In response to the economic crisis, many governments have adopted a number of stimulus packages. These packages present an opportunity for sustainable development, but the greater opportunity lies in the fact that the crisis provides momentum for changes of unsustainable structures. The unprecedented depth and magnitude of the economic crisis has put many structures into question that were considered untouchable before: the nationalisation of banks in some countries appeared absurd only months ago and significantly tighter regulation of financial markets was unthinkable before the fall of 2008.

<p>&#13; On 12 June 2009, Michael Mehling of the Ecologic Institute in Washington DC moderated a plenary session on the “Global Climate Policy Debate” at Carbon Finance North America 2009, an annual trade conference organised in New York. The panel focused on preparations for a post-2012 climate regime and the integration of US policy into an international post-Kyoto agreement, reviewing developments since Poznan (COP 14) and expectations for Copenhagen (COP 15).</p>&#13;

<p>&#13; On behalf of the WWF, Ecologic Institute researched how middle and long term climate change goals could best be anchored in German law. At a Parliamentary Evening of the WWF on June 17th, Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented the expert report. Its results were discussed afterwards in a debate including the members of Parliament Eva Bulling-Schröter (Die Linke), Michael Kauch (FDP), Ulrich Kelber (SPD), Sylvia Kotting-Uhl (Bündnis 90/Grüne) and Prof. Dr. Stefan Rahmstorf (PIK). The Moderator was Regine Günther (WWF).</p>

This policy brief outlines the positions and relative influence of the main German stakeholders on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. These became visible through responses to the Health Check agreement of the CAP and the upcoming Mid-Term Budget Review. Based on this analysis, the policy brief discusses the main issues and directions of the CAP debate in Germany and the likely overall German position towards the future CAP reform in Brussels.

<p>&#13; Nicole Kranz, Senior Fellow with Ecologic, recently spoke about European Water Governance at the H2Ontario Symposium on Integrated Water Management held on 21 and 22 May in Toronto, Ontario. The Symposium was aimed at discussing current approaches to Integrated Water Management in Canada as well as internationally and determining the way forward for current approaches underway in the Ontario Province.</p>&#13;

Against the background of Turkey's decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, Ecologic Legal analysed the legal status of Turkey in respect of its eligibility for the flexible mechanisms and presented the results at a Turkish-German workshop at the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) in Ankara.

Ribeiro, M., Losenno, C., Dworak, T., Massey, E., Swart, R., Benzie, M., Laaser, C. 2009. Design of guidelines for the elaboration of Regional Climate Change Adaptations Strategies. Study for European Commission - DG Environment - Tender DG ENV. G.1/ETU/2008/0093r. Ecologic Institute, Vienna.

Indicators are a major source of information for efficient economic and political decisions and provide basic quantitative support for the elaboration and implementation of policies. On behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW), Ecologic analyses the environmental situation of Austria in the context of the EU-27 Member States published in a brochure in November 2008.

In this project, OECD examines the long term sustainability of water services: Are the levels of cost recovery, investment and financing sufficient to ensure affordable access to freshwater and sanitation services?