Publication:Policy Brief

From sector coupling to hydrogen, from the implementation of the Climate Protection Legislation to the European Green Deal: Achieving climate neutrality requires coordinated and effective policy management across individual departments. Climate policy is a cross-cutting task, because all sectors, from power generation to industry, buildings, transport and agriculture, must become greenhouse gas neutral without delay. Experts from the Ariadne Copernicus project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), have examined central problems of government control of German climate policy and presented options for solutions. The paper was also sent to negotiators of the coalition talks in the run-up to publication.

Wie die Governance der deutschen Klimapolitik gestärkt werden kann

Ariadne-Kurzdossier

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

This policy brief examines current proposals for the further expansion of photovoltaics. It shows that the two central goals – accelerating the PV expansion and involving residents – are in tension with each other, at least in the short term. Based on the analysis, the following sequence of measures is proposed: First, as an immediate intervention, PV plants that feed all of their electricity generation into the grid should be made economically viable again.

Wie gelingt der urbane Solar-Turbo?

Reformoptionen für einen beschleunigten Ausbau von Solaranlagen auf Mehrfamilienhäusern in Berlin

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

Forests and the ocean are vital for climate, biological diversity, and human communities, but they are degraded and their ecosystem services are seriously impaired, mainly because financial, economic and governance structures are misconfigured. The authors of this T20 policy brief propose that G20 help strengthen the REDD+ climate instrument for forests and extend it to Blue Carbon from coastal and marine ecosystems. Scaled up to cover the Earth's two largest, most diverse and most productive ecosystems, these two approaches can deliver significant economic and climate benefits. The T20 policy brief is available for download.

Fixing Financial, Economic and Governance Structures to Save Forests and the Ocean, and Enhance Their Contributions to Climate Change Solutions

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

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

Policy Brief: Towards Sustainable Adaptation Pathways

A Concept for Integrative Actions to Achieve the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

In a decision published in May 2021, the German Constitutional Court held that the Federal Climate Change Act is partly unconstitutional and has to be amended by the end of 2022. This policy brief explains the court's key arguments and findings.

The German Federal Constitutional Court's Decision on the Climate Change Act

Order of 24 March 2021 - 1 BvR 2656/18 and others

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

Meredith S., Allen B., Kollenda E., Maréchal A., Hart K., Hulot J.F., Frelih Larsen A. and Wunder S. (2021) European food and agriculture in a new paradigm: Can global challenges like climate change be addressed through a farm to fork approach? Think 2030 policy paper by the Institute for European Environmental Policy and the Ecologic Institute.

European Food and Agriculture in a New Paradigm

Can global challenges like climate change be addressed through a farm to fork approach?

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

Front Cover of Nature Based solutions Policy Paper with Woman and Boy looking up into a forest canopy

Nature-based solutions have been gaining attention as effective solutions to address important global challenges. As the world battles with the COVID-19 crisis, increased awareness on its link to the exploitation of nature is generating momentum towards improving our relationship with nature. This paper by IEEP and Ecologic Institute discusses how EU policies and investments have spurred the uptake of nature-based solutions to support biodiversity and ecosystem health, and outlines remaining gaps and opportunities on how best to scale up efforts to meet the current EU policy framework’s 2030 objectives.

Using Nature-Based Solutions to Foster Synergies between Biodiversity and Climate

Missed chances and new opportunities for a sustainable future

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

NATURVATION Publication Cover Image with text and a photograph of a city garden

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?

Urban Nature: A Shared Solution to the Climate and Biodiversity Crises?

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

Front Cover of Publication with Title "Policy Brief Identifies Options For Multilateral Initiatives That Support Sustainable Food Systems And Reduce GHG Emissions"

Published in April 2021, this policy brief identifies four options for increased multilateral cooperation that support an international shift towards sustainable food systems and help to increase the global 2030 climate ambition at the same time. The identified initiatives focus on activities that reduce food loss and waste and support plant based diets, following a 'food systems approach.'

Options for Multilateral Initiatives to Close the Global 2030 Climate Ambition and Action Gap

Policy Field Sustainable Food Systems

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

Legally binding reduction targets for Member States have been the backbone of EU climate policies since 2009. At a moment where the EU increases its climate ambition significantly, reduction targets for Member States must continue. They should be the unequivocal starting point of reforms to make EU climate rules fit for the EU's new climate targets – a new Ecologic Institute policy brief explains why.

Implementing New EU Climate Targets

Why Member State responsibility must continue

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

Governments around the world are seeking to improve the way they organize their climate policy-making. Many countries are adopting national framework laws to do so. Choosing the right design is key for making these laws effective. This paper provides an update on the core elements of ten European climate laws and identifies several best practice lessons that could inform future climate law design.

Professionalizing Climate Policy via Legislation

Good Practices in Long-Term National Climate Framework Laws

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

This policy brief provides an overview of the wide range of socio-economic benefits that nature-based solutions can generate. Co-authors IEEP and Ecologic Institute highlight the central role that such solutions can play in meeting the EU's 2030 commitments on climate action and biodiversity and identify recommendations to enhance their uptake. The paper is available for download.

Nature-based Solutions and their Socio-economic Benefits for Europe's Recovery

Enhancing the uptake of nature-based solutions across EU policies

Year 2021

Publication:Policy Brief

Cover picture of the study with EU flags and office building in the background

The policy brief discusses the different policy pathways to reach the climate target, as presented in the EU Commissions Impact Assessement of the 2030 target plan. There are different ways how the EU can reduce emissions to -55%: mainly through tighter regulation and standards, primarily via carbon price or trough a mix of both. The policy mix route may seem most attractive: politically, it is the path of least resistance, as it continues on the current trajectory. And it promises the best of both worlds – the efficiency of carbon pricing and the certainty of regulatory approaches. At the same time, the mix has some conceptual arguments in favor: companion policies, like standards and infrastructure investment, ensure that consumers have more climate-friendly options to choose from and bring down their cost. Thereby, they make it easier to stomach higher carbon prices.

Wegmarken für das EU-Klimaziel 2030

Versteckte Risiken und Chancen der Szenarien der EU-Kommission für den Pfad zur Klimaneutralität

Year 2020

Publication:Policy Brief

What matters for the climate is the total amount of emissions and removals over time and corresponding levels of atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration. The current focus on reductions achieved as of a specific moment in time disguises this. Emission budgets that quantify the total amount of permissible emissions would address this problem. The EU should establish an emission budget within its Climate Law. This emission budget should include all GHG emissions, not only CO2. These are some of the key findings of this briefing paper.

Why the EU Needs an Emission Budget

Year 2020

Publication:Policy Brief

This FIThydro Brief, written by Ecologic Institute's Hugh McDonald and Gerardo Anzaldúa, assesses the current and future demand for fish-friendly hydropower in Europe. It concludes that EU and national policy and economic developments offer a chance to innovate and address rising social and environmental concerns about hydropower's negative impacts.

Scoping the Market for Fish-friendly Hydropower Technologies: Recent developments, future expectations

FIThydro Market Conditions Brief

Year 2020

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