxation – by special legislative procedures. This means that the European Parliament is not an equal co-legislator and the Council decides by unanimous vote, providing each Member State with a veto. This is a problem because the urgency of climate action requires swift and bold EU action. EU climate action cannot afford a governance structure that allows one Member State to hold all others hostage in essential areas of climate action. A new Ecologic paper explores how to address this problem.

A 2018 report co-published by Interpol estimates the annual turnover generated by environmental crime at 110 - 281 billion US dollars. Environmental crime causes significant damage to the environment and public health. This report presents insights on environmental criminal law and its application in Germany. It is the result of a research project carried out by Ecologic Institute for the German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt). The report is available for download.

This study by Ecologic Institute shows that Germany can learn a lot from experiences made in its neighbouring countries to give its climate policies a robust framework and thus make it more reliable, also for investments in climate-friendly measures. At the same time, Germany could establish a new standard through legislation adapted to the latest EU requirements, which would than again serve as an example for our neighbours.

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.

The time to meet the next target to halt the loss of biodiversity in the EU by 2020 is approaching. The authors of this study identified and assessed key drivers of success for measure driven improvements that could be used to develop more successful conservation measures in the future in order to achieve a better conservation status of species and habitats. This will consequently contribute to the development of the post 2020 biodiversity strategy. The study 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.

The EU Member States have committed to be climate neutral by the second half of this century. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf calls this a fundamental challenge that no EU member state can address alone and that makes the EU indispensable for effective climate protection. This is one of 32 reasons why Europe is a "damn good idea". The eponymous book was published in the run-up to the 2019 European elections. It presents numerous achievements of the European Union in an understandable way, explains complex interrelationships and shows the positive effects of the EU for its citizens.