For the past 5 years, Ecologic Institute has maintained a top position in the prestigious ranking of political institutions or "Think Tanks," implemented by the University of Pennsylvania. Moreover, the Institute is currently 16th amongst "Think Tanks to Watch," i.e., those organizations that have earned a particular global profile according to assessment of the consulting experts. Ecologic Institute, founded in Berlin in 1995 and currently employing around 150 individuals, is the only Think Tank among the 55 Think Tanks in Western Europe that specializes in matters relating to the environment, climate, energy and resources and is also the sole organization of this nature among the 70 Think Tanks considered to have the most significant impact on public policy.

On 22 January 2015, R. Andreas Kraemer presented the 2014 Global Go To Index Report of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, the University of Pennsylvania ((TTCSP). TTCSP launched its 2014 Report in the USA at the same day. Simultaneously, more than 50 global partners implemented local events to present the report in the national language and to discuss it with leading think tank representatives in a regional context.

The German research agenda in 2015 focuses on the future of cities ("Wissenschaftsjahr Zukunftsstadt"). This topic is also reflected in the curricula of schools. On 20 January 2015, ninety 9-year-old schoolchildren from Potsdam came together to watch the movie "Der blaue Tiger" and then discuss sustainable urban development from their perspectives. Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, was invited to talk with them about the challenges of urban development, sustainability, the participation of children, and other issues.

Ana Frelih-Larsen, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation to a group of international journalists during an Informational Tour for Journalists and Experts in the context of the Green Week in Berlin. She gave an overview of the process of climate change mainstreaming in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), outlining the underlying scientific evidence base and discussing the basic principles of mainstreaming. She further illustrated the various tools that Member States can use to integrate climate objectives in the CAP 2014-2020 and discussed the key practical aspects and barriers to mainstreaming implementation.

<p>On 1 January 2015, Dr. Camilla Bausch took over management of Ecologic Institute. The 42-year-old lawyer follows in the steps of former Director and founder of the Institute, R. Andreas Kraemer.</p>&#13; Dr. Camilla Bausch has extensive expertise in the field of international environmental policy. As Associate Editor of the journal, Carbon &amp; Climate Law Review (CCLR), and through a multitude of projects, publications, and talks, she has distinguished herself both nationally and internationally. Dr. Camilla Bausch has been active at Ecologic Institute for over ten years and has proven her leadership qualities both internally and externally as part of Ecologic Institute's executive board and as board member and chair for Greenpeace Germany (2009-2014).

The management board of the Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH) has appointed Sascha Müller-Kraenner—one of the founders and a partner of Ecologic Institute, Berlin and Vice-Chairman of the Ecologic Institute in Washington DC—as chief executive of the nature, environment, and consumer organization. The trained biologist has led the association since January 2015 together with Jürgen Resch who has held the position since 1986.

Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf testified in the Bundestag on investment protection under CETA on 15 December 2014 (Committee of Economy and Energy). He argued that investment protection in CETA is superfluous because the EU and Canada already provide high levels of investment protection through their national legal systems. His statement is available for download (in German only) or in Bundestag document 18 (9) 300.

The second European Climate Change Adaptation conference (ECCA) will take place in Copenhagen, 12–14 May 2015. Presentation abstracts can be submitted (link is external) until 1st of February 2015.

What does policy consultancy mean in practice? What is a think tank and what does it do? Christiane Gerstetter and Susanne Langsdorf discuss these and other questions with students of the bachelor program "Internationales Politikmanagement" (ISPM) at Bremen University of Applied Sciences. About 20 students participate in the seminar "Policy consulting in intermediary organisations".

In the course of an environmental research and development project of the Federal Environment Ministry (BMUB), the Federal Environment Agency established in 2012 the "Fish Protection and Downstream Fish Migration" forum. During the five workshops organised by this forum, over 200 representatives from the government, fishery and environmental organisations, energy industry, engineering offices, and research institutions held a discussion about Fish Protection and Downstream Fish Migration. During this discussion, the interests and positions about the status of knowledge and technology, the need for action, and research on the subject of population protection were developed and illustrated.

From 24 to 28 November 2014, Ecologic Institute implemented a study trip for 8 members of the South African Energy Committee. Participants were able to meet and discuss with representatives from ministries, think tanks, NGOs and business representatives in Berlin and Hamburg. Both national policies and examples of local and regional implementation of the German energy policy were highlighted while taking into consideration opportunities and challenges for South Africa.

When and why were environmental think tanks founded in Germany? How is the system for environmental consulting organized in Germany today? What is the daily work of an environmental think tank? Susanne Langsdorf, researcher at Ecologic Institute, presented the system in which environmental research and consultancy is organised in Germany and the daily work of an environmental think tank to students.