Governance | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Publication

A European Climate Law – What Should It Look Like?

Ursula von der Leyen, the new President of the European Commission, took office today, on 1 December 2019. As one of her first proposals, she promised to propose a European Climate Law in the first 100 days of her term in office. This 'Law' is a critical step to make Europe climate neutral. It can close gaps in existing EU climate rules. These gaps will impede the EU from becoming climate neutral before 2050. A new paper by Ecologic Institute discusses what a European Climate Law should look like, and how it could close existing gaps. The paper is available for download.Read more

Presentation

Climate Protection in the Pankow District – Successful examples from other municipalities

TimeLoc

20 November 2019

Berlin

Germany

Doris Knoblauch

On 20 November 2019, Doris Knoblauch of Ecologic Institute was invited as an expert to a hearing on "Climate Protection in the Pankow District" at the Pankow District Assembly in Berlin. The expert's presentation dealt with possible climate protection measures in terms of content (e.g. how the change in mobility or nutrition can succeed), but focused on organisational aspects, such as how climate protection can be anchored as a cross-sectional task in the district administration and within the population.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Water

Regulation: Solutions at the Wrong End.

Plastic Atlas 2019: Facts and figures about the world of synthetic polymers

There are numerous regulatory approaches at the international, regional and national level regarding the handling of plastic products and plastic waste. What they all have in common is their limited effectiveness. Linda Mederake, Stephan Gürtler and Doris Knoblauch argue that this is partly due to the fact that at the international level a large number of binding agreements and voluntary initiatives have developed independently of one another and are therefore not coordinated in terms of content. The Plastics Atlas 2019 is available online.Read more

Presentation

Climate Change Law – Overview of the Legal Frameworks at the International, European and National Level

TimeLoc

4 November 2019

Berlin

Germany

Dr. Stephan Sina

On 4 November 2019, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a lecture on "Climate Change Law – Overview of the Legal Frameworks at the International, European and National Level" at the Berlin School of Economics and Law. The lecture was part of a lecture series during the International Students’ Week. The aim of the lecture was for students to gain an understanding of the legal frameworks at the different levels and their interaction.Read more

Presentation

The International Governance of Geo-engineering

TimeLoc

4 November 2019 to 5 November 2019

Brussels

Belgium

Dr. Camilla Bausch

Dr. Ralph Bodle, LLM

Whether and how to pursue “geo-engineering” as part of climate policy is a controversial and complex issue. The generic term describes a range of concepts that spans decreasing radiative forcing to removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Dr. Camilla Bausch moderated a two-day international workshop on the governance of geo-engineering in Brussels during which Dr. Ralph Bodle outlined the structure and criteria for addressing governance.Read more

Publication

Report

Coastal + Marine

Governance

Ocean as a Global Commons

International Governance and the Role of Germany

As part of the 'Sustainability 2030 Science Platform', Ecologic Institute has published a study on oceans as a global commons. An overview of the different governance mechanisms in regard to the Global Commons "Oceans" area are discussed. The study is available for download and will be presented at the beginning of December at the Annual Conference 2019 of the Science Platform.Read more

Event

Fourth Meeting of the Policymaker Platform (PMP4)

TimeLoc

22 October 2019 to 23 October 2019

Berlin

Germany

Speaker

Carel Mohn

Oskar Kulik

Elena Stecca

Matthias Duwe

By 1 January 2020, all EU Member States need to submit long-term climate strategies. How will these be implemented afterwards? What are possible positive narratives about the future that they can describe? These were key themes of the fourth meeting of the Policymaker Platform - a dialogue workshop for government officials and experts organized by Ecologic Institute under its Climate Recon 2050 project.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Plastics

Shaping EU Plastic Policies

The Role of Public Health vs. Environmental Arguments

This article by Ecologic Institute's Linda Mederake and Doris Knoblauch uses a structuring qualitative content analysis to investigate the parliamentary debates of two recently adopted plastic policies in the EU – namely the EU Plastics Strategy and the Single-Use Plastics Directive – and assess the relevance of public health and environmental arguments for the EU debate.Read more

Presentation

Panel discussion

Bioeconomy

Governance

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Bio-based Economy – Innovations in practice

TimeLoc

26 September 2019

Brussels

Belgium

Holger Gerdes

In September 2019, the European Commission organized the 'European Research & Innovation Days' to shape the EU's future research and innovation policy. Holger Gerdes, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, had been invited to take part in a panel discussion, which focused on the challenges and potentials of bio-based products and innovations. The video recordings from the session can be watched online.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Plastics

Ecologic Legal

A Treaty on Plastic Waste

Discussion paper

The discussion paper presents the rationale for a new treaty on tackling plastic waste and highlights its possible added value. The objective would be to reduce marine plastic litter through a comprehensive approach that also includes land-based sources, a life cycle approach to plastic and is open to future developments. The purpose would not be to prohibit plastics as such.Read more