What can we learn from European best practices on the existing Monitoring & Verification schemes and coordination mechanisms in Europe? Can bottom-up methodologies contribute to a more reliable measurement and verification process? The first two policy briefs produced by the multEE project feature a set of policy recommendations, six on M&V schemes and five on coordination mechanisms, aimed at policy makers at different policy levels engaged in the development of effective and coherent energy efficiency policies. The recommendations reflect the conclusions from a broader "Synthesis report on European best practices for M&V schemes and coordination mechanisms" that, based on an initial mapping of existing M&V schemes and coordination mechanisms across Europe, identifies and analyses a vast array of Best Practice cases on M&V schemes and coordination models. The recommendations are available for download.

Concluding four years of interdisciplinary collaboration and research the BASE project brought together representatives working on climate adaptation policy at EU and Member State level, as well as local practitioners for an interactive day on climate change adaptation in Brussels. The main focus of the workshop was a series of policy observations that emerged from research in the BASE project. As a result another policy recommendation was developed which is available for download.

The BioSTEP policy workshop focuses on local and regional businesses and their role in the regional bioeconomy. It explores a broader model of the bioeconomy (bottom-up, participatory) and discusses how small and medium-sized enterprises, civil-society organisations and further relevant actors can be engaged in the (further) development of a regional bioeconomy strategy in Scotland.

Citizens from around the Mediterranean participated in adaptation planning for the management of their local river basins. Based on a novel approach developed over the course of the EU-funded BeWater project, stakeholders from four case study river basins were engaged in a collaborative process with experts and policy makers to draft River Basin Adaptation Plans. Ecologic Institute was also part of this collaboration.

<p>Within this project Ecologic Institute wrote a paper discussing potential implications of TTIP on the (re-)municipalisation of energy services and community power projects. The paper is available for download.</p>&#13;

Ecologic Institute supported the German Environment Agency (UBA) as managing editors with the preparation of the Factor X book by Harry Lehmann. The book discusses developments in society and politics and presents strategies and concrete examples of achieving more sustainable resource use in practice. It addresses researchers, policy-makers and practitioners interested in resource efficiency and the circular economy.

This Polish-German project looked at local efforts towards a low-carbon economy in both countries. Good practices in Polish and German cities served as examples for innovative or typical projects that aim at carbon dioxide reductions whilst simultaneously stimulating local economies. The goal was to foster a dialogue between Polish and German municipalities that, eventually, results in an exchange of experiences and ideas for the transfer of activities on the local level. As public participation plays an important role in the acceptance of projects by citizens, a particular focus was put on it.

Ecologic Institute provides a legal assessment of whether German law is suitable to achieve the sustainable development goal "land degradation neutral word" (LDN) by 2030, and recommends options for improvement. The project also compiles key insights and lessons learned, in English, as a contribution to the international discussion on implementing LDN. The project results are discussed in an international workshop.

The Europe 2020 strategy is the EU's strategy for creating smart, sustainable and inclusive growth since 2010. In this strategy, the European Union has set five ambitious objectives - on employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate/energy - to be met by 2020. Each Member State adopted its own national targets for each of these areas. Concrete actions at EU and national levels underpin the strategy. Andreas Prahl and Katharina Umpfenbach (Ecologic Institute) authored chapter 3 on climate change and energy where the recent development of key indicators in the field of climate change and energy, including data on greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and energy efficiency, is analysed. The publication is available for download.

The project &bdquo;Wangeliner Workcamps&ldquo; presents green jobs for the future to young people. During the school holidays of 2016-2018 young people can participate for free in the one-week work camps in the city Wangelin in Mecklenburg, Germany. Workshops are offered in seven areas: organic gardening, renewable energies, clay ovens, mudbrick buildings, straw bale construction, upcycling and ecologically-oriented architecture. The Ecologic Institute supports the public relations work of the Wangeliner Workcamps and developed their webpage.

Residues of veterinary medicines (VETs) can increasingly be detected in soil and water and are becoming the focus of scientific and public debate. This project created information and teaching materials for veterinarians and farmers, in order to make them aware of how to prevent VETs from being introduced into the environment.

From 3 until 12 May 2016, the 15th ICAP Training Course on Emissions Trading brought together climate policy professionals from Latin America to learn about emissions trading as a tool for climate protection and to discuss the options of implementing such systems in Latin America. The São Paulo course was the fifteenth of its kind and continues a series of past ICAP events held around the world since 2009. 25 mid-career professionals from seven Latin American countries attended the course, which was facilitated by Benjamin Görlach and Pedro Barata led the course.

How can we improve policy monitoring of national implementation to further protect the Arctic environment and its inhabitants? With the WWF Arctic Council Scorecards, Ecologic Institute and WWF International Arctic Programme undertook the effort to provide a first overview of the implementation status of specific recommendations by the Arctic Council with a particular focus on maritime activities, climate change and biodiversity protection as well as ecosystem-based management.

Policy Brief no.3 examines the case of using Climate information Services to increase urban resilience, learning from the Danish experience with Cloudburst management. It is based on one of the detailed narratives carried out for the RECREATE project. The policy brief is available for download.

In total, four technology brochures were published by the DEMEAU consortium. They cover the technologies bioassays, ANCS, AOT and MAR. The technology brochures are aimed at utilities, water associations and technology suppliers. Therefore, they present information with a high level of technical detail.