The results of the research focus "Plastics in the Environment" will be presented in a webinar series. The participation in the webinars is free of charge; registration in advance is required.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are crucial for cities to jointly address the climate and biodiversity crises, while creating quality green jobs and wellbeing for local communities. This COP26 EU Side Event featured different sector practitioners (policy makers, entrepreneurs, international organizations) delivering inspiring presentations and engaging in a panel discussion highlighting a variety of perspectives on key challenges, opportunities, and pathways to mainstream urban NbS and boost local economies.

In the Ecornet Berlin research partnership, five Berlin institutes of transdisciplinary sustainability research are jointly providing impetus for Berlin's transformation. Their annual conference "Knowledge. Change. Berlin. 2021" brings current research findings into dialogue with experiences from other cities and the voices of Berlin's practitioners and civil society – for a social and ecological capital. The annual conference "Knowledge. Change. Berlin. 2021" of the Ecornet Berlin research partnership will take place on 2 November 2021 from 09:30 to 17:30 followed by a reception at the Urania Berlin.

How well is the EU doing in its pursuit of climate neutrality by 2050? Are national long-term strategies and national energy and climate plans up to the task? Are the recovery efforts in line with this goal? Across EU policy, a range of processes are in the process of developing methods to assess progress towards climate neutrality – but there is no integrated set of "net zero indicators" being developed to do the job. And simple greenhouse gas emission data is not enough to judge whether the necessary transition is happening "under the hood" of Europe's economic sectors.

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.

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.

Launched on 8 June 2020 by our Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, the EU4Ocean Coalition, which aims at supporting collective ocean literacy in Europe, is moving to action! You are invited to join the first "EU4Ocean workshop Designing Ocean Literacy actions in Europe" on 24 and 25 September 2020 (online).

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.

The objective of the online event is to explore the extent to which the implementation of a bioeconomy concept can leverage the reactivation of regional economies across Europe.

A group of polish local government experts, landscape planners, architects and engineers participated in a study tour on nature-based solutions in Berlin on 25 and 26 August 2020, which was part of the EUKI project "Climate NBS Poland". Nature-based solutions (NBS) can be implemented in urban settings to deliver a suite of services to address climate change, such as reduce demand for heating and cooling, stormwater management, microclimate regulation but also support human health and recreation. Thanks to their multi-functionality and sustainability NBS are increasingly applied as measures to address climate change in cities – in Berlin, a number of innovative NBS projects have been implemented in Berlin already since the 1990s to address such challenges.

On 8 June 2020, the first Virtual Ocean Literacy Summit was organised on the occasion of the World Oceans Day. There was no better chance to celebrate the creation of the "EU4Ocean" coalition and its dedication to ocean literacy, together with Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and IOC-UNESCO. Because of the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, we met virtually to officially announce and celebrate this launch and share ideas and perspective for the protection of our blue planet.

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 4 March 2020 the European Commission published its proposal for a European climate law. The present Commission proposal raises a number of questions, such as what steering effect can the long-term orientation really achieve or will the climate law effectively close existing gaps in the processes of EU climate policy? Together with experts, we have further explored these questions.

The Ecologic Institute and the European Climate Foundation (ECF) hold an online conference on the forthcoming EU Climate Law. The European Commission's proposal for a European climate law was discussed with insight from experts and policy-makers and followed up by an exchange with the about 90 participants.

The final event of the dialogue forum "Wirtschaft macht Klimaschutz" took place on 11 March 2020 in Berlin. Over the past two years, representatives from more than 100 companies have jointly developed ideas, projects and concrete steps to promote climate protection in their companies. Organised in five thematic working groups, the Dialogue Forum has brought together climate protection pioneers among German companies and facilitated exchange of ideas across sector boundaries.