Dr Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, took part in a panel discussion in the Bundestag as part of a workshop on environmental crime organised by Bündnis90/Die Grünen. In his keynote speech, he outlined the most important innovations of the amended EU Environmental Crime Directive and the challenges of its implementation in Germany. The panel discussion was chaired by MdB Lukas Benner. Other panellists were Katharina Lang (WWF) on the topic of illegal timber trade and journalist Marius Münstermann on the topic of illegal waste trade.

Three working papers aim to support the responsible ministries and competent authorities of EU Member States in implementing the EU Methane Emission Regulation (EU-MER), expected to enter into force in July 2024.

This policy brief describes policy pathways for the evolution of the current EU climate policy mix. It defines combinations of instruments that have a reasonable chance of meeting the desired emissions targets. Policy pathways are defined based on three policy dimensions: 1) Carbon pricing, 2) Technology policies and 3) Behavioural Change promotion. Although each pathway focuses more attention in one type of instruments, all packages have a certain combination of the three policy dimensions to meet the targets. Finally, instruments to adapt EU climate policy to different international conditions are explored.

Dr. Benjamin Kupilas and Dr. Ulf Stein attended the launch of the new BiodivRestore Knowledge Hub in Paris on 30 and 31 May 2024. Both have been appointed as experts to the hub, which is a thematic network consisting of selected researchers with expertise in biodiversity and ecosystem restoration.

This report aims to provide inspiration and guidance for stakeholders in Central Eastern European (CEE) countries to pursue a more holistic and coordinated approach for transitioning towards climate friendly and resilient agri-food systems.

The Brandenburg Action Plan for Organic Agriculture has been implemented since 2022 and aims to increase the proportion of organically farmed land in the state to 20 per cent by 2024. As part of the Action Plan for Organic Agriculture, product-related market information meetings will be organised to bring together market players from the agricultural and food sectors and discuss current developments, challenges and opportunities. These talks are key to strengthening the regional organic value chain and promoting dialogue between producers, processors and marketers.

Digital technologies have the potential to close economic loops, reduce CO2-emissions and increase resource efficiency. However, the possibilities of digitalisation for shaping a comprehensive circular economy are far from exhausted. This research project investigates how digital solutions can support consumers in aligning their consumption with sustainable and circular criteria.

Ecologic Institute is member of the European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (ETC-BE) which works with the European Environment Agency (EEA) under a Framework Partnership Agreement for the period from 2023-2026. The ETC BE is a Consortium of 24 European organisations with expertise in the topic area of terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Biodiversity and ecosystems is one of five strategic work areas in the EEA-Eionet Strategy 2021-2030.

From 15 to 17 May 2024, Barcelona hosted the CONEXUS Conference, a flagship event bringing together over 100 experts from Europe and Latin America to discuss nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate-resilient cities. This conference was a melting pot of ideas and innovations, fostering exchange on the economic, social, environmental, and political facets of NBS implementation. Among the key sessions were "Governance, Politics, and Planning" and "Economics, Values, and Work," where Ecologic experts Dr. Ulf Stein, McKenna Davis, and Jenny Tröltzsch shared their research and insights.

At our launch event in Brussels, we presented our newest findings and engaged with relevant high-profile stakeholders from the European Parliament and the economy. We hosted two thematic panels on topics that moved the EU at the moment: industrial transformation and just transition for the people of the EU. 

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), in cooperation with BELSPO and the Belgian Climate Centre organized an in-person C3S user workshop with a geographical focus on Belgium, on Thursday, 20th June 2024. The half-day workshop took place in Brussels and was targeted at current and potential future C3S users in Belgium.

Dr Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation on prosecution under the amended Environmental Crime Directive at an information event organised by Green Legal Impact and Stop Ecocide Germany on the new EU environmental criminal law. He began by describing the special features of criminal prosecution in the environmental sector and the reason for the first-time inclusion of criminal prosecution provisions in the Directive. He then gave an overview of the regulations on resources and training, co-operation between authorities, the national strategy for combating environmental crime and statistical data. The presentation ended with examples of challenges and approaches to implementing the directive in Germany.

The aim of this project is to compile an up-to-date overview of existing scientific studies on the economic valuation of marine ecosystems and their services, as well as on the environmental impacts of the oceans. The aim is to go beyond the consideration of short-term "provisioning services", both in terms of the ecosystem services recorded and in terms of geographical coverage.

Due to climate change, water retention in landscapes is gaining increasing relevance alongside flood protection. Various measures can improve the landscape water balance or enhance the resilience of land ecosystems against extreme weather events caused by floods and droughts. The authors have compiled a catalog of 69 measures in the UBA project WADKlim. These measures mostly originate from good practices in water management, agriculture, and forestry in Germany and have been evaluated based on their local impacts and implementation-relevant conditions.

Brandenburg's cabinet adopted a peatland protection program in March 2023, building on the National Peatland Protection Strategy and the 2021 "Climate Protection through Peatland Protection" initiative. The project aims to develop recommendations for communication on peatland protection in Brandenburg, examining the current communication landscape. The Ecologic Institute is commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg.