The formulation and implementation of climate adaptation plans in cities worldwide needs to speed up rapidly to keep in pace with projections of climate risks. The research project: "Resilience in Europe through Activating City Hubs reaching Out to Users with Triple-A climate adaptation Tools" (REACHOUT) aims to support the implementation of the European Green Deal by developing user-oriented climate services. It is funded through the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. Research partners, climate service providers and city stakeholders are co-developing a coherent set of tools and services for seven City Hubs (Cork, Ireland; Athens, Greece; Lillestrøm, Norway; Milan, Italy; Logroño, Spain; Gdynia, Poland; and Amsterdam/APG, the Netherlands).

Christiane Gerstetter, Senior Fellow in Ecologic Institute's Legal Team, examines in this book how the dispute settlement bodies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have decided non-trade cases. These are cases in which national measures that serve non-trade objectives such as environmental and health protection are under judicial scrutiny.

Ecologic Institute is collaborating with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and Ramboll Consulting on a project for the European Environment Agency (EEA) entitled "The Cost of Adaptation versus the Cost of Inaction for Europe." This follows up a 2020-project, "Overview of Accessibility of the Climate Change Adaptation Finance Data in Europe," also for the EEA.

Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow of Ecologic Institute, gave a keynote speech at the China-EU Conference on Climate Change Legislation on 29 June 2021. He presented the main features of the Climate Change Act (KSG) and its latest amendments based on the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on 24 March 2021. He also participated in the discussion session after the presentations.

Bueb, Benedict, Tröltzsch, Jenny (2021): Policy Brief: Towards Sustainable Adaptation Pathways A Concept for Integrative Actions to Achieve the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework. Dessau-Roßlau: Umweltbundesamt

Bueb, Benedict, Tröltzsch, Jenny, Reichwein, David, Oldenburg, Clara, Favero, Fausto (2021): Case Studies of Sustainable Adaptation Pathways. Appendix to the Paper "Towards Sustainable Adaptation Pathways: A concept for integrative actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework". Climate Change | 48/2021. Dessau-Roßlau: Umweltbundesamt

The devastating flash floods and forest fires in Europe in summer 2021 have highlighted the need for stronger linking disaster risk management with climate adaptation efforts. This report introduces the concept of Sustainable Adaptation Pathways that can act as guidance when planning and implementing integrated policies to foster adaptation measures in line with disaster risk reduction efforts and sustainable development.

A few days after the US and Germany agreed to launch a new climate and energy partnership, Dr. Bausch (Director of Ecologic Institute) and Samantha Gross (Director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings) were invited to discuss new dynamics, opportunities and challenges presented by transatlantic climate cooperation.

The Ecologic Institute designed and developed the ETS Training and Capacity Building website. It provides information and teaching materials on emissions trading, information on events, training courses, study trips, technical workshops and delegation visits.

Reaching climate neutrality by 2050 in the EU requires strong policy making and monitoring to ensure all areas of the European economy get and remain on track. Over two years (2021-2022) Ecologic Institute completed several related research projects and policy assessments on the functioning and fitness of EU climate policy for a net-zero future. These included a first-of-its-kind assessment of the substance of national long-term strategies (LTS), a scoping paper for an EU Carbon Dioxide Removal strategy, the creation of a Climate Framework Laws Info-Matrix as a new resource to document the substance and status of these legislative instruments across Europe, and a net-zero scorecard as proof of concept for a net-zero monitoring framework developed under a previous project.

Ramboll and Ecologic Institute joined forces to develop and implement a 2-year outreach and engagement campaign, intended to draw new visitors and users to the Climate-ADAPT platform in five selected Eastern and Central European countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). The objective of the outreach and user engagement activities was to make new users aware of the huge potential of the Climate-ADAPT and encourage them to share relevant data and information, turning more users from passive consumers of information into proactive providers of information and contributors to the platform.

Re-using goods and products offers numerous economic, ecological and social potentials. An exciting case example for the reuse of building components and furnishings was presented on 15 July 2021 at the online expert dialogue "Re-use of building components and furnishings in the construction project of the church community of Staaken".

In this project, Ecologic Institute in cooperation with Oeko-Institut and Giessen University, analyses measures for climate-friendly soil use and the challenges and opportunities of transfer-based instruments as well as other funding mechanisms to promote these measures. In addition, current legal and political framework conditions for nature-based solutions and climate-friendly soil use will be examined.

Drinking water protection in North Rhine-Westphalia is based on mandatory requirements as well as voluntary measures agreed on between farmers and water suppliers. A study conducted by Ecologic Institute and HYDOR Consult for the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) evaluated the outcomes of drinking water protection within the framework of the cooperative water protection model in NRW. The results were summarised in two articles in the journal “Korrespondenz Wasserwirtschaft”.

The aim of the SPRINT project (Sustainable Plant Protection Transition: A Global Health Approach) is to support the transition towards more sustainable plant protection. This relies on close interaction with stakeholders along the whole supply chain, civil society and regulatory bodies. The SPRINT Stakeholder Introductory event, co-organized by Ecologic Institute, took place on Tuesday 22nd June, 2021. With 117 participants and a lively discussion in breakout groups, the meeting was a great way to kick-off our exchanges with stakeholders.