In their recent article, Dr. Camilla Bausch and Michael Mehling, analyse the main negotiation and discussion tracks under the United Nations for the further evolution of the international climate regime beyond 2012.

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The world's natural resources face increasing pressure due to rapid population and economic growth. Ensuring sustainable use of natural resources will require on the one hand a reduction in resource use, as well as strong, efficient and internationally valid standards. The current discussion on certification schemes for biofuels serves as a starting-point for the discussion regarding the possibilities and ways to extend a global sustainability standard with a broad coverage of natural resources. This article by Stephanie Schlegel and Timo Kaphengst outlines how a global sustainability standard for natural resources (NRS) can be designed.

The discussion paper "Options to develop a Global Standard-Setting Scheme for products derived from Natural Resources (NRS)" developed by Ecologic with support of WWF and FSC outlines different options to design an international standard whose implementation would equitably, transparently and measurably reduce the key social and environmental impacts of extraction or production of products derived from natural resources. The current discussions and activities on how best to implement sustainable bioenergy standards are seen as a window of opportunity for the development of a respective Global Standard-Setting Scheme. The discussion paper is available for download.

Finding a place for public participation in the policies and practices of European river basin management planning is a challenge for the authorities in the participating countries and territories. Understanding the relationship between national culture, the historical and political differences in the respective countries, and their practical experience with participation is considered important in the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. Knowledge and understanding of this relationship will help to provide a context and basis from which new participatory practices can be designed and experiences evaluated, and will also facilitate the identification of conditions necessary for social learning.

<p>&#13; Environmental Security has gained importance in the current political discourse. Last year's discussions in the Security Council give testimony to this development. During a presentation given at the Bonn International Centre for Conversion (BICC), Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf analyses whether and to what extent relevant security strategies of the US, the UN and EU integrate environmental aspects.</p>&#13;

Recent G8 summits have taken up the issue of climate change. Climate change featured high on the agendas of the 2005 summit in Gleneagles and the 2007 summit in Heiligendamm. Henrike Peichert and Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf analyse in this paper the recent G8 Summit outcomes and their practical impacts on international climate change negotiations under the UNFCCC. The paper argues that G8 Summit outcomes seem to yield overall positive influence on the UNFCCC processes, although more ambitious action needs to be taken and – most importantly – implemented. The paper was presented at the 2007 annual Conference of the British International Studies Association in Cambridge (BISA) and is available for download.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is the most recent piece in the current regime complex on plant genetic resources. In their article for the Journal of World Intellectual Property, Christiane Gerstetter, Benjamin Görlach, Kirsten Neumann and Dora Schaffrin investigate the legal relationship between the ITPGRFA, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the TRIPS Agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Acts of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) initiated the first regional greenhouse gas emissions trading system in the United States. This cap-and-trade program will begin on 1 January 2009 and will include sources from the electricity generating sector. The article by Camilla Bausch and Sandra Cavalieri analyses the implementation design of the RGGI trading scheme and its significance for the evolution of the international carbon market.

On 28 November 2007, an Ecologic Transatlantic Riverside Chat brought together Dr. J. Morgan Williams and Jay Benforado to share and discuss perspectives on European policies regarding renewable energy and innovative approaches towards sustainability. The speakers highlighted the strength of European and German positive attitudes towards renewable energy, while stressing the continuous challenge the transition towards a sustainable energy system still imposes. Opportunities and challenges for innovation and leadership were the recurring central themes of the discussion, which took place between policy makers and representatives from think tanks, business, NGOs and Academia.

The EU has set ambitious targets to raise the share of renewable energies, particularly biofuels. This article, written by Stephanie Schlegel and Timo Kaphengst, discusses the role that bioenergy plays in the European policy context and the approach the EU is currently following to ensure the sustainability of biofuels. It addresses the limits of the chosen approach, concluding that certification schemes can not serve as the only safeguard for sustainable bioenergy, but need to be complemented by other tools and policies.