Differences in the approaches to risk assessment and management, and the development of regulation under conditions of uncertainty, are important sources of friction between the US and the EU. A transatlantic dialogue entitled "The Reality of Precaution", managed by the Duke University Center for Environmental Solutions and the Group of Policy Advisors of the European Commission, addresses the application of the precautionary principle in practice. With sponsorship from the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), R. Andreas Kraemer participates in and contributes to the dialogue.

"A New Transatlantic Partnership" is the theme of the first issue in 2009 of the Global Edition of the journal "Internationale Politik" (IP Global Edition), published by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). R. Andreas Kraemer contributed a preview of the possibilities for future cooperation between the US and Europe both on climate and energy policy for jointly meeting the transformational challenges ahead and on the Arctic, where the future of international relations may well be decided.

<p>&#13; In an explorative study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Ecologic Institute is currently analysing the long-term impacts of climate change on Germany’s financial budget. On 26 November 2008, Ingo Bräuer presented first results to the Ministry’s Working Group on Public Finance and discussed methodological questions with the experts in the audience.</p>&#13;

Commissions of international river and lake basins are faced with a number of challenges, resulting from aligning the diverging interests of riparian states in dealing with the exchange of information as much as accounting for the effects of global environmental change. Effective governance at the transboundary level is therefore needed in order to deal with these challenges, especially in an African context.

"Europe's Bid – What we can offer Barack Obama" is the theme of the first issues in 2009 of the journal "Internationale Politik", published by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).  R. Andreas Kraemer contributed a preview of the possibilities for future cooperation between the US and Europe in climate and energy policy for jointly meeting the transformational challenges ahead, and in the Arctic, where the future of international relations may well be decided.

Internationally, the European Union has been acknowledged as a forerunner in the adoption and implementation of sustainable energy and climate policies. But despite remarkable successes, the EU has also encountered serious difficulties on its way – yielding important learning experiences. In their reflection on "Climate and Energy – Lessons Learned: The European Perspective", Michael Mehling and Dr. Camilla Bausch outline the history and present of climate policy efforts in Europe, and identify the most important lessons that can be drawn from the European experience.

Valuing both the environment and the changes in the level of environmental quality is of central importance to environmental policy formulation, as it puts the costs of obtaining certain environmental goals into perspective. In this article, which was published in the December 2008 issue of "Ökologisches Wirtschaften", Holger Gerdes and Anneke von Raggamby propose a methodology to assess the policy impacts of environmental valuations.

In 2006/2007, climate change experienced both a remarkable and unexpected increase in significance in political and public perception. In Germany, the grand coalition took up the issue and chancellor Angela Merkel gave climate change top priority for both the German EU-Presidency and "her" G8-Summit. Dr. Camilla Bausch and Benjamin Görlach take stock of German climate policy since the dual presidency in 2007 and provide an outlook for the future.

More and more instruments require the internalisation of greenhouse gas emissions costs. Yet, it is very unlikely that a single global price for carbon will prevail. A frequently voiced concern is that states with stringent climate policies will place domestic industries at a disadvantage relative to competitors in states with less ambitious climate efforts. In this chapter, published in the briefing paper "Competitive distortions and leakage in a world of different carbon prices" for the European Parliament, the Ecologic authors Michael Mehling, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf und Ralph Czarnecki analyse restrictive trade measures to offset the regulatory burden of climate policies, particularly border adjustments, from a legal point of view.

Transportation, one of the backbones of today’s economy, is a service that significantly impacts the environment. The volume of transport, transport modes and technology used by transport vehicles determine the level of emissions into air (CO2, SO2, NOx, noise, etc.) and consumption of resources (energy, raw materials, land). At the same time, stakeholder consultations indicate that environmental technologies are not sufficiently used in this sector, partially due to a lack of knowledge and clear information.

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment is currently working on legally binding requirements concerning the use of mineral waste in construction and in soil.&nbsp;A first draft of an Ordinance laying down requirements on the use of mineral secondary construction material in technical buildings (ErsatzbaustoffV) amending the Federal Soil Protection Ordinance (BBodSchV) was completed on 13 November 2007. This workshop taking place in Dessau on 20-21 May 2008 was dedicated to assessing the impacts of the Ordinance and thereby complemented consultations with the Bundesländer, stakeholders and other Ministries.

As an input to the European Parliament (EP) debate on the EU Climate Package, Ecologic led the organisation of a workshop entitled "Effort sharing under the Climate Package - assessing the role of the Clean Development Mechanism" on behalf of the EP directorate for Internal Policies. The workshop was held on 3 June 2008 at the European Parliament. It was chaired by Satu Hassi, MEP, and moderated by R. Andreas Kraemer, Director of Ecologic.

<p>The European Council approved the financial forecast 2007-2013 in December 2005. This approval does not only define the financial framework for this period, but also includes the decision to comprehensively review the EU budget in 2008 and 2009, for which the Commission launched a broad consultation process.  Within this framework, Ecologic Institute analysed the multi-annual EU financial framework from an environmental and sustainability perspective. On this basis, Ecologic Institute formulated a position paper which was submitted to the consultation procedure of the Commission.</p>&#13;

Within the framework of this project, the Ecologic Institute carried out a feasibility study in order to assess the chances and limits of a potential Sustainability Award. The goal was to define the focus of the possible award with regards to its content and strategic orientation.