Striking a balance between centralization and decentralization of competences is a challenge that dates to the start of European integration. There are some drivers that work towards greater centralization of EU climate policies – the need for enhanced climate action, electricity market integration and a realization of the Energy Union. At the same time, centralization in and of itself is not a guarantee for more ambitious or effective climate policies. In a new publication appearing in the journal Climate Policy authors Camilla Bausch and Benjamin Görlach of Ecologic Institute and Michael Mehling of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) trace the evolution and role of the centralization/decentralization debate in the context of EU climate policy. The article looks at emissions trading and the promotion of renewable energy as cases of centralization vs. decentralization, but cautions that this trend is neither smooth nor guaranteed to persist. In the dynamic and reflexive governance system of the EU, there is no one-size-fits-all, optimal balance between centralized and decentralized policy from a climate perspective.

Participation in the adaptation processes of river basin planning is necessary for sustainable water management. The article supports this statement by providing an overview of the work carried out within the framework of the BeWater project. We illustrate the methodology applied in the project, which resulted in four river basin adaptation plans for catchments in Cyprus, Tunisia, Spain and Slovenia. Furthermore, the project's case studies are presented as well as the challenges that stakeholders identified within their respective river basins. We show how the project was initiated in the case study basins and how it influenced their river basin management processes. An overview of the prioritized measures is given as well as a summary of BeWater's contributions to future river basin management undertakings. We end the overview with an outlook on how stakeholder participation can improve river basin adaptation.

Ecologic Institute coordinated the organisation of the European Resource Forum (ERF) 2016. For these the programme brochure was developed and designed, to hand it over to participants. It contained information about the event agenda and schedule, speakers and a space for notes. The design of the brochure and the color scheme were based on the visual style of UBA. The ERF brochure is set on 52 pages. The A5 brochure was printed on recycled paper.

This publication has been issued by EUROSTAT and provides a snapshot of the current situation concerning a selected number of SDG-related indicators and accompanies the European Commission Communication on the next steps for a sustainable European future (22 November 2016). 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) SDG 17 (Partnership for the goals). The publication is available for download.

The objective of this briefing was to provide Members with an overview of the key issues at stake at the CITES COP 17 and to introduce the new role of the EU as a single Party entity. A short overview of the history of CITES was provided, along with the current positions of the main Parties on key issues of importance. The brief identified main conclusions and recommendations for Members of the ENVI Committee to establish their own perspectives on the subject of CITES and the potential role of the EU. The briefing was conducted using published documents, press releases, official position papers, studies and other relevant sources from national, international and EU institutions and NGOs. The document is available for download.

On 20 July 2016 the European Commission published its legislative proposal for an Effort Sharing Regulation. A paper from Ecologic Institute provides comments on the Commission's proposal. The comments are available for download.

The European Commission has proposed a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to enable ambitious climate policies in EU member states and to incentivize emission reductions in other countries. This paper adopts a dynamic, multilevel, polycentric perspective to discuss how domestic as well as foreign interest groups would be affected by the policy.

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.

The AQUACROSS website provides information on the AQUACROSS project, approach and case studies. Project outputs such as deliverables, policy briefs and publications are regularly promoted on the website. Ecologic Institute is responsible for the concept, design and programming.

According to Chinese authorities, the coronavirus spread to humans from wildlife at a wildlife market in Wuhan. Most likely, Ebola and AIDS also originated from wildlife. Besides the serious threats to biodiversity and sustainable development, the risk for human health is thus an additional reason to strengthen the efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and other forms of wildlife crime. Over the last years, Ecologic Institute has published several studies on environmental compliance and crime related to wildlife crime. The most comprehensive study on wildlife crime was presented to the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) of the European Parliament in Brussels in April 2016.

A new report presents the conclusions and policy recommendations of the EU-funded research project, "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE). The report includes recommendations for action to better combat environmental crime at the EU and Member State level, distinguishing between core and supplementary recommendations. In addition to these recommendations, questions for further research are identified. The report is available for download.

The third webinar in our POLIMP Webinar Series took place on 28 October 2015 and featured a discussion on the topic "EU Climate Policy for 2030: why are we talking about governance?" moderated by Matthias Duwe (Head, Climate at Ecologic Institute). The webinar featured two main speakers. The audio recording is available online.