The 2015 Paris Agreement requires the world's countries to overhaul fossil-fuel based economies and transition to low-carbon societies by mid-century - and asks that all develop national long-term strategies towards that end. Ecologic Institute has developed a concept for the evaluation of such long-term climate strategies for the project MaxiMiseR, run by WWF, which has now published results for the EU countries based on elements of this concept. The concept is available for download.
This paper explores six climate protection studies, namely for France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom and Germany. The authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Lena Donat, analyze objectives, results, modeling approaches, main assumptions and input parameters. The inclusions of long-term strategies in the Paris Agreement and in the European Commission's proposal for a new regulation on the "Governance of the Energy Union" make this analysis very topical. The analysis is available for download.
Veterinary pharmaceuticals and their transformation products have gained increasing attention as environmental contaminants. A research team led by Ecologic Institute analyzed measures that contribute to reduce the input of veterinary pharmaceuticals into the environment. The publication compiles existing approaches and measures for reducing the entry of veterinary pharmaceuticals into the environment, and derives additional measures of relevance for the environment.Over 40 measures to reduce veterinary pharmaceutical input from agriculture into the environment were identified, their effectiveness assessed and given top priority. The publication is available for download.
Brexit, immigration, Euro crisis, economic stagnation in some member states, EU skeptical and nationalist parties on the rise - 60 years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, the European Union is in turbulent times. The frequency and force of the various crises have created the impression that the EU is not in a position to serve the interests of its citizens and solve their problems. This is also reflected in a loss of confidence in the EU and its institutions - which was most clearly expressed in the Brexit referendum. The discussion will be introduced by keynote speeches by Silke Karcher (BMUB), Frederik Moch (DGB) and Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf (Ecologic Institute).
<p>The Special Theme Day "Taste of the Future of the Seas" on 21 May 2017 will offer a number of activities on the topics of seas and oceans and sustainable consumption for all age groups.</p>
<p>Ever tried bycatch curry, or discussed ocean sustainability while sipping seaweed cocktails? The fourth Science Sips event took place on 19 July 2017 at the Berlin Museum for Natural History and featured talks that explore fisheries policy.</p>
Ever tried oysters from a natural heritage site, or discussed plastics pollution of the oceans while sipping seaweed cocktails? Participants at the second Science Sips event got to experience exactly that on 28 April 2017 while sitting across the impressive dinosaur fossils exhibited at the Berlin Museum for Natural History.
The third Science Sips event event once again offered the opportunity to discuss mare topics together with by-catch curry or seaweed cocktails. At the event on 21 June 2017, three short presentations on the subject of biodiversity of the oceans were presented. Additionally, the winners of the recipe contest "Klug gefischt/Smart fishing" were honored during this event.
Since the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 countries worldwide have started processes towards the implementation of the goals and targets. Some of the targets are often already part of national strategies and instruments. Others are new and still need to be further specified to national circumstances – target 15.3 and the concept of "Land Degradation Neutrality" is one of these.
Europe's coastlines are a product of human cultivation. Since settling on the coast, humans have engineered the coastal characteristics to suit the purposes of states, the economy and human recreation. At the time of the Treaties of Rome, Europe had just emerged from the devastating aftermath of the Second World War with a 'great hunger' for a liberal life style, leisure activities and travel. The diverse and scenic views of Europe's coasts offered the ideal destination for such endeavors. Soon, a rapid coastal urbanization coupled with a steady increase in mass tourism emerged. Spurred by the trust in technical and engineering capacities, new bold attitudes about building and living on the sea often interfered with the natural sediment transport of coastal systems, leading to erosion. Today, more than 42% of Europeans live in coastal regions with coastal infrastructure worth about 959 billion EURO. Recent and historic high-impact storm events have demonstrated that weather events pose a significant risk and can immobilize cities and countries. The FP7 project, Resilience-Increasing Strategies for Coasts – toolKIT (RISC-KIT), recently issued a policy brief to communicate lessons learned and to support the dissemination of tools, which coastal managers to improve coastal resilience in Europe and elsewhere.
Transforming the linear economy, which has remained the dominant model since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, into a circular one is by no means an easy task. Such a radical change entails a major transformation of our current production and consumption patterns, which in turn will have a significant impact on the economy, the environment and society. Understanding these impacts is crucial for researchers as well as for policy-makers engaged in designing future policies in the field. This requires developing an in-depth knowledge of the concept of the circular economy, its processes and their expected effects on sectors and value chains.
On behalf of the German Embassy in Cairo and the Federal Foreign Office Ecologic Institute contributes to the "Climate Finance Workshop" in Cairo. The "Climate Finance Workshop" is a part of the "Cairo Climate Talks" programme initiated 2011 by the German Embassy in Cairo to build on the strong partnership between Egypt and Germany in the fields of energy and environment.
Ecologic Institute provides legal counsel to support the reform of the regulatory mechanism of the Trust Fund Adminsitrative Agreement by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. By providing scientific studies, advisory papers and expert assessments on the reform of the development policy Trust Fund of the World Bank the project is continuously assisting the reform process.
Efficient energy policies rely strongly on consistent and comparable data provided by a sound data collection process and robust monitoring and verification (M&V) procedures. The third multEE policy brief presents five concrete policy recommendations to guarantee an efficient data collection process as well as a systematic M&V process of the measures. The policy brief is available for download.
How can European countries better monitor and calculate energy savings and CO2 emission reduction? This short video tutorial, produced by Ecologic Institute presents functionalities and benefits from the use of an innovative Monitoring & Verification Platform (MVP). This IT tool has been designed to provide EU member states with an easy-to-use and cost-effective system to assess the impact of their implemented energy saving measures and plans.
