In this EFEX webinar Doug Sims, Director of Strategy and Finance at the Center for Market Innovation (Natural Resources Defense Council), and Quentin Genard, Head of the Brussels Office at E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism), discussed the existing and evolving concepts behind a "green deal" in the US and EU, identified differences and similarities and debated pros and cons. The discussion then shifted to policy details, more specifically the proposed funding mechanisms for a new deal in both the US and EU (or lack thereof). The webinar was moderated by Matthias Duwe, Head, Climate, at Ecologic Institute.

In this EFEX webinar, Michael Mehling, Deputy Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at MIT, and Matthias Duwe, Head Climate at Ecologic Institute, discussed the state of play of climate framework laws, drawing on specific examples from the EU and the sub-national level in the US and experiences in other parts of the world. The webinar was moderated by Arne Riedel, a Fellow and legal expert at Ecologic Institute.

Without a thorough transformation in the transport sector, the energy transition will not succeed. On the one hand, emissions caused by mobility must be significantly reduced. On the other hand, the two sectors of transport and energy need to be linked. Lower Saxony, where the dominance of car traffic is more pronounced than in other German regions, has initiated many sustainable mobility projects in recent years. Now it is a matter of spreading the word on new mobility concepts. To contribute to this broader goal, the WenaMoNi project carries out a comprehensive cross-sectoral analysis in the field of sustainable mobility in Lower Saxony and then identifies opportunities and obstacles.

On 24 October 2019, research partners and stakeholders from the COACCH (CO-designing the Assessment of Climate CHange costs) project met in Brussels for the second interactive co-design workshop. In this second stakeholder workshop, the COACCH researchers presented first findings on climate change costs in different sectors, and explored ideas for the next phase of work focused on the assessment of policies and tipping points.

Democracies need a compass, writes Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the ipg-journal. To find their way in the haze of polarised debate, the compass must offer four things. First, it must help to understand pluralism – it must help to endure and respect different opinions. Conversely, it must recognise that some positions are outside the democratic spectrum. Thirdly, it must ensure precise language. And fourth, it must identify trends in democracies. The article is available online.

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.

The circular economy aims to maintain the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible while minimising the generation of waste and material inputs through eco-design, recycling and reusing of products. The circular economy offers significant potential for climate change mitigation, as it helps reducing greenhouse emissions that occur over the life cycle of a product from production to disposal (or cradle to grave).

In Europe, limited information is available about the environmental characteristics of the vehicles stocks and of traded used vehicles in terms of vehicle's air pollutant and CO2 emissions. In this context and on behalf of the European Environmental Agency, Ecologic Institute and Fraunhofer ISI explore available national and European data sources of vehicle stocks and trade throughout Europe and compile the available vehicle characteristics. Based on the available characteristics, the project team derives the environmental performance of vehicle stocks and traded used vehicles and assess respective regional differences in the environmental performance of the vehicles stocks and of used vehicle trade flows.

Over 90% of German rivers and streams are straightened, constricted, piped or interrupted by structures such as weirs or barrages. Restoration can improve the ecological status and attractiveness of water bodies. This interactive infographic lists and visualizes restoration measures for four different starting situations.

The project schedule for river restoration projects can vary greatly. This flow chart shows the most important project steps. Natural river development is a complex undertaking. A well-structured planning management creates the prerequisites for a balanced solution and an efficient and successful implementation of measures.

Many interests come together when considering rivers. For restoration projects, new compromises must be reached and conflicts of use must be resolved through planning processes. Early, open and regular communication between all stakeholders increases the satisfaction with the restoration result.

River restoration costs money, but there are many funding instruments and grants that can be combined. In addition, compensatory measures and overlapping interests with other departments and stakeholders (e.g. flood protection, nature conservation) can be utilised. The infographics give examples of concrete support programmes and instruments for the financing of river restoration by the German Federal States, the German Federal Government, the European Union, local authorities and others.

The European Union and the United States share many values, principles and interests, and there is a rich tapestry of transatlantic relations at many levels and across a range of policy fields. At present, however, on climate change and climate action, – as well as other important areas of policy – the EU and the US are pulling in different, sometimes opposite directions. Led by keynote comments from author and academic Bruce Stokes, a small group of experts engaged in a round-table discussion to explore the prospects for post-election transatlantic relations and cooperation across a range of related policy fields.

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.

As hydromorphological aspects between the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Floods Directive refer to the same fluvial processes, the issue of hydromorphology and flooding has been addressed several times within the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) process. In this context, a workshop on hydromorphological measures under the Floods and Water Framework Directives – "Finding synergies and addressing challenges" took place on 4-5 December 2018, in Budapest (Hungary). After the workshop, this background paper was updated to include conclusions from the meeting. The background paper is available online.