In this presentation, Ecologic Institute's International Climate Protection Fellow Mario Alejandro Delgado Galarraga reviews whether the evolution of Rights of Nature in America has influenced International Environmental Law, especially at a Regional level. It appraise and contrast national legal conducts with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' Advisory Opinion "OC-23/17" (Environment and Human Rights). Thus, it centre on Comparative Law and International Environmental Law. The presentation was held during the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2021.

On 1 September 2021, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, participated as an expert in a hearing of the Hessian State Parliament's Committee for Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection on the draft of the SPD parliamentary group for a law to protect people and nature from climate change and its consequences. Together with twelve associations and experts, he commented on the draft law and answered questions from members of parliament. The written statement of Stephan Sina is published on the website of the Hessian State Parliament (Part 1, page 39 ff.) and is available here separately as a download.

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.

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.

On 9 June 2021, prominent heads of think tanks convened to discuss the recommendations made in the recently published book, "The Future of Think Tanks and Policy Advice Around the World". Dr. Camilla Bausch reflected on key points from the contribution, she co-authored with R. Andreas Kraemer.

A breakfast briefing to launch the Think2030 paper 'European food and agriculture in a new paradigm: Can global challenges like climate change be addressed through a farm to fork approach?', co-written by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and Ecologic Institute.

Climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are linked and interdependent challenges needing to be addressed in an integrated manner. Synergies can be enhanced by building on the multifunctionality and multiple benefits of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, captured under Nature-based Solutions (NbS). These topics were explored in the session "Nature as a solution: For resilience, mitigation and sustainable development" during the 5th European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA2021). Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis was a keynote speaker, presenting on the EU and global environmental policy landscapes and their role as a help or hindrance to NbS uptake.

The 2021 annual conference of German Association of Dietitians has put a focus on sustainability and its relevance for the work for dietitians as well as policy makers. Stephanie Wunder gave a impulse presentation on this topic entitled "Effectively using synergies between health-promoting and environmentally friendly nutrition".

What are the key ingredients of a "Sustainable Recovery for a Green Future?" This was the topic of two events organized by Think20 (T20) during the Italian G20 presidency. Dr. Camilla Bausch, co-chair of the T20 Task Force on environmental issues, spoke on carbon neutrality, long-term climate strategies and the European Green Deal.

The objective of transformative research is to find out, together with actors from the corporate sector, politics and civil society, how our economic and social system can be made more sustainable, and to jointly test possible solutions. Transformative research is thus also transdisciplinary - it involves actors beyond academia as equal partners. This kind of research involves certain methodological challenges and questions; some of these were discussed at the tF Symposium 2021: From Experiment to Mainstream. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers and Christiane Gerstetter, both Senior Fellows at the Ecologic Institute, contributed to the online symposium, which was held in German language.

The Urban Agenda for the EU recognizes the importance of nature-based solutions as tools for sustainable recovery and development. Yet implementation and mainstreaming at city level remain limited. Can the European Green Deal support these efforts? What role can European research projects play? To answer these questions, McKenna Davis was invited as an expert to contribute to the European Urban Knowledge Network’s (EUKN) Policy Lab on 'The Urban Agenda for the EU, its 'green' actions and the European Green Deal'. The 18 March 2021 event aimed to unravel the 'green' actions of the Urban Agenda for the EU and develop concrete messages for the ministers under Slovenia's Presidency on how to support cities dealing with regulatory obstacles when trying to reach environmental goals.

To provide the G20 leaders with scientific advice, Think20 – a group of think tanks and academia from G20 countries – will work over the upcoming months on policy papers and recommendations.

How can think tanks serve as a catalyst for ideas and action? In view of a challenging year of dual public health and environmental crises, Dr. Camilla Bausch addressed this question at the Why Think Tanks Matter Forum. The forum brought together more than 700 think tank professionals from all around the world.

Invited by the Indian Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), McKenna Davis (Ecologic Institute) joined the "International Knowledge Conclave on Green Infrastructure" and presented on 'Policy instruments to promote urban nature-based solutions in Europe'. She focused on the range of policy, planning and financial instruments relevant for nature-based solution design, implementation and maintenance within a European context. Her presentation slides and a guidance document she co-authored are available for download.

Countries around the world are considering the introduction of national framework laws to make their climate policy more effective. A debate is underway in Israel on the adoption of such a climate law, to establish a clear institutional set-up and regular processes for climate action. Ecologic Institute's Matthias Duwe presented best practice lessons from European countries to policy-makers as inspiration for the law's design.