Over 123 million Americans and nearly half of European citizens live on or near their respective coasts. What coastal stakeholders in Europe and the U.S. learn from each other to safeguarding their shores has been explored in a publication by Dr. Grit Martinez from Ecologic Institute in collaboration with colleagues from Duke and Humboldt University.

On 22 January 2015, R. Andreas Kraemer presented the 2014 Global Go To Index Report of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, the University of Pennsylvania ((TTCSP). TTCSP launched its 2014 Report in the USA at the same day. Simultaneously, more than 50 global partners implemented local events to present the report in the national language and to discuss it with leading think tank representatives in a regional context.

Climate change perceptions and attitudes towards climate adaptation measures are critical in determining local actions, their main focus, and the way in which new challenges and measures are approached. The author, Doris Knoblauch, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, comes to the conclusion that coastal protection is predominant among potential climate adaptation measures. Therefore, other measures do not receive enough attention in the German Baltic sea region.

In times of conflicting environmental objectives, the bioeconomy has evolved as one of the most contested fields in resource and climate policies. This article by Timo Kaphengst and Stephanie Wunder stresses the overall scarcity of land as a significant obstacle for further expansion of biomass production for the bioeconomy. The authors argue for a more demand-driven strategy to alleviate stress on land ecosystems. The article is available for download.

The regional conference “Closing the mineral cycles at farm level – Good practices to reduce nutrient loss in the Wielkopolskie region” took place on 13 November 2014 at the National Research Institute in Poznań, Poland. It aimed to present the results of the study “Resource efficiency in practice – Closing mineral cycles” commissioned by the DG Environment (European Commission). It focused on the good practices, which were identified as potential ways to reduce the nutrient loss at farm level and to close mineral cycles, based on the current state of nutrient saturation within the Wielkopolskie region.

Brink, P. ten et al. 2013: The Economic benefits of the Natura 2000 Network. Synthesis Report. Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), GHK, Ecologic Institut, Metroeconomica, EFTEC, Luxembourg. ISBN: 978-92-79-27588-3. The publication is available in English, French, German, Italian, Polish, and Spanish.

The 2020 climate and energy target framework is the basis of current European climate policy and forms a key pillar in Europe's 2020 growth strategy. Ecologic Institute continues to support DG Climate Action (European Commission) in the European Semester process by analyzing the climate and energy policies of EU Member States, evaluating their progress in relevant policy areas and towards their national targets.

This project was carried out by Ecologic Institute and UCL Centre for Law and the Environment for the EU's Committee of the Regions (CoR). It informed the CoR's ex-post Territorial Impact Assessment on Natura 2000 and the EU Birds and Habitats Directives in light of the European Commission's Fitness Check of the Directives ('REFIT'). The final report "Implementation of Natura 2000 and the Habitats and Birds Directives" is available for download.

<p>The Ecologic Institute is writing a study on success factors for Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) in implementing the Europe 2020 strategy. The study can help LRAs to develop and initiate their own programs towards successful reaching the Europe 2020 strategy's goals.</p>&#13;

Business resource efficiency is seen by the EU as a key to a sustainable future of a competitive European economy. Increasing resource efficiency of business aids to reduce waste, decrease the pressure on the environment, increase the competitiveness of European markets and to create jobs. Besides, increasing resource efficiency can help companies to minimize their costs. The main objective of the project is to assist Member States in improving and fostering policies to support businesses to become more resource efficient. A particular focus is set on SMEs and the manufacturing sector.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) obliged Member States to develop the first River Basin Management Plans and Programmes of Measures by December 2009 and to make a report of those to the European Commission by March 2010. The purpose of the programme of measures is to achieve the environmental objectives of the WFD. Under its 'Framework contract to provide services to support the development and implementation of EU freshwater policies', the European Commission DG Environment awarded a Specific Contract to a European consortium to provide support in 'Compliance checking of the Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive Implementation'. Ecologic institute is partner in this consortium led by WRc.

In the future, climate change can impact the effectiveness and costs of water quality improvement measures. This must be taken into account when selecting measures to implement in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Until now, the consequences of climate change have not been systematically incorporated into the economic analyses called for by the WFD. A new book chapter evaluates the basic approaches used to date, thereby contributing to the necessary discussion on how existing and future programs of measures consider and integrate the consequences of climate change.

On 19 November 2014, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented the European research project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE)" at the 4th Annual General Meeting of the European Network for Environmental Crime (EnviCrimeNet) in The Hague (Netherlands). Ecologic Institute is the coordinator of the EFFACE project. The presentation slides are available for download.

Martinez, Grit and Mike K. Orbach 2014: "Küstenschutz – Europa und USA im Vergleich", in: Heike Leitschuh et al. (eds.): Jahrbuch Ökologie 2015. Re-Naturierung. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel Verlag, 214-222.