This study aimed at presenting options for achieving coherence between MEAs and the WTO, and was prepared with a view to influencing the 4th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, held in Doha in November 2002.

In response to Article 2.2 of the Kyoto Protocol, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have begun to consider greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international aviation and shipping. However, neither ICAO nor IMO have taken any effective action on the issue yet and progress can be characterised as slow. But there are options for furthering the progress within ICAO and IMO.

The issue of "Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns" has gained a new impetus in international debates as a result of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002. The States now face the challenge of fleshing out the "10-year-framework for programmes" by integrating programme content at their respective national levels. Germany currently faces a multitude of approaches and initiatives to promote sustainable production and consumption patterns,  and the challenge now lies in how to consolidate these methods. Ecologic supports the German Federal Environmental Ministry and the Federal Environment Agency in this project.

The Laeken Declaration, convening the Convention on the Future of Europe, submitted a broad mandate to it, requesting it to reorganise the distribution of tasks between the EU and the Member States. However, the Convention did not consider reallocation of competencies, but rather concentrated on the task of ensuring transparency for the delimitation of competencies. Ecologic published a Brief that presents the system underlying the constitutional division of competencies, points out consequences of the system, and assesses them from an environmental point of view.

The Laeken Declaration, which constitutes the mandate for the European Convention, calls for institutional reforms to improve the EU’s efficiency, democratic accountability and transparency. Although the Convention adopted the draft Constitutional Treaty in June/July 2003, its environmental implications remain highly uncertain. Ecologic published a Brief that analyses the draft Constitutional Treaty. Furthermore, it considers the potential environmental merits and shortcomings of the broader reform options which have provided the backdrop for the Convention’s discussions: What are the basic options for improving the EU’s efficiency, democratic accountability and transparency? How do they fare from the point of view of the environment?

On 19-21 February 2003 the international conference entitled "EU: CAP and Enlargement – An Opportunity for Environment and Nature?" took place in Potsdam, Germany. The primary goal of the conference was to analyse and discuss the complex interactions between EU enlargement, the Common Agricultural Policy and the related impacts on nature and environment. In October 2003 conference proceedings have been published in the series BfN-Skripten of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

As state and local governments in the U.S. respond to demanding and complex environmental challenges, environmental policies and best practices from overseas are serving as important models. The reasons are clear – countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Australia have addressed similar environmental challenges by developing and implementing creative and often highly successful solutions. The adaptation of international best practices and innovation in environmental policies represents an important and powerful paradigm shift – from one of exporting environmental expertise and dollars, to one of importing good ideas from around the globe. The paper is available for download.

Peter Beyer's doctoral thesis focuses on an analysis of the integrated concepts of the Council Directive 96/61/EC on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC-Directive) and its implementation in the German Federal Emissions Control Act, as well as in the Draft of the German Environmental Code.

Ecologic organises an international workshop on the "Economic Analysis according to the EU Water Framework Directive: Present status of Implementation" that will take place on 20 - 21 November 2003 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear safety (BMU). The workshop is intended to further the international exchange of experience and addresses Member States and first Round Accession Countries.

The disposal of residual household waste in landfills above ground level can be avoided. This is the outcome of seven scenarios that have been set up in the study entitled "A Future Strategy for Municipal Waste Management (Goal 2020)". Commissioned by the German Federal Environmental Agency, the study was supposed to yield a technical basis for a strategy establishing the entire and ecologically sound recycling of municipal waste (goal 2020).

This Ecologic Brief is a part of the project EcoFuturum "Europe's Democratic Challenge: Actively Shaping European Environmental Policy". It is part of a series of contributions to the European consitutional debates, and Ecologic thus continues its tradition of work on "Greening the Treaties".

This Ecologic Brief is part of the project EcoFuturum "Europe's Democratic Challenge: Actively Shaping European Environmental Policy". It is part of a series of contributions to the European constitutional debates, and Ecologic thus continues its tradition of work on "Greening the Treaties".

This study on the Inter-Relations between Intellectual Property and the Conservation of Genetic Resources involved researching a range of global, regional and national laws and policies, and assessing these in the context of several commercial sectors.

The interdisciplinary team of lawyers and economists, headed by Prof. Dr. Dr. Juliane Kokott and consisting of Dr. Axel Klaphake, Dr. Simon Marr, Dr. Peter Beyer and Ute Beckert, recently finalized its study on international, European and national liability systems in relation to ecological damages, i.e. damages to water, soil and biodiversity. The study was commissioned by the German Federal Environmental Agency.

Ever since tourism became a huge money making industry, it has presenting both a growing problem and a unique opportunity for the environment. The modern tourist is concerned with preserving nature, but at the same time also affects it in multiple ways. How does German tourism policy and the tourism industry react to this dilemma? How do the different environmental policy actors behave?