On 9 May 2021, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CFE) will start. The CFE will provide a new space for citizens to engage in the debate on the future of the EU. A new Ecologic report examines the experience with citizens' assemblies on climate policies in France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and draws lessons for the CFE.

The Conference on the Future of Europe begins on 9 May 2021. The conference has great importance for EU climate policies. As a contribution to the start of the conference, think tanks from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Poland make recommendations on how EU climate policy and the Conference on the Future of Europe can be mutually beneficial.

This paper provides three recommendations to improve the public acceptance of bio-based products and processes. These recommendations are accompanied by concrete actions and good practice examples, based on stakeholder feedback received during the BIOBRIDGES project (2018-2020), relevant results of other EU-funded projects, as well as the results of a targeted literature review.

The report provides up-to-date information for policymakers on the how to apply nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and at the same time making use of multiple societal benefits that these solutions can bring. Drawing on selected examples across Europe, the report shows how impacts of extreme weather and climate-related events are already tackled in this way. It also assesses global and European policies and how nature-based solutions are increasingly being integrated in the efforts to shift towards sustainable development.

In the context of the European Green Deal, the introduction and design of border adjustment measures is currently subject to much controversy. Upon invitation to contribute to the series "Green Deal reloaded" by the Stiftung Genshagen and the Institut Montaigne, Dr. Camilla Bausch (Ecologic Institute) analyzes the opportunities and challenges provided by the proposed border adjustment mechanism.

This briefing note, published within the EU-funded Horizon 2020 project NATURVATION, takes a critical look at the value and limits of climate nature-based solutions to deliver on biodiversity goals. Building on research findings from NATURVATION, the brief discusses the question: How can we realise the added value of urban climate nature-based solutions for biodiversity?

In this publication, we present the results of an acceptance study in two case study regions in Germany. We investigated farmers' and other soil experts' perceptions of subsoil amelioration as an approach to adapt to climate change. In addition, we analyzed the factors that influence their willingness to adopt specific measures to improve the subsoil. Applying q-method and focus groups, we surveyed overall 86 actors in the agricultural sector. The article is published in Frontiers in Agronomy, Volume 3, April 2021 and is available for download.

The final online conference of the FIThydro project brought together over 280 participants from across the globe to explore the latest research developments on the topic of sustainable and fish friendly hydropower showcasing the final project’s results in addition to presentations by experts from outside the project on related topics. The online conference was hosted by Ecologic Institute and the Technical University of Munich.

As a part of the COACCH project, Ecologic Institute, University of Graz and Deltares organized a workshop with stakeholders and interested parties on the topic of "Addressing climate change in European supply chains".

The PREMIER project aims to develop a comprehensive assessment system dedicated to characterizing the environmental risks of APIs, including their human metabolites and environmental transformation products. This innovative system is designed to fulfill several key objectives, including the screening and prioritization of existing APIs, identification of potential hazards linked to APIs in development, and the enhancement of accessibility to pertinent environmental data for all stakeholders.

Around the world, an increasing number of countries have decided to phase out coal, both to achieve their climate targets, but also to modernise their electricity sector in the transition from fossil to renewable energy supply. This includes Germany, which long had one of the highest shares of coal use in Europe – and Chile, as one the first Latin American country to move beyond coal. To support the dialogue in the Chilean-German Energy Partnership, Ecologic Institute, Agora Energiewende and Chilean experts were commissioned to draft a paper comparing the coal phase-out processes in both countries.

In the scope of the SUDEA project, Ecologic Institute and its partners analysed the challenges of sustainable urban development, to build up city environments that match with global environmental goals. The project's main hypothesis was, that urban development in the Arctic will be more sustainable if the positions of local stakeholders are reflected in decision-processes and policies are aligned across the national and regional level.

By bringing together policymakers from the European Commission and other European institutions, as well as selected experts from academia and civil society, this conference creates a virtual platform for discussion how Europe can leapfrog to resilience. The organizers offer a unique space for cross institutional dialogue and knowledge transfer, enriched by different perspectives and areas of expertise.

The PRINCESS project is carried out by leading research institutions throughout Europe. It categorizes and evaluates the effects of alternative land use options after peatland rewetting on key EU environmental policies: (1) as a measure to halt biodiversity loss, (2) as a nature-based solution for mitigating and adapting to climate change, and (3) as a management tool to reduce nitrate release and, thus, eutrophication. PRINCESS investigates the interaction of the two main important global change drivers and attempts to take advantage of the coupling between the carbon and nitrogen cycles to maximize benefits from rewetting peatlands.