To contribute to a wider dissemination of information relevant to renewable energy and energy efficiency especially in the EU’s southern and eastern neighbouring countries, this  international Ministerial Conference under the German EU Presidency 2007 was organised by Ecologic.

Since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, climate protection and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are binding targets for many countries. However, total global emissions have not reached intended targets, indicated by the continued increase in CO2, which is the most significant greenhouse gas. In 2006 total global CO2 emissions reached 29 Billion tonnes, representing a 2.6% increase over the preceding year and an increase of nearly a third from 1990. In his report, Dr. Hans-Joachim Ziesing, Senior Policy Advisor at Ecologic, presents the development of emissions in the EU and proposes a common implementation of climate protection targets to insure the EU's leading role in climate protection.

The role of renewable energy is increasing globally. Renewable energy sources are supposed to meet half of Germany's energy demand by 2050. In this article, the authors provide an overview on current developments in the law for renewable energy.

The transport sector has significant environmental impacts and subsidies are a significant piece of the policy framework that influences public and private decisions about transport. This report, which was published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and co-authored by Ecologic, provides a comprehensive picture of transport subsidies, classifying them by subsidy type and transport mode.

2007: Verhältnismäßigkeit der Maßnahmenkosten im Sinne der EG-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie – komplementäre Kriterien zur Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung – UFZ/Ecologic, Institut für Internationale und Europäische Umweltpolitik/ Universität Leipzig, Institut für Infrastruktur und Ressourcenmanagement, Stiftungsprofessur für Umwelttechnik/Umweltmanagement. Leipzig/Berlin.

The Yearbook Ecology 2007 has been published at the end of September 2006. Ecologic is one of the institutes supporting this yearbook. This year's focus is on resource productivity, stakeholder dialogues as well as on energy policy.

The European Emissions Trading System is a central pillar of German climate policy. After its introduction in 2005, some weak points, however, became obvious so that great hopes were pinned on the National Allocation Plan for the second trading period (NAP II). In their article for DowJones TradeNews Emissions, Helen Lückge and Camilla Bausch discuss if the German NAP II fulfills its economic objectives.

In March 2006, the German government cabinet adopted the "Modernisation Report for the German Water Sector". The report does not yet contain a specific modernisation strategy, but formed the basis for discussions at the 7th Congress of Municipal Utilities of the German Association of Municipal Utilities on 29 November 2006. R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic moderated the debate about the question, how the traditional form of urban utility management can remain a successful model for the provision of good conditions for environmental, social and economic development in towns and cities.

The seminar on "Energy and Climate Policy for the Future" served to identify the regulatory framework and conditions of energy supply and energy policy that the industry requires, and to discuss the interaction between energy policy and climate protection. R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute was invited to set the tone for the seminar with an opening dinner lecture, and to add reflections on energy supply security and the security policy implications of energy policy in the European neighbour states.

Climate change as a global phenomenon requires global action. The strategies of states are very multi-faceted and variable: next to the Kyoto Protocol (KP), which sets forth binding reduction targets, are a number of initiatives such as the Asian Pacific Partnership agreement for Clean Development and Climate (AP6) with a voluntary, technology-based approach, and the Action Program for climate protection put in place at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles. At the 9th climate talk it was debated whether these varied approaches are effective for climate protection, and to what extent they complement or compete and thus hinder one another.

<p>On 31 August 2006 a conference on "Resource Efficiency - Innovations for the Environment and Job Creation", jointly organised by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment and IG Metall (Industrial Trade Union of Metalworkers), was held in Berlin. Central in the discussion was the intelligent use of energy and raw materials as a key component of increased employment and economic success. Participants agreed that only a linkage between economy and ecology through the use of energy-efficient products and procedures will both provide chances for the future and preserve natural resources. Ecologic supported the organisation of the conference.</p>&#13;

International airspace and the high seas are global environmental goods with traditionally unrestricted access. The ensuing environmental impact can be addressed through user charges for air- and sea-traffic. This book assessed the legal conditions for the application of such charges in international, European Community and domestic law.

Successful and cost-effective implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) will depend on a deep understanding of the WFD’s economic dimensions. Eduard Interwies, Britta Pielen, Benjamin Görlach, and R. Andreas Kraemer have co-authored a chapter about these critical economic considerations and implications in a policy handbook on the WFD. Drawing from the 2004 economic analysis of the WFD, the authors examine the current and future challenges of integrating a full economic perspective into the WFD’s implementation.