Guske, A.-L.; Jacob, K.; Hirschnitz-Garbers, M.; Peuckert, J.; Schridde, S.; Stinner, S.; Wolff, F.; Zahrnt, D.; Ziesemer, F. (2019). Stories that Change Our World? Narratives of the Sustainable Economy. Sustainability, 11, 6163.

Olfert, A.; Schiller, G.; Brunnow, B.; Walther, J.; Hirschnitz-Garbers, M.; Hölscher, K.; Wittmayer, J. (2020). Prozessbegleitende Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung als Werkzeug für ein nachhaltigkeitsorientiertes Infrastrukturmanagement. InfrastrukturRecht 17 (2020) 1, p. 17-20

Currently, farming systems in Europe rely strongly on the use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs). Yet, the use of PPPs pose risks to both human and environmental health with pesticide exposure being associated with health problems, including reproductive issues and cancer as well as environmental degradation. In the SPRINT project, research institutes from 11 European countries and Argentina as well as the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) work together, alongside with farmers and policy makers, to accelerate the transition to sustainable plant protection.

This article introduces the German Federal Environment Agency's online information platform on river restoration. It was designed, compiled and implemented between 2017 and 2020 by Ecologic Institute, Planungsbüro Zumbroich and IGF Jena. The information platform provides basic knowledge on the restoration of rivers and serves to gain acceptance for restoration measures. It addresses towns and municipalities, water management authorities, water bodies associations, fishing associations and citizens' groups.

Local governments have little influence on short- and long-term climate policies taken at national and supranational levels. As the role of global cities is put to test by the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for an urgent and coherent management of the emergency in urban realities places further emphasis on the quest for sustainable urbanisation processes and strategies worldwide. Ewa Iwaszuk (Ecologic Institute) provides a commentary on the contribution of global cities to meeting the SDG13 within the ISPI Dossier "Global Cities in the Age of Covid-19: Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development".

What do environmentally friendly economic stimulus programs look like? In the Tagesspiegel, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf takes stock of the stimulus packages adopted during the 2009 financial crisis. Stimulus packages should clearly exclude measures that harm the environment.

This paper first analyses the 2009 stimulus packages of six EU Member States – namely, Austria, Germany, France, Poland, Slovenia and the UK – with a focus on the potential of the packages to contribute to the implementation of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS) and the Lisbon Strategy. In Chapter 4, the paper discusses the extent to which the packages help implement the EU SDS and Lisbon strategies. Chapter 5 draws conclusions and presents recommendations. An annex provides an overview of the targets and implementation status of the EU SDS and the Lisbon Strategy.

Meyer-Ohlendorf, Nils 2020: Proposal for a European Climate Law – Suggestions for Amendments. Ecologic Institute: Berlin.

Meyer-Ohlendorf, Nils 2020: A European Climate Law. Analysis of the European Commission proposal. Ecologic Institute: Berlin.

COACCH Project (CO-designing the Assessment of Climate Change Costs) has launched a webinar series to share its results on economic assessment of climate change and adaptation. The second COACCH webinar was held on 14 May 2020 and focused on "Insights from the COACCH project II: Climate impacts on labor productivity and energy." The webinar presented results on sectoral economic assessments.

COACCH Project (CO-designing the Assessment of Climate Change Costs) launched a webinar series to share its results on economic assessment of climate change and adaptation. On 30 April 2020, the project hosted its first webinar "Insights from the COACCH project I: Climate change impacts on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and coastal areas" and focuses on sectoral economic assessments.

In the European Union, hydropower represents an important component of a renewable energy transition, in part due to its existing infrastructure. A large share of future European hydropower projects will be run-of-the-river schemes. To understand the potential for RoR hydropower development and modernization of the technology as an opportunity for sustainable decentralization, this report uses the Q-methodology to compare public values about RoR hydropower in German, Portuguese and Swedish case studies.

What role can nature-based solutions (NBS) play in climate change adaptation and mitigation? How can NBS be applied in order to achieve integrated risk management and resilience? These questions were addressed at the 'Paris Forum on NBS'. Sandra Naumann, Senior Researcher at Ecologic Institute, presented in the plenary session insights from city initiatives in Europe to demonstrate the potential of nature-based solution and to highlight remaining challenges needing to be addressed.

Vietnam is currently revising its Law on Environmental Protection and therefore also revisiting the chapter on climate change. Ecologic Institute supports the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in adapting the provisions to the requirements of the Paris Agreement. In addition, recommendations are being developed based on experiences in other countries with climate change framework laws.

Many lifetime extensions for nuclear power plants are planned for the coming years. Ecologic Institute supports the German government in negotiations under the Espoo Convention on the question of whether a transboundary environmental impact assessment is required for these lifetime extensions.