<p> Every year, the Congressional Study Group on Germany brings together Members of U.S. Congress and members of the German Bundestag for a series of discussions on issues of mutual interest. The topics for 2007 included renewable energy, relations with China, the war in Afghanistan, and developments in Africa.&nbsp; R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic was invited by the United States Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC) to speak on renewable energy policies in the European Union.</p>

<p>&#13; The concept of sustainable development has gained tremendous popularity since Rio but is still challenging to consider in everyday political practice. The Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development, in its opinion on the 2004 progress report on the National Sustainability Strategy of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, thus asked for an instrument to assess legislation on its sustainability. On 28 February 2007 the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development held a public hearing on the Sustainability Impact Assessment instrument, which aimed at discussing existing concepts for Sustainability Impact Assessments as well as their integration in parliamentary procedures.</p>&#13;

<p>&#13; Sustainable energy and climate change policy with respect to biofuels has become more and more important. In addition to offering a noteworthy alternative to fossil fuels, they also offer carbon reduction potential. However, increasing use of biofuels has led to new challenges in the field of economy, nature protection and social acceptance. Due to these new challenges, one important step is to develop a certification system for biofuels based on criteria of sustainability. Stephanie Schlegel, a Fellow at Ecologic Insitute, presented experiences with the FSC Forest Certification at the workshop ”Sustainable biofuels – How to certify?“, organised by Econsense.</p>&#13;

The Washington Post called Lester Brown "one of the world's most influential thinkers." The Telegraph of Calcutta refers to him as "the guru of the environmental movement." While visiting Germany in order to launch the German edition of his book "Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble", he gave a talk in Berlin on 22 January 2007.

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 capacity of planet Earth has reached its limits. Our environmental impact increases due to the depletion of resources, population growth, emissions of pollutants and soil erosion. Only if governments, leaders in industry and finance, and civil society pull together, can a global disaster be prevented. On 22 November 2006 the Club of Rome and the SPD-Denkfabrik will present this discussion at the German Bundestag. Host-speaker will be Prof. Dr. Dennis Meadows, co-author of "Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update".

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.

This CTI Capacity Building Semniar brought together about 75 key persons from politics, business, non-governmental organisations, research institutes and think tanks from Central and Eastern European Countries, the former Soviet Union and Mongolia as well as OECD countries. Participants were given the opportunity to discuss and develop concrete projects in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They were encouraged to present first project ideas and were given the opportunity to meet experts from OECD countries to share their experiences and ideas concerning the economic potential and benefits of climate change policies. It was the 7th event of the series of CTI Capacity Building Seminars.

The mission of the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) is to bring countries together to foster international co-operation in the accelerated development and diffusion of climate-friendly and environmentally sound technologies and practices. The promotion of technology transfer under the Kyoto Protocol as incorporated in the Marrakech Accords is at the core of CTI's work. Ecologic supports the organisation of a seminar that is part of CTI. It is the 7th event of a series sponsored by the German Federal Environment Agency.

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.

The Free University of Berlin organised a conference on behalf of The Permanent European conference for the study of the rural landscape (PECSRL) from 4 until 9 September 2006, focusing on the theme: European rural future: Landscape as an Interface. Rainer Müssner from Ecologic gave a presentation about the importance of landscape issues in public policies. This presentation focused on the following key questions: Is "landscape" a priority issue on the national / European policy agenda?, do we have a coherent "landscape policy"? and what can be done to increase the political "weight" of landscape issues?

There are obvious successes in Transboundary Water Management. How can the Landscape sector profit from these experiences, considering there exists an insufficient level of co-operation between states? Rainer Müssner in collaboration with Eduard Interwies gave a presentation focusing on these issues at the 22nd conference of The Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape.

<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;