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.

Ecologic Institute coordinated the organisation of the Decarbonisation conference 2016 "Decarbonisation and Resource Efficiency – 100% Renewable Energy and more". A programme flyer were developed and designed to provide relevant content on conference context, agenda, and the venue in a concerted way to participants. The design of the brochures and the color scheme were based on the visual style of UBA. Print-outs of the flyer will be done on recycled paper.

The project accompanies the further development of international and European emissions trading. At international level the focus is on the implementation and development of emissions trading systems, their role in international climate policy and the potential of linking between individual ETS or with other economic instruments (e.g. taxes, offset mechanisms). At the European level, and partly also at the national level, the main focus of the project is the future design of the European emissions trading scheme (EU ETS), the inclusion of the aviation sector in the ETS, issues concerning EU ETS market oversight, and the interdependencies with other climate and energy policy instruments . In this context, Ecologic Institute is providing the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) with economic and legal analyses concerning the development and implementation of new concepts and legislation.

From 4 to 15 July 2016, the 16th ICAP Summer School on Emissions Trading brought together experts from emerging economies and developing countries to learn about emissions trading as a tool for climate protection and to discuss the options and experiences of implementing such systems in developing countries. The Brussels course was the sixteenth of its kind since 2009. 28 mid-career professionals from eleven countries attended the course, which was facilitated by Benjamin Görlach and Matthias Duwe of the Ecologic Institute.

A newly created atlas for fish protection and downstream fish migration ("Atlas Fischschutz & Fischabstieg"), designed and implemented by Ecologic Institute, is online since June 2016. The map indicates all the locations of measures for fish protection and downstream fish migration complemented by information taken from associated studies. Furthermore, the filter function highlights specific research and development projects as well as information regarding specific basics and activities. Stakeholders in terms of fish protection and downstream fish migration are invited to add new content to the atlas.

On 5 July 2016, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on "The Energy Transition in Germany and the Renewable Energy Sources Act: Context, Legal and Procedural Aspects" for a delegation from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People's Republic of China. The presentation was part of a study tour on European and German Climate Change Legislation organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. The presentation slides are available for download.

The EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking adopted by the European Commission on 26 February 2016 is the most recent EU initiative to tackle wildlife crime. On 8 September 2016, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety of the European Parliament (ENVI) held a workshop in Brussels on 'Delivering and enforcing the EU Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking'. With support from the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Ecologic Institute organized the workshop and compiled the workshop proceedings.

The Brexit, migration, the Euro crisis, continued economic malaise, and the rise of EU-sceptical parties and nationalist sentiment across Europe – the EU is clearly in turbulence. But how did it get there? What problems does the EU face, and do they amount to a crisis of the European Union? If the EU is in a crisis – what does it entail for EU climate and energy policy?

O'Donnell, Brendan; Max Gruenig 2016: How Germany is Building a Secure, Affordable, and Climate-friendly Energy System for the 21st Century. Ecologic Institute: Washington, DC. Flyer.

As part of a consortium led by WRc, Ecologic Institute provides technical assistance to the European Commission on the assessment of the Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive’s plans and implementation in the 28 EU Member States.

While key barriers faced by community renewable energy projects are generally well understood, there is much less information available about the actual costs and financing implications. This report sheds light on the costs and corresponding financial impacts faced by community-owned renewable energy projects, especially in comparison to commercial renewable energy projects. The report, which was written collaboratively by Christine Lucha and Andreas Prahl(Ecologic Institute), is available for download.

IEA-RETD (2016), Cost and financing aspects of community renewable energy projects. Volume II: Danish Case Study. Ricardo Energy & Environment and Ecologic Institute, IEA-RETD Operating Agent, IEA Implementing Agreement for Renewable Energy Technology Deployment (IEA-RETD), Utrecht, 2016.