With the impending nuclear energy phase out, how can the energy system successfully adapt and rebuild? What concepts and which alliances are necessary for the transition from a fossil- nuclear world to the solar era? The Ecology Yearbook 2012 addresses these fundamental issues from economic, social, and technical perspectives. It keeps track of which options can lead to a green transformation, but also looks at unresolved environmental conflicts, which can only be addressed through innovators and new and transformative research. The Ecologic Institute is one of the institutes supporting the yearbook and has contributed a chapter to the 2012 edition.

"Waking the sleeping giant - Instruments for more energy efficiency in the EU" was the topic of the 19th Climate Talk, hosted by Dr. Camilla Bausch and Benjamin Görlach of Ecologic Institute and Dr. Susanne Dröge of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in June 2011.

During the VDI conference "Biogas 2011" Dominik Müller and Dr. Wolfgang Urban of the Ecologic Institute spoke on the experiences with the German law to promote renewable energies (EEG) and its imminent revision. They presented the premises of the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the planned substantial changes in the EEG. They also reported on the monitoring results. The presentation slides and script are available for download.

The EU is a relative newcomer to Arctic policy and may appear to have limited options for influencing the future of the Arctic. However, all Arctic States and neighbouring countries, including the EU, have a stake in the health of Arctic ecosystems and communities, as well as the sustainable development of new sources of economic growth in this region. Sandra Cavalieri, Emily McGlynn and Susanah Stoessel from Ecologic Institute, along with co-authors Martin Bruckner (SERI), Timo Koivurova (Arctic Centre) and Annika E. Nilsson (Stockholm Environment Institute) present an overview of the EU's ecological footprint on the Arctic region, and suggest policy options to reduce negative impacts.

As part of the workshop "Biogas Feed-In", organized by Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Ecologic Institute's Wolfgang Urban gave a speech about "The Legal Framework - Instruments for the Efficient Use of Biomethan". The presentation dealt with political aims regarding renewable energies, results of the monitoring of the Renewable Energies Act and marketing prospects of biomethan. The presentation slides are available for download.

Longer and warmer summers on the German Baltic Sea coast – this is a possible implication of climate change that could certainly also serve as an opportunity for the tourism sector. At the same time, however, negative impacts such as increased algae growth are also expected. Communities and stakeholders in the coastal region will have to adapt to these impacts in the near future. In the first RADOST annual report, the RADOST project partners present both impacts and possible adaptation strategies in the fields of coastal protection; tourism; water management and agriculture; ports and marine economy; renewable energy; and conservation and land use.

After two years of project work, the second annual report of RADOST (Regional adaption measures for the German Baltic Sea Coast) presents research results and experiences of cooperation with political decision makers in ministries, administrations and communities. The annual report is available for download.

With its rapid economic growth and its rapidly growing energy hunger, the People's Republic of China plays a central role in international climate policy. The emerging economy is now the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. At least at the national level, the Chinese government has declared its intention to fight climate change. China implemented a series of measures on energy efficiency, energy saving and renewable energies and was able to reduce energy intensity of its economy by 20% in the past five years (according to own data). This is in line with the last five-year plan. The country also is the world's biggest producer of wind turbines and solar cells. But despite these successes and despite still moderate per capita emissions, China's total energy consumption and emissions continue to rise rapidly.

The report provides an overview of the environmental relevance of the largest fields of expenditure within the EU budget. It assesses the sustainability level of key budget items in the EU sectoral policies. It also provides recommendations in the context of a potential reform of subsidies that would contribute to the alignment of the EU budget towards a more sustainable growth as called in the EU 2020 Strategy.

During the "E-World" event in Essen, Ecologic Institute's Wolfgang Urban gave a speech on the role of biomethan for the Federal Government's Energy Concept 2050. After shortly introducing the use options of biomethan, he presented political goals in this field, especially the Energy Concept 2050. In addition, he highlighted the possible contribution of biomethan to the achievement of these goals. Wolfgang Urban concluded his speech with suggestions for incentive tools regarding power and heat. The presentation slides are available for download.

Although there are many information and data on the environmental and climate impact of consumption and production, it is difficult to evaluate their role and their connections in the overall picture. In this study, different quality requirements for environmental information are defined and compared by using the concept of the "True and Fair View."

In order to achieve the aims of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in German river basin districts, comprehensive and cost-intensive measures are necessary. In the case of disproportionally high costs, exceptions regarding deadlines and environmental objectives are possible. Using the cost-benefit-analysis that is presented in this manual, these disproportionalities can be identified.