Dr. Wolfgang Urban, Fellow at Ecologic Institute, hold a presentation at the fourth expert dialogue "Gas Infrastructure for the Future", organized by the Technologiestiftung Berlin (TSB). He described the current state of the energy transition process in Germany – the so-called Energiewende - and explained the further steps of the German Federal Government. Additionally, he exemplified the challenges in the energy market namely flexibility options, wind and solar energy in the transformation process as well as the role of natural gas infrastructure and natural gas as energy source. The presentation is available for download.

In the light of shrinking public budgets – both at the state and at the federal level – new approaches to leveraging public funding for renewable energies need to be developed. Reed Hundt, CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, REH Advisors, presented his approach: State Clean Energy Finance Banks.

As part of a VDI Conference dealing with demand-driven electricity generation from biogas and biomethane, Ecologic Institute's Dr. Wolfgang Urban gave a speech about the political expansion goals in the field of renewable energies and the prospect of biogas from the Federal Government's point of view. He especially presented the Energy Concept 2010 and related challenges, e.g. the demand for a flexible electricity supply. The presentation slides are available for download.

On 20 March 2013, Prof. Dr. Simonis and Michael Zschiesche were interviewed about East and West German identities in environmental policy consultancy at Ecologic Institute, Berlin. In the conversation, the differences between East and West Germany became clear, even though the beginning of the institutionalization of environmental politics seems similar. The discussion (in German) can be watched online.

During the International VDI Conference-Biomethane 2013, major issues for the biogas and biomethane markets in technical, political and business areas, drawing on leading experiences from all over Europe, Russia and China were discussed. Dr. Wolfgang Urban, Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented German political targets and utilization priorities for biomethane. Furthermore he spoke on the current legal framework and incentive scheme as well as the challenges and future perspectives and conclusions from amendment of legal framework. The presentation slides are available for download.

Grit Martinez' presentation during the European Climate Change Adaptation conference (ECCA) 2013 dealt with the perception of climate risks and the reasons why different measures and attitudes emerged in two communities on the German Baltic Sea coast. The research was based on qualitative analysis and document research, including chronicles and exploration of sites of local coastal heritage. Special attention was given to the respective cultural traditions in the communities, e.g., images of nature, people's relationships to the sea and their sense of place, and economic development as well as past approaches and attitudes to coastal defence.

<p>On 6 March 2013, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the Embassy of Canada, Ecologic Institute and the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research hosted a lecture by David Hik, University of Alberta, Canada and IASC President. The session focused on possible future trajectories of national and international research in the Arctic region, drawing on Prof. Hik’s observations of the recent past and International Polar Year initiatives. Following the lecture, Prof. Hik fielded questions from the 35 participants, who represented German research institutes and ministries, foreign embassies and foundations and think tanks.</p>&#13;

The 24th edition of the Climate Talk, held on 25 February 2013, discussed the future of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The event, jointly organised by the Ecologic Institute and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), featured as discussants Dr. Jochen Diekmann (DIW Berlin), Dr. Uwe Neuser (Ministry of the Environment) und Dr. Joachim Hein (Federation of German Industries).