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Publication:Policy Brief
 
Cover of a TESS Briefing Note titled “Identifying and Tackling Environmentally Harmful Agricultural Subsidies in the WTO: Note on Greenhouse Gas Emissions” by Anthony Cox, published in May 2025. The cover features a photo of black and white dairy cows grazing on green grass.
Prepared by Anthony Cox (Senior Policy Advisor at Ecologic Institute), this briefing note offers an up-to-date overview of how the agricultural sector contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It identifies key social, economic, and environmental trade-offs and highlights the importance of context when assessing emission impacts. The note also provides guidance on prioritising reforms of agricultural subsidies.

Identifying and Tackling Environmentally Harmful Agricultural Subsidies in the WTO

Note on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
Cover of the OECD Net Zero+ Policy Paper No. 8 titled “A place-based approach to climate action and resilience.” The cover features images of green skyscrapers covered in plants, a woman riding a bicycle next to a tram, and wind turbines in a field. The OECD and Net Zero+ logos are also included.
Current climate action is falling short of meeting global climate goals. To get back on track, action is needed at all levels. Place-based climate action – i.e. policies targeted or tailored to the circumstances of different places – can work with the grain of local markets, leverage the funding and powers of sub-national governments and mobilise local communities to deliver meaningful change. This paper, prepared by Anthony Cox (Senior Policy Advisor at Ecologic Institute), reviews the case for place-based climate policies and actions and outlines challenges and opportunities.

A Place-based Approach to Climate Action and Resilience

OECD Net Zero+ Policy Papers No.8

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Publication:Report
 
How can the EU stay on track to climate neutrality – despite tightening budgets and rising geopolitical pressure? A new Ariadne background paper reviews the Fit for 55 package, discusses open questions for the post-2030 period, and outlines options for a more coherent EU policy architecture.

Staying the Course in Turbulent Times

Insights on the current state and ways forward for the EU's climate, energy and finance policy architecture

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Event:Digital Event
 
On 3 September 2025, the European Climate Neutrality Observatory presented their latest findings on EU's progress toward climate neutrality and discussed the ensuing recommendations with high-profile EU policy stakeholders, including members of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the business community.

Tracking the Transition to a Clean, Competitive and Fair EU Future

Launch of the 3rd Assessment by the European Climate Neutrality Observatory


online

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Publication:Report
 
cover page
This report highlights the persistent exclusion of commonly excluded stakeholders (CES) – such as marginalised communities, migrants, Indigenous peoples, youth, older adults, and those facing socio-economic vulnerabilities – from the co-creation of nature-based solutions (NbS). Inclusivity is shown to be essential for NbS to be legitimate, effective, and sustainable, yet CES often remain sidelined due to power asymmetries, structural disadvantages, rigid project cycles, and a lack of trust.

Co-creating Nature-based Solutions with Commonly Excluded Stakeholders

Insights from practice and research

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Event:Workshop
 
Within the field day "Alfalfa Cultivation and Climate Adaptation," Holger Gerdes and Zoritza Kiresiewa (Ecologic Institute) presented a draft policy paper on sustainable subsoil management in Germany. The objective was to collaboratively develop core recommendations – together with farmers, soil experts, and policy stakeholders – on how to more effectively promote deep-rooting crops, particularly alfalfa. Discussions centered on strategies for securing yields during drought years and on adapting political frameworks to make alfalfa cultivation more attractive.

How Can the Cultivation of Deep-rooted Crops be Promoted?


Hessische Staatsdomäne Frankenhausen, Germany

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Project
 
As part of the EU Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters", the project EUMission4WaterPollution is receiving technical support through the programme "Studies to Support Communities of Actors to Achieve the EU Mission", coordinated by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The aim of the project is to strengthen the coastal resilience of the Albanian port city of Durrës and to develop strategies to tackle plastic and microplastic pollution.

Tackling Plastic Pollution on Albania's Coastline: A Mission Ocean Initiative

Technical Assistance #48 Durrës

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Event:Conference
 
After more than three years of intensive research and collaboration, the final event of the project AMAREX – Adaptation of Stormwater Management to Extreme Weather Events took place on 10 July 2025 in Cologne. The event focused on professional exchange around the project's developed approaches and tools for climate-resilient urban development.

Plan Digitally – Act Sustainably

Final Event and Stakeholder Workshop of the AMAREX Project


Cologne, Germany

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Project
 
The model regions programme "Eating Better in the Region" promotes innovative approaches to healthy and sustainable nutrition across Germany. Ecologic Institute and Technopolis Germany evaluate the extent to which the ten funded model regions achieve the five central funding objectives – ranging from increasing the use of organic products in out-of-home catering to reducing food waste – and what impacts they generate. The results serve to evaluate the funding initiative and provide insights and recommendations for the long-term continuation and transferability of successful approaches to other regions.

Eating Better in the Region

Evaluation of the Model Regions Programme

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Project
 
Those who contribute least to climate change are often the most severely affected by its impacts. Organisations like Bread for the World aim to amplify their voices and promote climate justice for vulnerable communities. Ecologic Institute conducted an independent evaluation of Bread for the World’s Climate Policy Unit to strengthen its long-term impact and strategic focus.

Evaluation of the Climate Policy Unit for Bread for the World

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Publication:Report
 
Cover page of BfN publication 733 “Urban Nature Plans as a Strategy for German Municipalities”. Recommendations on Urban Nature Plans from the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. Authors: Rieke Hansen, Lena Enderich, McKenna Davis, with contributions by Sandra Naumann. The image shows a paved path through a light birch forest.
The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 calls on all European cities with more than 20,000 in-habitants to develop and rapidly implement an "Urban Greening Plan". These plans should contain ambitious targets and measures to conserve biodiversity, promote human well-being, and contribute to climate adaptation and mitigation. The European Commission now refers to these plans as "Urban Nature Plans". The project documented in this report aimed to stimulate a discourse on Urban Nature Plans in Germany and to develop recommendations for local authorities.

Stadtnatur-Pläne als Strategie für deutsche Kommunen

Empfehlungen zu "Urban Nature Plans" aus der EU-Biodiversitätsstrategie 2030

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
In this Policy Brief of the EU-funded NICHES project, Benjamin Kupilas (Ecologic Institute) and David Alejandro Camacho Caballero (UAB) examine how cities like Barcelona, Berlin, and Rotterdam can shape the transition to sustainable urban water systems through Nature-based Solutions (NBS). The core question is which governance models, participatory processes, and methodological approaches are needed to embed NBS effectively into urban storm- and wastewater management strategies.

Transitioning to Sustainable Urban Water Systems

Insights from Barcelona, Berlin, and Rotterdam

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Publication:Article
 
Cover of a publication from 'Cambridge Prisms' titled 'Plastics.' The cover features a gradient background transitioning from deep red to blue, with white lines cutting across the lower half. The title 'Plastics' is displayed in simple white text.
To enable a genuine shift toward a circular plastic economy, the UN plastics treaty must confront two critical structural barriers: fossil fuel and plastic production subsidies, and the failure to internalize the true societal and environmental costs of plastic. Without addressing these root causes, efforts to end plastic pollution risk falling short, the authors of this article argue. Among them Ecologic Institute's Doris Knoblauch.

A Circular Plastic Economy Should Account for all Societal Costs

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