There is still no specific soil protection law at EU level. In 2014 the European Commission withdrew its 2006 proposal for a soil protection directive, after two unofficial compromise proposals of 2010 and 2011 failed to secure an agreement. The project analyses and compares the three proposals, because they represent the course and state of play of the political debate and could play a role in the event of new political initiatives. A legal analysis shows commonalities and differences between the soil protection requirements of the proposals and German soil protection law. The study also examines the potential cost for the Federal and State level to gather the necessary data if there was an obligation to identify and determine risk areas according to certain criteria. The project also analyses to what extent EU laws and instruments regulate or have an impact on soil protection, and provides an assessment if and how soil protection standards could be incorporated or added.

<p>To put our energy system back on track to achieve the long term EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, scaled up efforts are required especially in the three major areas of energy consumption: transport, heating and cooling, as well as electricity generation for households and industry. As these sectors still rely largely on fossil fuels, radical technological changes are needed. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to obtain an overall picture of what technological options are available and how these options can be combined to drive decarbonisation efforts and ensure resilience of the EU energy system.</p>&#13;

Resource extraction has often significant impacts on the environment. Ecologic Institute analyses for the German Federal Environment Agency governance instruments which can foster, establish and enforce global standards for environmentally sound raw material extraction. The project assesses international treaties, international customary law and non-binding international instruments, as well as European and national instruments with extraterritorial effect. Based on this assessment, Ecologic Institute develops recommendations how existing instruments could be improved or new approaches could be developed. The study covers abiotic raw materials (metals and ore, other minerals and fossil raw materials) and their extraction, treatment, transport and processing.

This project analyses the positive economic and social impacts of European Union climate policy based on case studies from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. The focus is on co-benefits in the areas of social policy, employment, environment protection, and health.

The objective of this project is to provide clarity on the legal nature of the allowances traded in the the EU Emission Trading System. This exludes international carbon units (e.g. assigned amount units (AAUs), certified emission reductions (CERs), emission reduction units (ERUs)) pursuant to the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A consortium including Ecologic Institute has been commissioned by the European Commission to provide support in the evaluation of the contribution of Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Floods Directive (FD).

Reaching an emissions pathway consistent with the Paris Agreement requires a transformation of the economy and entails significant public and private expenditure. Auctioning revenue generated by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) could contribute a critical share of this funding. Ecologic Institute was tasked by WWF European Policy Office (EPO) to execute a series of studies on how auctioning revenues are used by EU Member States for climate finance and what impact proposed reforms to the instrument may have going forward. The key aims of the project are to show the use of auctioning revenues by Member States and assess how reforms to the EU ETS affect auctioning revenues and use.

The EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking adopted by the European Commission on 26 February 2016 is the most recent EU initiative to tackle wildlife crime. On 8 September 2016, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety of the European Parliament (ENVI) held a workshop in Brussels on 'Delivering and enforcing the EU Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking'. With support from the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Ecologic Institute organized the workshop and compiled the workshop proceedings.

In order to advance resource policy nationally and internationally we need to analyse and foster the political and societal debate on sustainable resource use. Resource policy is a dynamic policy area with diverse and changing needs for action, constellations of actors and positions as well as a multitude of suggestions for policy targets and instruments. In this context, the project aims to support the implementation and further development of the German Resource Efficiency Programme ProgRess.

At the climate summit in Cancun (2010), industrialized parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed to develop Low Carbon Development Strategies (LCDS) as a means of realizing the long-term emissions cuts required in the face of climate change. These committments were formally translated into EU law through the Monitoring Mechanism Regulation in 2013, and January 2015 saw the first round of LCDS reporting by all EU Member States. Member States must report on any updates on the LCDS on a biennial basis.

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety has commissioned Prognos AG and Ecologic Institute with a project assessing the interdependencies between climate protection measures and policies and gas infrastructure planning in Europe. As part of the project Ecologic Institute is conducting a process analysis of gas infrastructure planning in Europe and six selected Member States. Ecologic Institute will also conduct an analysis of political, social, economic and technical risks related to the application of low-carbon alternatives to gas infrastructure development, including energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Ecologic Institute prepared and organised a full-day workshop with around 100 European and international experts and decision makers from natural and social sciences, politics, business, civil society and the media, discussing the topic "Decarbonisation – 100% Renewable Energy and more." The workshop, which took place on 9 November 2015, fostered the dialogue between international and European partners to launch a debate on how greenhouse gas neutrality can be achieved in different EU Member States.

The research project analyses and evaluates 2050 climate protection scenarios for different Member States of the European Union. The aim is to trigger a debate how to achieve a transformation towards a sustainable and low-carbon economy in the European Union.

In order to foster waste prevention, article 29 of the European Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EG requires Member States to lay down national waste prevention programmes, specifying appropriate benchmarks for waste prevention measures. It enables Member States to make use of concrete quantitative and qualitative indicators (see also § 33 III 4 KrWG). In July 2013, the federal government adopted a national waste prevention programme. The government is now tasked to monitor the programme's implementation.