<p> Decision makers and policy experts from both sides of the Atlantic converged in Brussels to discuss the relationship of the European Union and the United States in a changing and multipolar world.</p>

<p>&#13; As part of this year’s theme “Climate Change and Security Policy,” the Tönissteiner Kreis held this panel discussion in cooperation with the International Club of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.  Stephan Sina from Ecologic Institute along with Steffen Bauer (German Development Institute) and Bernd Mesovic (Pro Asyl) sat on the panel. The discussion was moderated by Dagmar Dehmer (Tagesspiegel).</p>&#13;

Environmental policy-makers and stakeholders from the non-governmental, academic and private sectors convened in The Hague, The Netherlands from 26 July to 6 August 2010 as part of the second ICAP Summer School for Emerging and Developing Countries. The intensive two-week training event, designed and organised by the Ecologic Institute on behalf of and in collaboration with the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), provided insights into the complexities of emissions trading systems to enable participants' countries to harmonise their environmental policies for full participation in a future global carbon market.

Researchers and the international community today are essentially in agreement: global warming cannot surpass an increase of two degrees Celsius if dangerous, irreversible and uncontrollable consequences for the environment and society are to be avoided. Protection measures taken by the international community are also pursuing this goal, and yet they leave out adequate mandates for the minimisation of green house gas emission.

In this article in Internationale Politik, Germany's leading foreign policy magazine, Martin Kremer of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) and Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Senior Policy Advisor of Ecologic Institute, discuss the new tools for EU climate foreign policy under the Lisbon Treaty and the possible role of the European External Action Service.

Illegal fishing and logging, and the international trade in illegally sourced fish and wood products, cause enormous environmental and economic damage. Consumer countries contribute to the problem by importing fish and timber without ensuring legality – a problem the EU tries to address with two new regulations. In this briefing paper, Duncan Brack, Heike Baumüller and Katharina Umpfenbach compare the recently adopted EU regulations on illegal fish and timber products. The authors contrast the very different approaches and highlight areas that might need further strengthening.

Sina, Stephan; Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf and Ralph Czarnecki 2009: Ein Klimaschutzgesetz für Deutschland. Juristisches Kurzgutachten des Ecologic Instituts. Berlin.

The main focus of the study is to investigate a system of payment "euro-compatible" which could allow remunerating the farmer for the environmental services provided by the wet buffer strip. The study is available for download.

Kraemer, R. Andreas; Max Gruenig; Dominic Marcellino 2009: Financial Sustainability of Water and Sanitation in Germany. in: Massarutto, Antonio (ed.): Financial Sustainability of Water and Sanitation Undertakings an Application to Italy, Germany and the US. Milano. 31-53.

Within this project Ecologic Institute supported the European Commission concerning the thematic strategy on waste prevention and recycling and developed recommendations.

<p>The international debate on biofuels is mostly dominated by environmental and economic aspects while the question of how biofuels can be produced in a socially acceptable way is not systematically tackled. The project "Biofuel as Social Fuel" examines for two regions in Germany and Brazil the social dimension of biofuel production. Timo Kaphengst gave a lecture at the project`s kick-off event stressing the role of certification systems in biofuel governance.</p>&#13;

This project on the costs and benefits of the EU's Natura 2000 Network was designed to support the European Commission in obtaining an accurate estimate of the costs of managing the network and in increasing awareness of its socio-economic benefits. In addition, it developed a methodology for the systematic updating and refinement of the costs and benefits linked to the network. The project report is available for download.