To generate new sources of climate finance, this project assesses the design and implications of an international oil extraction levy. Unlike downstream carbon pricing policies, the levy would be applied at the point of oil extraction and based on the embedded carbon in crude oil. By internalising part of the climate costs of fossil fuels, the mechanism aligns with the polluter pays principle.

The increasing frequency of floods and droughts highlights the urgent need for climate-resilient landscapes. This is where the European research project SpongeWorks comes in, demonstrating sustainable "sponge" measures in river basins across Greece, France, and the Netherlands/Germany. By restoring rivers, wetlands, and implementing innovative agricultural practices, landscapes are becoming better equipped to retain and release water in a controlled way. With 28 partners involved, the project aims to inspire other regions by sharing success stories and tools to promote "sponge landscapes" across Europe.

This project will support the European Commission's DG CLIMA to develop policies related to the financing of permanent carbon removal technologies, with an emphasis on mechanisms that can accelerate their upscaling. These include tools like public procurement, public-private partnerships, and EU funding instruments.

Livestock GHG-emissions are a significant contributor to agricultural GHG emissions. The latest Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding period has integrated several funding mechanisms designed to support the implementation of environmental and climate friendly practices through measures such as the eco-schemes and the agri-environmental-climate measures. Despite these positive approaches to reduce the emissions from livestock, the CAP still entails the risk of subsidizing high-emissions livestock production, in particular through coupled income support. This underlines the need for better understanding CAP funding mechanism for effective reduction of livestock emissions.

The project's ambition is to contribute to the systemic transformation needed for a nature-positive economy through collaborative multi-stakeholder research and innovation to provide clarity and guidance for policy, industry and society.

Carbon pricing is gaining traction around the world, as more and more jurisdictions implement emissions trading systems or tax carbon emissions to achieve their climate objectives. The annual "State and Trends of Carbon Pricing" is the flagship report of the World Bank to provide a concise, up-to-date overview of what is happening in this field. With over 70,000 annual downloads, it is one of the most prominent publications on this matter. 2023 marks the 10th edition of the State and Trends report. A consortium of adelphi and Ecologic Institute supported the World Bank in developing the 2023 edition of the report.

The consortium of Ramboll, CE Delft and Ecologic Institute supports the EEA with the study "Defining adaptation needs, counting adaptation finance and enabling actions at national and European level," which aims to provide knowledge products to feed into different EEA products and processes in the field of adaptation and adaptation finance.

With the European Green Deal, the EU wants to become climate neutral by 2050. To achieve this, we must decarbonize our energy systems and economies. An important building block is the EU Taxonomy Regulation, which aims to channel money flows into green projects, technologies, and processes. The policy does so by classifying what is environmentally sustainable and what is not, thereby providing transparency for investors. In this project, Ecologic Institute critically accompanies this design process, prepares keynotes and fosters exchange between stakeholders from politics, industry, academia, and civil society.

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.

Ecologic Institute, in collaboration with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and Ramboll Consulting, implemented the project "Accessibility of the Climate Change Adaptation Finance Data in Europe" for the European Environment Agency (EEA). The objective of this project was to create a succinct package of information consisting of (1) a literature review, and (2) responses from a questionnaire collecting national adaptation finance information.

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 European commission strives for carbon-neutrality in Europe by 2050. In order to achieve this goal, the energy intensive industries will have to reduce their emissions substantially. On behalf of the European Parliament, CE Delft and Ecologic Institute will summarise how energy intensive industries in Europe can transition to a carbon-neutral energy economy while preserving their global competitiveness.

In a study for DG FISMA, the Ecologic Institute and its partners supported the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance in the development of technical screening criteria for agriculture activities to be included in the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. The tasks included: 1) scoping of agriculture activities with significant potential to contribute to mitigation and adaptation; 2) drafting of criteria, metrics and thresholds to ensure that selected activities substantially contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and do not significantly harm any other environmental objectives; 3) supporting research on means for compliance checking; 4) organising a workshop with expert group members; and 5) preparing inputs to support the Impact Assessment of the agricultural components of the Taxonomy. The outcomes of the study were integrated in the Technical Report on EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.

The objective of this project is to support DG Climate Action (European Commission) in its assessment of Member States’ key challenges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and related policies recently put into place. The information should also help DG CLIMA in enhancing the role of climate policies in the European Semester. With this project, Ecologic Institute continues the work in this field since 2012.

The Oekoworld Workshop on Sustainability Evaluation of Businesses in the Digital Economy in Berlin explored new ways to express ethical values in relation to complex technological and business-model innovations in the context of ethical and sustainable investment. The workshop was prepared and convened on 16 November 2018 by Ecologic Institute with sponsorship from Ökoworld AG, the asset management company behind the Oekovision investment fund.

