Ecologic Institute writes a legal commentary on the German PRTR-Act. Under this law and an EU-Regulation, operators of certain installations in Germany have to report data on pollutants for publication in a German as well as to a European pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR). The legal commentary is mainly addressed at authorities and operators to facilitate the application of the rules without in-depth knowledge on their legal background.

Sandra Cavalieri, Fellow and Arctic Programme Coordinator at Ecologic Institute, spoke to decision-makers, scientists and industry experts on the environmental impacts of Arctic Shipping at the Symposium on Arctic shipping held at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin on 22 February. The presentation is available for download.

At an event hosted by the Mexican Embassy, Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute and Secretary Miriam Medel of the Mexican Embassy in Berlin discussed the results of the latest international climate negotiations which were held in Cancún, Mexico, end of 2010. The event was opened by the Mexican Ambassador Francisco N. González Diaz. The dialogue was initiated by Ecologic Institute's Ecoscholars.

Fukushima has been a painful reminder that each energy source has its drawbacks, and none comes without side effects. To realise our ambitious climate objectives, we must above all stop wasting energy and use energy in a much smarter and more efficient way. This is not a new insight, but turning this insight into action has proven remarkably difficult. How the existing obstacles to energy efficiency can be overcome, and which initiatives have worked successfully for Germany and the UK so far, was the topic of a discussion event at the UK Embassy in Berlin, moderated by Benjamin Görlach, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute.

<p>&#13; The Green Group marked World Water Day on 22 March 2011, highlighting the importance of water and energy security in international relations. Samuel Zbogar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, initiated an expert discussion, the results of which were delivered to UN Ambassadors meeting in New York.  R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute moderated the event.</p>&#13;

<p>&#13; With Arabia in turmoil and nuclear tragedy at Fukushima, Japan, the US rethinks energy dependence on unstable or hostile parts of the world, and looks anew at sustainable energy options.  R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute presented German and EU experience at the University of Pennsylvania's International Relations Program on 15 March 2011.</p>&#13;

<p> Europe can shift to a low-carbon economy, enjoy secure energy supply, environmentally sustainable development, and rising employment.&nbsp; On 10 March 2011, the European Commission presented its &quot;Roadmap 2050&quot; in Berlin, Germany, exposing divisions within the German Federal Government.&nbsp; R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute moderated the event.</p>

With the plenary speech of the 3rd bioenergy forum Dr. Bernhard Dreher from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Jessica Löhndorf, Fellow at Ecologic Institute introduce the European sustainability requirements for biofuels and vegetable oils, which were transposed into German legislation in 2009. Germany was the first member state to implement the sustainability certification in Europe. The authors explain their practical implementation in Germany.

The three-year research project "InContext" identified framework conditions enabling societal transition towards an ecologically sound, economically successful and culturally diverse future. Action at local and individual levels is vital to bring the concept of sustainable development to life. However, policies aimed at initiating such local and individual transitions towards sustainability can often not achieve the desired change. Thus, the EU research project InContext has set out to investigate the conditions for creating sustainability transitions at the local and individual levels.

This joint event was part of two FP7 projects: OPEN:EU and INSTREAM and was organised by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and Ecologic Institute Berlin. It brought together experts, statisticians, policy makers and representatives of civil society organisations to discuss and share experiences on how to improve the use of indicators to assess progress on economic and sustainability goals.