From the 26 until 30 September 2016, the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species" (CITES COP 17) took place in Johannesburg South Africa. Since CITES entered into force in 1975, such meetings are held every three years to review progress in the conservation of target species and consider adopting proposals to amend this list and improve Convention effectiveness. Given the recent accession of the European Union to CITES in April 2015 and the aims noted above, Ecologic Institute was commissioned by the European Parliament under an existing framework contract to prepare a briefing to the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). The briefing is available for download.

The conference "Cities and Climate Change – the deluge ahead" on the prevention, adaptation and management of heavy rainfalls took place in Münster on 7 April 2016. The conference brought together 180 participants from management, policy, science, consultancy and practice and was organized by the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKULNV) and the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Building, Housing and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MBWSV). The objective of the conference was to provide a platform for dialogue and exchange between the participants. The knowledge transfer was aimed at increasing the awareness of climate impacts as well as showing the need for prevention.

The Federal Environment Agency was hosting the 3rd National Resources Forum with support of Ecologic Institute on 11 November 2016. The conference took place in the "Ludwig Erhard Haus" in Berlin. The aim of the National Resources Forum (NRF) is to provide a national platform for discussion of the issue of sustainable resource use by focusing on the political and scientific debate on this subject.

The workshop "Rostock 2050 - Measures for a post-carbon city, was the fourth and final workshop held in Rostock as part of the project Post-Carbon Cities in Europe: A Long-Term Outlook (POCACITO). In this workshop, the results of the modelling excercise undertaken by the POCACITO team were presented to and discussed with the stakeholders of the participation process in Rostock. The modellers had quantified the decided-upon measures and the ambitious measures of the post-carbon vision elaborated in the previous workshops. The results were presented in a "business-as-usual 2050" and a "post-carbon 2050" scenario. Learing from these results the participants dicussed the gaps remaining on the trajectory to a post-carbon future and which areas should be prioritized to be successful. Furthermore, a focus was on the question, how the EU or the national level could help the city of Rostock to reach its post-carbon goals.

In the last few years, transformation research has gained increasing attention as means of studying socio-ecological crises and radical change towards sustainability. Especially the transformative research mode, through which research actively engages in societal change processes, is intensely debated. This workshop, organized by DRIFT with support from Ecologic Institute, aimed at self-reflection on empirical and theoretical foci, frameworks and suitable research methods in transformation research. The workshop report is available for download.

The REFRESH project's Newsletter showcased news and results from the REFRESH project, information about upcoming events, highlights from past events, and important food waste news from Europe.

The AQUACROSS website provides information on the AQUACROSS project, approach and case studies. Project outputs such as deliverables, policy briefs and publications are regularly promoted on the website. Ecologic Institute is responsible for the concept, design and programming.

Stephanie Wunder (2016): EU project Resource Efficient Food and dRink for the Entire Supply cHain to reduce food waste across Europe. Poster.

Hirschnitz-Garbers, Martin; Christiane Gerstetter (2016): Wissenschaftliche Koordination der Fördermaßnahme Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften – NaWiKo. Poster.

On 23 May 2016, the ELEEP Network hosted a Side Event at the May UNFCCC meeting in Bonn. The event featured guest speakers Aki Kachi (ELEEP Fellow 2015/2016) and Michael Mehling (MIT). Matthias Duwe (Head of Climate, Ecologic Institute) moderated the event. During the event, the speakers discussed existing options for the development of carbon markets post-Paris and provided a perspective on what they could mean for carbon markets in the US and the EU. A video recording of the event can be viewed on the ELEEP Network YouTube Channel.

An online map showing the key, relevant stakeholders in Germany on the issue of sustainable economy is greatly needed—particularly one that displays practitioners and scientific stakeholders separately. This web-based map created for the project, Scientific Co-ordination of Research Projects on a Sustainable Economy, is able to do exactly this! The overview lists around 200 initiatives, projects and institutions. Ecologic Institute is responsible for the concept, design, programming and content production management.

The transition towards a "Green Economy" requires investment and adequate funding. But what exactly are the financing requirements of a green transformation in the areas of energy and energy storage, energy efficiency, mobility, material efficiency, recycling, water management and agriculture in Germany? This project deals with the question on how best to promote green investments, particulary in light of mobilizing already existing ones, but fixed in more promising forms of investment for innovation with the focus of environmental sustainability.

This book draws on the European Commission funded project MILESECURE-2050. It considers low-carbon energy security and energy geopolitics in Europe with a focus on four thematic clusters: challenging the energy security paradigm; climate change and energy security objectives (the components of a secure and low-carbon energy system); energy security in a geopolitical perspective, as it relates to economics, resource competition, and availability; and the influence of large scale renewable energy projects on energy security and shifting geopolitical alliances. Max Gruenig served as one of the book's editors and further researchers, Andreas Prahl, Katherine Weingartner and Brendan O'Donnell, were chapter authors.

Tröltzsch, Jenny; Benjamin Boteler; Katrina Abhold (2016): A Global Analysis of Adaptation Case Studies: State of the Art. Poster.

Tröltzsch, Jenny; Manuel Lago; Josselin Rouillard et. al. (2015): Reviewing the Use of Non-monetary Metrics/Weights for Use in Decision-making of Adaptation to Climate Change Projects. Poster.