<p>On 31 October 2016, Ecologic Institute hosted a Dinner Dialoge on the German Climate Action Programme 2020 and the Climate Plan 2050 featuring guest speakers&nbsp; Dr. Karsten Sach, BMUB, Dr. Hermann Hüwels, DIHK, and Regine Günther, WWF.&nbsp; Franzjosef Schafhausen moderated the discussion. The 21 participants discussed which criteria a 2050 climate strategy would need to fulfil, and how this strategy could foster the required transformation towards a low-carbon economy.</p>

The 23 case studies conducted within the BASE project analysed responses and adaptation strategies to climate change impacting different geographical regions (i.e.: coastal zones, urban areas) and various sectors (i.e.: agriculture, forestry and water resource management, etc). The BASE case studies provide an excellent insight into the status-quo of adaptation in Europe as well as comparable data on the effectiveness, costs and benefits, implementation challenges and successes of different responses. BASE researchers cooperated with the European Environment Agency (EEA) to make the knowledge gathered accessible and useable for decision-makers at all levels. Case studies and project findings were integrated into the European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT).

<p>The sixth workshop of the Forum was marked by the beginning of the 2nd management cycle of the Water Framework Directive. At the event, the results of the first management cycle with regard to the status of the fish fauna and the envisaged measures to improve this quality element were reflected. In this context, the assessment methods for the fish fauna in surface water bodies and the passability of barriers and the resulting measures were considered.</p>&#13;&#13;

<p>The framework and a practical example of its application were presented by Gerardo Anzaldua (Ecologic Institute), who led the working group developing the framework, and Nadine Gerner (Emschergenossenschaft), who led the application of the framework on three case study sites in a webinar on 15. September. The webinar includes an ample Q&amp;A session with an extended group of members from the framework development team and lasted over an hour. You also can download the Power Point presentation that was used for the webinar.</p>

On 13 September 2016, the expert workshop "Discussion of an assessment system for civil society initiatives to measure sustainability and transformative potential" took place in Berlin. At the workshop, about 30 participants from science, policy, foundations, and sustainability initiatives discussed the first draft of a criteria catalogue for measuring and presenting the societal benefit of niche sustainability initiatives, especially their sustainability and transformative potential. Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented the assessment system. In the workshop, the application of the criteria catalogue to two case studies was also presented. The criteria for estimating the sustainability potential, the transformative potential, the organizational capacity for action, and the scalability of the initiatives were developed from 13 political and scientific assessment systems and from transition literature.

<p>Laudato Si': To Care for our Common Home. Pope Francis' encyclical has created widespread conversation within and beyond the Catholic community. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute along with Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Klaus Töpfer, Hartmut Graßl, Anton Losinger, Mary Evelyn Tucker and other prominent voices from science, policy and theology provided insights on this discussion at the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) three day international workshop on the Papal Encyclical.</p>&#13;

From 4 until 6 September 2016 the Estuarine &amp; Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA) held its 56th multidisciplinary research conference entitled "Coastal systems in transition from a 'natural' to an 'anthropogenically modified' state" in Bremen (Germany). Dr. Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute and Prof. Paolo Ciavola of the University of Ferrara hosted a special session on "Practical illustration of the human dimension in coastal systems and its drivers for change". Presenters from the FP7-Project RISC-KIT highlighted the state of the art of their interdisciplinary research on reducing human risk in coastal areas which was complimented by further participants from other European and world-wide research projects. The presentation slides are available for download.

Ecologic Institute and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) co-hosted a talk with Dr. Rick Spinrad, Chief Scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). An internationally recognized scientist and executive with more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Spinrad was invited to Germany on behalf of the US Embassy to share insights on the topic of oceans and sustainability. The event was moderated by R. Andreas Kraemer, Founding Director of Ecologic Institute.

<p>A group of 17 representatives from think tanks, policy and business as well as journalists from various European and non-European countries were invited to Germany as part of the Visitors Programme of the Federal Republic of Germany. During their stay, the group explored green technologies in the water and resources sector as well as the policies that shaped the legal framework for innovative products and technologies. Participants could speak with representatives from ministries, research institutes, think tanks, public-private partnerships and businesses in Berlin, Freiberg and Leipzig.</p>

As part of the DYNAMIX project, another three policy reports that synthesised the assessments of three policy mixes (a land use policy mix; a metals and materials use policy mix; and an overarching policy mix) were written in order to support the pathway to absolute decoupling in the EU. These policy mixes were designed to specifically address the use of virgin metals, the use of arable land and freshwater, the input of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus and emissions of greenhouse gases. All policy briefs are available for download.

On 17 August 2016, McKenna Davis, Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on "Barriers and Success Factors for cooperation under Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA)" for the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Bonn. The results presented came from a study commissioned by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Both the presentation and original study are available for download.

Between July and October 2016 this six-part webinar series brought together Arctic experts, professionals and students. The webinar series covered topics including shipping and marine governance, energy, environmental impact assessments, science, security, and indigenous communities in the Arctic.

In implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Germany has to deal with a range of new challenges. Achieving goals in land and soil protection, for example, cannot build on a long tradition of policymaking or on a solid basis of information and data for monitoring. An expert workshop together with the Federal Agency of Environment (UBA) and Federal Ministry of Environment (BMUB) on 6 July 2016 in Berlin sought to clarify how Germany can achieve "land degradation neutrality" domestically. Stephanie Wunder from Ecologic Institute presented results from a report, which served as the basis for intensive discussions among the participants.

On 5 July 2016, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on "The Energy Transition in Germany and the Renewable Energy Sources Act: Context, Legal and Procedural Aspects" for a delegation from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People's Republic of China. The presentation was part of a study tour on European and German Climate Change Legislation organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. The presentation slides are available for download.

What signal do private actors need in the emissions trading for the period after the second Kyoto commitment period 2020? How can legal certainty be created for the "climate change" AAUs / CERs / ERUs from the Kyoto era, and what will happen in the future to existing institutions (CDM EB, JISC, registers, trading platforms)? How can the UNFCCC ensure the quality of international climate protection measures and apply reduction measures consistently and transparently? And is there any potential as well as political interest in emission trading clubs? The discussion on these and other questions was initiated by keynote speakers by Dennis Tänzler (adelphi), Lambert Schneider (Stockholm Environment Institute) and Nico Kreibich (Wuppertal Institute).