This study presents selected (inter)national and regional initiatives for the circular economy, including the European Circular Economy Action Plan and the circular economy in China's 14th Five-Year Plan and shows if and how these strategies take developing and emerging countries into account. Furthermore, the study explores some of the key effects that come with increased circularity. Key topics discussed are the effect on trade in primary raw materials, the shift to bio-based products, a possible reduction in waste exports and knowledge transfer. The report also provides a brief analysis of selected specific measures from the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan of 2020, with a special focus on their potential impact on developing and emerging countries.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are recognised as cost-effective tools to alleviate pressure during high rainfall events while producing wider societal and environmental benefits, but uptake is limited in practice due to lacking evidence. The NICHES project – Nature's Integration in Cities' Hydrologies, Ecologies and Societies – aims to fill this gap by adopting a holistic social-ecological-technical systems (SETS) approach to explore the potential of urban NBS as an alternative to the costly renewal of grey wastewater systems. Five global cities – Barcelona, Berlin, Boston, Sheffield, and Rotterdam – will be utilized to co-create knowledge and develop a shared understanding of restorative NBS that can be applied to avoid storm-water run-off and negative impacts for aquatic biodiversity.

Berlin can look back on an eventful history of the New Social Movements. Numerous Berlin pioneering organizations from that time are still active: Kraut & Rüben, the Schokofabrik, Oktoberdruck, the Regenbogenfabrik and many more. At the same time, many new alternative-economy enterprises are currently emerging in Berlin - the city that is considered a melting pot of alternative economy. But what is new about today's ideas compared to the motives of over 40 years ago? What can those active today learn from the successes and failures of that time? What experiences can, and should they build on? And: What role do changed framework conditions play? What has become possible or impossible today compared to the past?

In this project, the Ecologic Institute analyzes the political and legal frameworks of all 27 EU Member States relevant for the removal of CO2.

Are you interested in environmental issues or European policy? Would you like to understand what the European Green Deal is, and how will it impact our lives in the years to come? Then you have come to the right place. On the Green Deal – Big Deal website you can find all episodes of our podcast, our webinars and additional information about the European Green Deal.

Within the project „Socio-ecological Transformation of the Food System“, policy recommendations for the transformation towards a sustainable food system were developed between October 2020 and September 2023. The STErn website was developed, implemented, and designed by Ecologic Institute. It serves the public communication of the project's goals, events, and results.

The Ecologic Institute developed the INTERLACE project website. It provides information and materials to strengthen urban ecosystem restoration in the European Union and Latin America. INTERLACE aims to strengthen cooperation, learning and peer-to-peer interactions on the local, regional and global scales through the Cities Talk Nature mechanism. The six partner cities are central to this process, providing and sharing experiences with other cities globally and building technical and procedural capacities. A web-based Innovation Hub will support these efforts by disseminating INTERLACE's results and the hands-on tools for urban decision-makers and planners created by the project.

This insightful Handbook, by Dr. Michael Jakob, provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent developments in the academic debate on the numerous and complex linkages between international trade and climate change. Offering critical and empirically-based perspectives on the future of international trade policy, this timely Handbook is crucial reading for scholars, researchers and graduate students in political science, public policy and climate research. Policymakers will also benefit from its unique and insightful policy recommendations.

Natural gas and oil not only finance the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, they also lie at the heart of the problem: authoritarianism and a lack of democracy. Decarbonization is not only a climate policy necessity, but also an agenda for democracy and thus for peace, writes Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the Tagesspiegel.

The World Water Day, was introduced by the United Nations in 1992 to remind people of water as an essential resource for life. For this year's theme "Groundwater – making the invisible visible", Ecologic Institute co-organized a webinar to present an augmented reality app that was developed as part of the project Digital Water City (DWC). The webinar was moderated by Alexander Sperlich (BWB) and Dr. Ulf Stein (Ecologic Institute).

In the first episode of the Green Deal – Big Deal? podcast we unpack the European Green Deal and discuss its importance with our guests Dr Hans Bruyninckx (European Environment Agency) and Dr Åsa Persson (Stockholm Environment Institute).

With the purpose of providing scientific evidence to support the development of a policy framework for renewable energy communities in Eastern European Member States, this article compares key factors for the development of such communities in Bulgaria and Germany, combining a literature review with expert interviews to collect primary information on Bulgaria.

Exciting news: We are developing an Urban Governance Atlas for nature-based solutions as part of the INTERLACE project … and we want you to be a part of it! The Urban Governance Atlas (UGA) will be an interactive online database of around 250 good practice policy instruments that support the use of nature-based solutions (NBS) for urban ecosystem restoration and more inclusive green space planning.

The topic of plastic in the environment is particularly easy for children to understand because plastic products and waste are everywhere. The PIXI book "Flupp aus der Plastikflasche" (Flupp in the plastic bottle), which was created as part of the BMBF's research focus "Plastics in the Environment", teaches children about precisely this topic.

Plastic waste is omnipresent, the pollution in the environment easily recognizable. This makes the issue relevant even for the youngest children. This is why the Ecologic Institute, within the research focus "Plastics in the Environment", together with the AOK Bundesverband, Stiftung Lesen and Carlsen K – the children's media agency of Carlsen Verlag – has developed an exclusive "Lesemaus" edition especially for day-care centres.