On 26 March 2021 the Climate Recon 2050 Platform hosted an online debate with the European Commission and national government experts, discussing the impact of the climate neutrality target on EU climate policy and national planning processes.

Biodiversity continues to dramatically decline across the world. After the targets of the European Biodiversity Strategy 2020 were largely missed, the new European Green Deal emphasizes the need to protect, conserve and enhance the EU's natural capital and ensure human health and well-being. This year, the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 has been launched.

Participants at the CIRCASA closing event explored the strategic research agenda and took first steps towards an international research consortium on soil organic carbon.

In light of the global challenges posed by 2020, the launch of the 2020 Go To Think Tank Ranking Index asked the question "why do think tanks & policy advice matter in times of crisis". The Berlin Launch event, hosted by Ecologic Institute, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, provided space for a lively discussion about the role and placement of think tanks when faced with unprecedented global crises. The 2020 Go To Think Tank Ranking Index is compiled and published annually by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tank and Civil Societies program (TTCSP) with launch events in over 25 different countries.

The central objective of the Hydromorphology IV Workshop was to exchange experiences and information and to identify and reflect on challenges of the administrative and practical implementation processes of watercourse development measures.

COACCH has designed a series of interactive workshops to co-design the project's direction, activities and outputs. The third interactive COACCH workshop was held on 3 and 4 December 2020 in a virtual format. More than 40 participants from nine European countries joined the workshop, representing all four COACCH working groups: policy makers, investors, business and industry, research and civil society.

The restrictions associated with the Corona pandemic have suddenly changed the behavior of traffic participants. As a result, significant numbers of people have taken to cycling and walking. Public transport, on the other hand, is in crisis. The need for social distance and hygiene makes collective means of transportation unappealing, and the demand for car-sharing services has dropped significantly. At the same time, the private car is experiencing a renaissance.

As part of the Berlin Re-Use Initiative, the online expert dialog on the recycling of gypsum took place on 26 November 2020. This expert dialogue, to which the Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection of the State of Berlin invited together with relevant associations and companies, was dedicated to important issues around gypsum recycling. Eighty-five people took part in the expert dialog.

On November 2020, over 40 international experts with research and governance backgrounds on marine Arctic conservation and its governance frameworks discussed the protection of the Arctic maritime ecosystems as subject of the "Arctic Marine Conservation Dialogue". The experts converged in working groups on "Area-based management" under climate change, sustainable fisheries in the Arctic and oil, gas and biodiversity protection, identified the Status Quo and the specific challenges of the respective subject areas and turned towards potential solutions. The workshop proceedings are available for download.

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Ecologic Institute, together with the Institute for European Environmental Policy and TMG, hosted the Think2030 conference "Harnessing the European Green Deal to Address the Climate Crisis: Anticipating Risks, Fostering Resilience" on 16 and 17 November 2020. More than 300 participants from across Europe made the conference an interesting, stimulating and enjoyable event. Keynote speeches by high-level speakers and interactive breakout sessions provided new perspectives on how the European Green Deal can be harnessed to address the climate crisis and foster a green recovery.

Berlin is increasingly developing as a dynamic innovation field of the circular economy – a circular, resource-saving economy. (Social) innovations are no longer generated only in the field of waste recycling, but increasingly in the design and manufacture of sustainable products or with new business models. The event provides insights into current research on the development of the circular economy and the commitment of Berlin's innovators in this field.

Im Rahmen von sechs interaktiven Online-Veranstaltungen auf der Berlin Science Week wollen wir Themen und Ansätze mit herausragender Bedeutung für die nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung Berlins zur Debatte stellen. Von einem sozial gerechten Umbau der Wärmeversorgung über die Realisierung von Mieterstrom zu Strategien für eine nachhhaltige Datengovernance, Kreislauf- und Alternativwirtschaft werden wichtige Fragestellungen für eine sozial-ökologische Transformation der Hauptstadt thematisiert und im Dialog zwischen WissenschaftlerInnen und PraktikerInnen erörtert. Ein durchgehender Fokus liegt dabei auf Beteiligungs- sowie Verteilungs- und Gerechtigkeitsfragen von sozial-ökologischen Transformationen.

As part of the Berlin Re-Use initiative, the online expert dialogue on strengthening the reuse of furnishings and building components took place on October 6, 2020. The aim of the virtual expert dialogue was to bring together stakeholders from the construction industry, initiatives, DIY stores, demolition and disposal companies who are committed to the reuse of building components and furnishings. Dwindling raw material supplies, shrinking landfill space and pressing climate change show that a fundamental rethink of how to deal with raw materials and waste is needed. The current linear economic model must change - away from the principle of "take, use, dispose" to circular economic activity. The ten speakers presented their re-use projects and shared their practical experiences. They discussed how re-use can be promoted in the construction and furnishing sectors and what obstacles need to be overcome. The 80 or so participants took the opportunity to ask questions and provide impetus for the discussion.

This ICARE-project online seminar served to discuss issues and relevance of the climate-resources-nexus among academic institutions. Mandy Hinzmann from Ecologic Institute, Dr. Thomas Gibon from Luxembourg Institute for Science and Technology LIST and Prof. Edgar Hertwich from Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU presented findings of recent research projects dealing with the nexus.

As part of the Berlin Re-Use Initiative, the online expert dialog on the rescue of returned textiles took place on 24 September 2020, with more than 60 interested participants. In a diverse program, 14 experts from various fields and industries presented and discussed the current status quo of problems with returns in the clothing sector from their respective perspectives, as well as potentials and possible starting points for dealing with returns that have arisen and for reducing or avoiding them in the future.