"Greening of Policies – Interlinkages and Policy Integration" was the title of the Fourth Berlin Conference on the human dimension of global change. Organised by the Environmental Policy Research Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin, the conference took place on 3 and 4 December 2004 in Berlin. Ecologic Fellows Benjamin Görlach and Markus Knigge presented their work on transparency in export credit agencies.

"Sustainable Development within the context of economic globalisation" was the subject discussed at a seminar organised by the University Nürtingen. The event took place on 26 and 27 November 2004 and was dedicated to raising awareness about environmental issues within Germany's higher education system. Markus Knigge, Ecologic Fellow, gave a presentation on the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and the international trade regime.

The European Environmental Agency (EEA) wishes to improve its methodological framework in the area of cost-effectiveness assessments and environmental-economic analysis. Ecologic supports the EEA in this task by creating an inventory of applied ex-post evaluation studies with a focus on methodologies, guidelines, legal requirements and good practice examples from the EU Member States. <p>Ecologic in co-operation with eftec and IVM carries out a review of experiences with cost-effectiveness analyzes, methods and outcomes in the environmental arena. The project's objectives are:</p>&#13; <ul></ul>

The study on "Public participation in water management in the co-ordination area Havel (Berlin-Brandenburg)" authored by Nicole Kranz, Antje Vorwerk and Wenke Hansen was published as the first volume of the new publication series of the KompetenzZentrum Wasser Berlin (KWB - Berlin Centre of Competence for Water).

International airspace and the high seas are global environmental goods with traditionally unrestricted access. The ensuing environmental impact can be addressed through user charges for air- and sea-traffic. This project assessed the legal conditions for the application of such charges in international, European Community and domestic law. A preliminary summary of the legal survey is now available in the internet. A strategy paper on a air ticket tax is also available for download.

The EFIEA network aims to improve the practice of Integrated Environmental Assessment in Europe, and to build bridges between science and policy. It involves institutions, individual researchers and policymakers representing a variety of disciplines and countries. Ecologic staff have contributed to several EFIEA workshops; in addition, Ecologic supports the organisation of the EFIEA final conference in Berlin.

The amendment of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) provides for a register of installations for the purpose of increasing transparency and simplifying the nation-wide equalisation mechanism. Ecologic is supporting the German Federal Ministry for the Environment in answering the legal questions in this context. The observation and analysis of the revision of the German energy laws under the viewpoint of its impacts on the promotion of renewable energies ist another main focus of this project.

The Heinrich Boell Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation co-hosted a conference on "Water: A Key Issue for Sustainable Development – For Johannesburg and Beyond" in Washington, DC, on 16 April 2002. R. Andreas Kraemer spoke on the emerging water policy framework in Europe, its likely effect on water management, and lessons for other part of the world.

"Risk Management in a Complex World" was the theme of the 4th Transatlantic Dialogue on Precaution, held at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA, on 19-21 September 2004, and hosted by the Duke Center for Environmental Solutions. R. Andreas Kraemer, who attended also the previous dialogues in the series, contributed as discussant on ozone depletion and climate change.

In an Environmental Policy Lecture on European Environmental Governance and Policy Integration, R. Andreas Kraemer explained the policy process in the European Union, environmental governance, and the structures and procedures for integrating environmental protection requirements into other policies. Faculty and students attended this event at Duke University, Durham, NC, on 27 February 2003, and engaged in a lively debate.

In the ZUR – Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht, Peter Beyer analyses the new European Directive on environmental liability. The liability for damages caused to the environment by emissions as well as accidents in the field of industrial productions and transportation of dangerous goods belongs to the issues which have been controversially discussed in politics for years, regularly brought up by spectacular accidents as in Baia Mare or the sinking of the Prestige off the Spanish coast.

The article is based on a brochure the author wrote for the project "EcoFuturum – A Sustainable Constitution for Europe" which was co-funded by the European Commission. In the framework of this project, Ecologic published a number of policy papers and carried out a series of workshops throughout the enlarged European Union to discuss the impact of the future Constitution on European environmental policy.

The valuation of environmental and resource costs plays a central role for the implementation of the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD). Benjamin Görlach and Eduard Interwies investigated many of the economic aspects – such as the cost recovery for water services, incentive pricing for water, or the selection of cost-effective measures. The study to the German Federal Environmental Agency was published.

Ecologic supported the preparation of the Lille IV conference "Europe of Water - Water of the Europeans" to take place on 5-6 February 2004. The conference formed part of a series of events on the economic aspects of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).