On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the webinar "Advancing Natural Climate Adaptation: Financing Options for Nature-Based Solutions in Municipalities" took place. The event provided municipalities with practical insights and information on innovative approaches to finance nature-based solutions.
How do we classify which investments are the right ones to power the transition to a climate and nature-friendly economy? This is a pretty big question, and one that is crucial to a successful implementation of the European Green Deal. The EU Taxonomy Regulation specifies the various criteria that investments will need to fulfil to be considered sustainable. In practice, the taxonomy is a long list of economic activities with benchmark performance standards.
The EU taxonomy regulation for sustainable finance has received much attention. As a living document, it requires regular reviewing and updating. So what's next in stall for the policy's development? On 16 January 2023, representatives from politics, industry (financial and non-financial), academia and the civil society came together to discuss exactly that. R. Andreas Kraemer moderated the event that featured an initial impulse from Korbinian Reiter (Kanzlei Redeker) and comments from Silke Stremlau (Hannoversche Kassen) and Sabine Pex (BMUV).
Between 15 and 18 September 2020, Ecologic Institute together with ZOE Institute for future-fit economies and other partners convened a "closed-doors" EU online conference on long-term challenges from the COVID-19 crisis for the EU's economic governance and the implementation of the Green Deal.
On 5 May 2020, the expert workshop "Urban nature-based solutions in Germany – experiences, successes and future challenges" took place online as part of the NATURVATION project. At this workshop, more than 60 experts from policy, administration, practice and research jointly discussed current challenges, need for action and options for a broader application of nature-based solutions in Germany.
On 11 July 2018, the latest edition of the Climate Talk series discuss whether a "green" revolution is underway on the financial market, and how the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan can benefit Climate Protection. Close to 40 participants contributed to the lively discussion. Sabine Pex (ISS-Oekom), Eva Kracht (BMU) and Karsten Löffler (Frankfurt School of Finance & Management) introduced the topic and sketched their expectations for the future.
This conference looked into the innovative bio-based products sector. It presented key insights on the environmental impacts, investment potential and innovative aspects of selected bio-based products.
In January 2018, the Ecologic Institute hosted a group of students from the University of Maryland for a Seminar on Energy, Climate Change and Options for a Low-Carbon Economy. Berlin was the host city for the first leg of the two-week seminar – followed by a week in Venice, hosted by the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC). In Berlin, Grit Martinez, R. Andreas Kraemer and Benjamin Görlach taught sessions on the basics of climate change and climate policy, on adaptation to climate change, and on the German energy transition. The course was rounded off with an excursion to Lusatia, a coal mining region southeast of Berlin.
Amory Lovins supplied the intellectual DNA for the Energy Transition, notably with his concept of "Soft Energy" and how it promotes peace and prosperity. In recognition of his many contributions, he received the German Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse (Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) on 17 March 2016 at the Federal Foreign Office. Ecologic Institute and the Hertie School of Governance held a reception in celebration of Amory Lovins' achievements the following day.
At a Trade Night on 19 June 2014, Steve Charnovitz shared his views on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and discussed with the audience the vision needed to create a TTIP that reaches beyond a simple trade agreement for reduced tariffs between the US and the EU. Steve Charnovitz is an Associate Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School.
At an Ecologic Institute Dinner Dialogue on 27 November 2013, Co-founder and CEO of the Rockey Mountain Institute (RMI), Armory Lovins, discussed successes and challenges of the German Energiewende with a group of German energy and climate experts.
In the light of shrinking public budgets – both at the state and at the federal level – new approaches to leveraging public funding for renewable energies need to be developed. Reed Hundt, CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, REH Advisors, presented his approach: State Clean Energy Finance Banks.
The better integration of renewable energy, the creation of more flexibility for variable renewable energy, and the optimization of network expansion are shared challenges that China and Europe face on the way to a low-carbon economy. These topics were the discussion of a Dinner Dialogue hosted by Ecologic Institute with an expert delegation from China.
In the framework of the EC funded Programme "Raising the awareness of trade issues in civil society", Ecologic is organising a one-day seminar in Budapest, Hungary. The aim of the seminar is to provide participants from civil society with a better understanding of the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and WTO rules, to raise awareness on how better to participate in and influence European trade policy and to contribute to a closer co-operation and networking among civil society groups in Hungary. The Seminar languages will be English and Hungarian.
A Cities Talk Nature Global Engagement Event was organized as part of the INTERLACE project in Envigado, Colombia and streamed online on 23 and 24 November 2023 to explore these topics in more depth. Entitled ‘Rethinking urban-rural linkages for people and biodiversity’, the conference convened over 100 municipal actors and practitioners from Europe and Latin America interested in harnessing the potential of NBS in their cities and regions. Co-organised by UCLG, Humboldt Institute Colombia and Ecologic Institute, the event featured diverse formats, including field visits, practical workshops, and peer-to-peer discussions.
The CLEVER Cities project's final conference "Nature in the City – Advancing social impact through nature-based solutions (NBS)" was held on 26 and 27 September 2023. McKenna Davis, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, moderated the session "Putting Theory into Practice: Mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions into Policy". The session explored the fundamental question: How can we integrate NBS into the fabric of urban policy and governance to bridge the gap between theory and action?
Doris Knoblauch moderated the networking meeting of innovative climate protection projects in the framework of the National Climate Initiative (NKI) for Ecologic Institute on 7 and 8 June 2023.