At the third Climate Talk a first review of the allocation of CO 2 -emission-rights in Germany was conducted. Experts from business, science, and government discussed the practical and legal difficulties of allocation, both for industry and administration. Presentations were given by Dr. Simon Marr (Deutsche Emissionshandelsstelle - DEHSt), Dr. Jürgen Altenburg (RWE Power AG) and Peter Ebsen (Baker& McKenzie LLP).

International climate policy, the significance of Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and the US elections were the subject at the Dinner Dialog on 6 December 2004. It was held in honour of Oran Young, university professor in the U.S. and in Norway. The institutional structure and goals of the international climate regime, the opportunities, both for the further development of existing structures and agendas and for the creation of possible new regimes as well as the need for concrete action, were vividly and controversially discussed.

Görlach, Benjamin and Eduard Interwies 2004: Assessing Environmental and Resource Costs in the Water Framework Directive. The Case of Germany. Ecologic, Berlin.

International Climate Protection Policy was the subject at the Dinner Dialogue in honor of Lee Lane, Executive Director of the Climate Policy Center in Washington DC. The roots and the role of growing US conservatism as the driving force of American climate policy were controversially discussed, as well as the most efficient and promising approaches to tackle climate change issues. The Dinner Dialogue took place on 6 October 2004 in Berlin.

In July 2004, the German Federal Cabinet adopted the draft amendment of the law governing non discriminatory network access (EnWG – Energiewirtschaftsgesetz). It transposes the EU Acceleration Directive for electricity and gas into German national law. Nicole Wilke and Camilla Bausch explain the essential elements of the draft amendment in an article.

The transition to a sustainable development is a strategic aim of the EU. To this end, the European Council adopted during the meeting in Gothenburg 2001 a European Sustainable Development Strategy. The midterm review of the strategy is scheduled for next year (2005). How has the European Sustainable Development Strategy performed so far? In this article, Ecologic analyses both the relation between the Sustainable Development Strategy and the Lisbon process as well as the weaknesses of the strategy, and suggests a way forward.

The study on "Public participation in water management in the co-ordination area Havel (Berlin-Brandenburg)" authored by Nicole Kranz, Antje Vorwerk and Wenke Hansen was published as the first volume of the new publication series of the KompetenzZentrum Wasser Berlin (KWB - Berlin Centre of Competence for Water).

The Yearbook Ecology 2005 will be published at the end of September 2004. Ecologic is one of the institutes supporting this yearbook. This year's focus is on Renewable Energy, Resource Conflicts, and Sustainable Economy.

The Linking Directive was the topic of the Climate Talk event which took place on 11 August. Experts from business, science, and government discussed the legal framework and the difficulties of putting JI (Joint Implementation) and CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) into practice within the framework of the European emissions trading scheme. Presentations were given by Dr. Patrick Graichen (Federal Government for the Environment - BMU), Thomas Langrock (German Agency for Emissions Trading - DEHSt) and Dr. Sascha Lafeld (3C).

In his contribution for the symposium "Representation of Interests by NGOs at European Level" at the Bucerius Law School, Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf focused on the influence of European environmental interest groups on European environmental Policy. Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf analysed the institutional structures of European environmental NGOs and illustrated their success and deficits in influencing European environmental Policy. Therein, he focused on the Green G8, an umbrella association of European environmental NGOs and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

The EC increasingly participates in multilateral environmental agreements alongside its Member States. The appearance of both EC and Member States raises questions of competences for the negotiation, conclusion and implementation of such international instruments. In particular in the field of marine environment, substantial progress is hindered by an opaque division of competences between the EC and its Member States and lack of coordination. Accordingly, the German Federal Environmental Agency commissioned Ecologic and Professor Astrid Epiney with the task of analysing the division of external competences between the EC and its Member States, taking into account the OSPAR-Convention. The results of this project have now been published as a book.

Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf focuses in his contributing article on the influence of European environmental interest groups on European environmental Policy.

High level representatives, among them the Ambassador of Costa Rica to Germany, exchanged views on the role of education and potential of fair trade in rural areas of developing countries. One of the main issues debated at the Dinner Dialogue on 1 July 2004 in Berlin with Dr. José Zaglul, Rector of Earth University in Costa Rica, was the question of the contribution of agricultural education and fair trade to rural development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Wenke Hansen and Nadine Herbke's article, "Quality has its price! But which? - Future of the Water Supply and Wastewater Sector" is published in the documentation of the convention "Füllhorn oder Büchse der Pandora? – GATS, the European Internal Market and the liberalisation of public services in Germany". The article addresses the evolution of prices and charges in the European water and sanitation sector, and the debate over the liberalisation of the German water sector. <br /><br />