This report is a compilation of data on the global production and consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and a detailed explanation for the trends. The report updates and builds upon similar analyses published in the previous four years.

This Handbook assists developing and developed countries with providing accurate, comprehensive and timely data as per their specific reporting obligations under the Montreal Protocol to protect the stratospheric ozone layer from the effects of ozone depleting substances (ODS). It helps ozone officers understand and follow the correct data reporting procedures, including those related to Article 7 and Multilateral Fund requirements. The Handbook has been developed by Ecologic.

Transatlantic co-operation between the US and EU Member States has an important role to play in the system of international environmental policymaking. Greater transatlantic leadership coupled with extensive consultation of developing countries would greatly enhance policymaking capacities in the system of international environmental governance.

This book with contributions from Ecologic analyses the implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive in several EU Member States. The compliance of the Directive, its technological impacts and national policies are crucial to the comparative study.

"Trade, Environment and Development: The North-South Dimensions" was the topic of the second international conference of the Concerted Action on Trade and Environment (CAT&E). The event was held at the Trippenhuis of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in Amsterdam on 1-2 November 2004. The conference report, including the programme, summaries of the sessions and a list of participants, is now available for download.

The future of the water sector in Europe has been increasingly at the heart of political debates. Potential evolution of the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector had not, however, been the subject of in-depth studies. The EUROMARKET project filled this gap by analysing a selection of scenarios for the evolution of the European WSS sector, ranging from delegation contracts to community management, and investigating their social, economic, environmental and institutional implications.

Following the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, the agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) expanded to incorporate a number of environment related issues, such as services, intellectual property rights, and investment related measures. The EU-funded CAT+E project (Concerted Action on Trade and Environment) aims to ensure dialogue and debate between European Research Institutes on these issues. Through a series of international conferences and publications, the CAT+E network analyses the current trade and environment agenda, strengthens co-operation among European Research institutes and identifies needs for further research. Ecologic's CAT+E reports are available for download. The trade and environment policy and research agendas have expanded rapidly in recent years. Following conclusion of the Uruguay Round, the agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) expanded to incorporate a number of environment related issues, such as services, intellectual property rights, or investment related measures. This rapid expansion of the trade and environment agenda has created a major area of research that is attracting researchers in virtually all member states.

This research project is carried out on behalf of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and analyzes aspects relating to the conversion of timber procurement on the federal level in Germany to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. Such a conversion is foreseen by the 2002 coalition agreement of the federal government. Tropical timber shall, as a first step, only be procured from FSC certified sources; and the entire timber procurement shall be converted to this standard until the end of the legislative period, accordingly.

For the preparations of the informal Council of Environmental Ministers under the Austrian EU presidency, Ecologic contributed to a discussion paper on the urban environment and environmental technologies. The paper discusses in particular the Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment of the European Commission and the potential for the use of environmental technologies in cities.

The new Member States' thorough preparation for the accession to the European Union is a precondition for an effective enlargement of the EU. Therefore, not only the national level but also the regional and local level should be placed in the centre of attention, in order to implement European legislation. The aim of the two projects "Capacity Building in Latvia and Lithuania" is to prepare regional and local environmental administration in Latvia and Lithuania for their EU-accession.

In cooperation with the European SUSTRA-Network Ecologic analyses the relationship between trade, environment and sustainable development. As a part of the project, Ecologic convened an international workshop on the architecture of global governance of trade and sustainable development which focussed on the global institutional set-up, the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and WTO rules as well as the role of non-State actors in the international fora. The results of the workshop were summarised and published in a policy brief.

In order to implement its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as required under the Kyoto Protocol, the European Community elaborated a directive establishing a community-wide greenhouse gas trading system. Ecologic has been commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environmemnt to analyse the legal framework for implementing the directive in Germany and also to draft the implementing legislation. In addition Ecologic develops provisions for the implementation of the flexible Mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol.

Policy makers increasingly need accurate and timely information to meet reporting requirements linked to environmental legislation and decision making. This project explored the extent to which Earth Observation (EO) services can help meet the special reporting requirements of two important European Union (EU) environmental policy areas, namely the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Soil Protection Initiative (SPI).

In the framework of the EC funded Programme "Raising the awareness of trade issues in civil society", Ecologic is organising a one-day seminar in Budapest, Hungary. The aim of the seminar is to provide participants from civil society with a better understanding of the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and WTO rules, to raise awareness on how better to participate in and influence European trade policy and to contribute to a closer co-operation and networking among civil society groups in Hungary. The Seminar languages will be English and Hungarian.

As part of the implementation of the IPPC Directive the Best Available Techniques (BAT) for waste treatment, industries are being identified and described in the BAT REFerence document (BREF) "waste treatment industries". Ecologic is compiling the best available techniques of selected waste treatment facilities relevant to Germany.