Striking a balance between centralization and decentralization of competences is a challenge that dates to the start of European integration. There are some drivers that work towards greater centralization of EU climate policies – the need for enhanced climate action, electricity market integration and a realization of the Energy Union. At the same time, centralization in and of itself is not a guarantee for more ambitious or effective climate policies. In a new publication appearing in the journal Climate Policy authors Camilla Bausch and Benjamin Görlach of Ecologic Institute and Michael Mehling of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) trace the evolution and role of the centralization/decentralization debate in the context of EU climate policy. The article looks at emissions trading and the promotion of renewable energy as cases of centralization vs. decentralization, but cautions that this trend is neither smooth nor guaranteed to persist. In the dynamic and reflexive governance system of the EU, there is no one-size-fits-all, optimal balance between centralized and decentralized policy from a climate perspective.

Participation in the adaptation processes of river basin planning is necessary for sustainable water management. The article supports this statement by providing an overview of the work carried out within the framework of the BeWater project. We illustrate the methodology applied in the project, which resulted in four river basin adaptation plans for catchments in Cyprus, Tunisia, Spain and Slovenia. Furthermore, the project's case studies are presented as well as the challenges that stakeholders identified within their respective river basins. We show how the project was initiated in the case study basins and how it influenced their river basin management processes. An overview of the prioritized measures is given as well as a summary of BeWater's contributions to future river basin management undertakings. We end the overview with an outlook on how stakeholder participation can improve river basin adaptation.

The first volume of the International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy includes an important discussion on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals that are the basis for the post-2015 development agenda up to the year 2030; the Yearbook focuses in particular on Goal 15, which includes achieving a "land degradation-neutral world." It also provides a comprehensive and highly informative overview of the latest developments at the international level, important cross-disciplinary issues and different approaches in national legislation. Ecologic Institute's Timo Kaphengst contributed to the chapter on "The UN Convention on Biological Diversity and Soils: Status and Future Options". Elizabeth Dooley had been involved as advisory editor.

Ever tried bycatch curry, or discussed ocean sustainability while sipping seaweed cocktails? Participants of the first Science Sips event got to experience exactly that on 30 March 2017 while sitting across the impressive dinosaur fossils exhibited at the Berlin Museum for Natural History.

Simulation models play an important role for assessing the potential effects of policy instrument. This publication documents the presentations and discussions held during the two-day expert workshop "Simulation of resource use and resource policy", which discussed the reasons and conditions under which different simulation models yield similar or different results. The reader is available for download.

A new note by the Ecologic Institute summarizes why a quantitative, binding and ambitious EU long-term climate target is essential for the EU to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement. This long term target should be supported by a robust review mechanism. The note is available for download.

Based on a comprehensive analysis of EU laws and nationally initiated policies in 28 Member States, a new study led by Ecologic Institute assesses how existing EU legislation protects soils, identifying gaps and incoherencies in policy coverage. Nationally initiated policies do not consistently address these gaps in EU legislation, leading to a situation where requirements for soil protection can vary significantly across Member States. The study provides an up-to-date understanding of soil protection policies in Europe, delivering a baseline on which to discuss further EU soil policy action. The study is available for download.

The book, "Germany's New Responsibility" (Deutschlands Neue Verantwortung), contains contributions from 144 key political, practical and scientific thinkers, whose joint message underlines the challenges to and necessity of a new German foreign policy. In his article, R. Andreas Kraemer, founder and director emeritus of Ecologic Institute, explains how Germany, Europe and other western powers should react in the face of withdrawal and isolationist foreign policy by the USA. His contribution emphasizes the opportunities that arise through enhanced cooperation with countries in the South Atlantic and demonstrates how Germany can do justice to its global responsibility.

The RISC-KIT Web-based Management Guide is one of the five RISC-KIT tools designed to highlight key principles recommended for the planning of local DRR measures using examples from the case studies and elsewhere to provide practical illustrations. It is intended to give guidance to coastal managers in Europe and those facing similar challenges beyond the region as well as other groups concerned with coastal management (i.e. coastal resource users, technical and scientific experts and policy makers). The guide includes prevention, mitigation, protection and preparedness measures with recommendations for their use in various socio-economic, cultural and environmental settings. The RISC-KIT Web-based Management Guide is available for download.

For many populations that are already socially marginalized, resource dependent, and with limited capital assets, human security will be progressively undermined by environmental change. A new book, co-edited by Katriona McGlade, Fellow and Coordinator of International Development at Ecologic Institute, examines interactions between environmental change and human security in the Middle East and Africa. The collected volume, published by Springer, demonstrates that global environmental change in general, and climate change in particular, are putting both human security and human rights at risk.

On 17 January 2017, Ecologic Institute hosted a Dinner Dialoge on the German G20 Presidency featuring guest speakers Simon Marr (Federal Chancellary) and Christian Schubert (BASF). Franzjosef Schafhausen moderated the discussion. The 22 participants discussed how the German G20 Presidency could advance international climate policy.

Green and Blue infrastructure (GBI) in cities holds large potential to effectively address emerging global challenges, such as climate change impacts, increasing urbanisation and declining access to nature, as it can deliver multiple societal, ecological and economic benefits in parallel. This multifunctional potential of GBI has only recently begun to gain weight in research, policy and planning and has yet to be fully unlocked. The EU-funded BiodivERsA project 'ENABLE' responds to this gap by utilizing a transdisciplinary systems approach to examine the relationship between social-ecological dynamics and GBI's potential to meet multiple goals, including biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation. The four-year research project, funded by the BiodivERsA network, is led by the Stockholm Resilience Centre and supported by Ecologic Institute and nine other research partners.

REFRESH Food Waste 2017 brought together diverse stakeholder groups from across Europe working on food waste.

National long-term (2050) climate strategies have received increased attention in European policy debates in the past two years. The Paris Agreement also invites countries to develop such strategies. This study (a collaborative effort between IDDRI and Ecologic Institute) looks at five existing 2050 strategy processes in the EU and assesses what lessons they hold and how they fit within the emerging 2030 governance framework. The study is available for download.