<p> In recent years, it has almost become conventional wisdom that climate change is a threat to human security. Both politicians and scientists have called climate change a conflict trigger or multiplier. However, empirically-based research on the relationship between climate change, resource scarcity and conflict is often absent. At the workshop on &quot;Climate-induced migration in the MENA&quot;, Maria Berglund presented the FP7 project &quot;Climate change, Hydro-conflicts and Human Security (CLICO)&quot;, aiming to address these research gaps.</p>

The first Smart Energy Dialog, held on 9 June 2010 in Berlin, established a forum for discussion on the co-transformation of the energy and transport sectors. Sixty European and American experts from the areas of industry, research and policy-making came together at the Hertie School of Governance to discuss a roadmap towards energy security, energy efficiency and the decarbonisation of our economies.

As part of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge, an informational trip for a group of political decision makers and entrepreneurs from the southern United States took place from 6 to 12 June 2010. The programme informed the participants about job creation in a “green” economy by using Germany as an example. In so doing, the main challenges and opportunities of a progressive climate and energy policy were presented. In addition to the focus on law making and political factors, other important aspects of the programme were the information exchange with experts in this field and the identification of best practice examples. The tour was organized and implemented by the Ecologic Institute.

This year, Ecologic Institute turns 15. Since its founding, Ecologic Institute has built a reputation for excellence in transdisciplinary and policy-relevant research. As an environmental think tank, Ecologic Institute uses its extensive project experience and network of partners on both sides of the Atlantic to address a broad range of environmental challenges.

Road transport is the most important driver for increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and is therefore critical to achieving the EU's 20 % greenhouse gas reduction target in 2020. The objective is to decouple economic growth and the demand for transport with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This video (8:36 Min.) visualizes European data on economic growth, transport and greenhouse gas emissions.

<p>&#13; <strong>We celebrate 15 years of Ecologic Institute in Berlin:</strong><br />&#13; 15 years of enthusiasm in science and policy, in dialogue, with ideas, and the will to shape the future. For a better environment.</p>&#13;

At the invitation of the U.S. Consulate General Leipzig Katharina Umpfenbach held a lecture on U.S. climate and energy policy on 27 May 2010. The event was part of a lecture series titled &ldquo;Obama and the &lsquo;new&rsquo; U.S.&rdquo; organised jointly by the political science faculty of the University of Erfurt, the Regional Center for Political Education and the U.S. Consulate General.</p>

The German national Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) has the potential to set the pace for Germany’s development towards a more sustainable society. Unfortunately, the strategy fails to define overarching strategic objectives. Isolated measures, indicators and time plans need to be bundled in an integrated strategy for the future. The authors of the policy brief "Sustainability needs Strategy" recommend that the German Government includes four new areas of action in its current SDS: sustainable wealth; sustainable labour policy; sustainable engagement policy and culture of sustainability. These areas are decisive to successfully embed sustainability in Germany’s government, economy and society and will determine whether Germany remains a leader in sustainability. Anneke von Raggamby, Senior Fellow and Head of European Integration at Ecologic Institute is Associate 2009/2010 at the stiftung neue verantwortung (snv) and was one of the authors of this policy brief. The policy brief "Sustainability needs Strategy" is available for download.

R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute moderated a panel entitled "Quo Vadis Carbon Trading?" at the conference "The Great Transformation – Greening the Economy", which was jointly organized by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the Center for American Progress, and the Mercator Foundation. The panel focussed on economic instruments in climate policy, the EU Emission Trading Scheme and its links to carbon markets and also Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in other countries.<p></p>

Concerned that issues raised by climate change may be creating new avenues and possibilities for corruption in the water sector, the Water Integrity Network (WIN) convened a panel of experts for consultation. Potential challenges include a misuse of the term ‘climate change’ and a lack of transparency in the discourse surrounding this topic. In addition the channelling of large sums of money into poor countries could increase the risk of corruption in the water sector without bringing real protection to threatened communities. WIN posed the question: does the issue of climate change require the water sector to change its approach to prevent and deal with corruption? The consultation was supported by Ecologic Institute, with Grit Martinez advising on the framing and scoping of the exercise, and R. Andreas Kraemer chairing the consultation plenary. The WIN report is available for download.