The Lisbon Workshop on Blue Natural Capital (BNC) took place on 3 and 4 October 2018 at the Lisbon Ocean Aquarium (Oceanário de Lisboa) in Portugal. It was hosted by the Oceano Azul Foundation (Fundação Oceano Azul) and prepared and chaired by R. Andreas Kraemer, Founder of Ecologic Institute and Director of the Foundation. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) published a summary.

Within the Paris Agreement, the European Union (EU) committed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced in the EU by 20% between 1990 and 2020, and by at least 40% between 1990 and 2030, with the aim of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2°C. In order to achieve this, Europe has to invest approximately 179 billion € additionally per year. The post-2020 EU budget could contribute to this sum and help to engage private investors. In this regard, the Ecologic Institute analyzes the EU Commission’s proposals on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027.

<p>The overall objective of this project is to provide a range of new information and analyses that will enable policy-makers, the scientific community, primary producers, business enterprises and other stakeholders to make more informed decisions about innovative bio-based products.</p>

With this project, the Ecologic Institute supports the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) at the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety with the further development of the emission trading scheme of the European Union (EU ETS), for the period after 2020. The project focuses especially on the design of the carbon leakage guidelines within the fourth trading period (2020–2030) and beyond. It is the goal of the project to shed new light on the carbon leakage discussion, to assess the validity of current assumptions and to discuss potential design options.

On 21 October 2015, the Ecologic Institute US hosted an evening symposium at the Consulate General of Germany in New York to discuss the Decarbonization of Finance with key stakeholders from finance and policy in Germany and the US.

In this project for the ENVI Comittee of the European Parliament (EP), Grazia Maria Vagliasindi, University of Catania, and Christiane Gerstetter, Ecologic Institute, wrote a briefing on the ILVA steel plant Taranto, Italy and its environmental and health impacts. The steel plant is the largest one in the EU; the case illustrates the consequences of companies failing to comply with applicable permits and environmental legislation, and national authorities failing to enforce environmental standards.

Ecologic Institute, Bio IS and the Institute for European Environmental Policy were commissioned by the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI Committee) to provide the members with the needed expertise to monitor the ongoing negotiations between the United States Administration and the European Commission for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement.

At the end of March 2016, the European Union FP7 research project DYNAMIX came to a close. DYNAMIX aimed at proposing policy mixes that can foster shifting the EU onto a pathway where its resource use and the associated environmental impacts decline in absolute terms while the economy continues to thrive. This FP7 research project, led by Ecologic Institute, combined quantitative modeling and qualitative assessments to provide EU and national policy-makers with tangible support towards implementing resource efficiency policies.

The Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA) is a closed-ended investment company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. LCA invests in a diverse portfolio of unquoted private companies providing low carbon products and services, which deliver immediate reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic advises the fund.

Most foundations have a charter aimed at improving the state of the world in which we live. The single most important resource to achieve this goal is through financial donations, or the income generated from endowments. The reputation risk of endowments being associated with speculative or unethical business practices, or investments that are in contrast with a foundation’s objective, has increasingly been an agenda item of foundation boards. In this project the PRIME Toolkit has been developed to help foundations manage their endowments in a socially responsible way.

Ecologic published a study on the incorporation of environmental and social standards into export credit agencies' lending practices. The study, which was commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), surveys the environmental guidelines of eight OECD member states' export credit agencies. Special emphasis was given to the support of large dams; in this context, the study evaluates to what extent the recommendations made by the World Commission on Dams are reflected in the environmental and social guidelines.

Following the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, the agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) expanded to incorporate a number of environment related issues, such as services, intellectual property rights, and investment related measures. The EU-funded CAT+E project (Concerted Action on Trade and Environment) aims to ensure dialogue and debate between European Research Institutes on these issues. Through a series of international conferences and publications, the CAT+E network analyses the current trade and environment agenda, strengthens co-operation among European Research institutes and identifies needs for further research. Ecologic's CAT+E reports are available for download. The trade and environment policy and research agendas have expanded rapidly in recent years. Following conclusion of the Uruguay Round, the agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) expanded to incorporate a number of environment related issues, such as services, intellectual property rights, or investment related measures. This rapid expansion of the trade and environment agenda has created a major area of research that is attracting researchers in virtually all member states.

The impact of financial services on the environment has been attracting increasing attention for quite some time now. The area of the so called Green Investment, meaning the combination of pecuniary reward with ecological concerns, plays an especially prominent role. Following the steady growth of this market share, the issue of market transparency has become one of the major concerns for the near future.

The Investment Committee, the independent body of the Ökovision Classic Fund, with clear ethical, social and ecological criteria, the pioneer among sustainable investment funds with very good performance, was dissolved at the end of 2025 after more than 30 years and over 100 intensive meetings by the asset management company Ökoworld. This also marked the end of a long-standing project by the Ecologic Institute.

Oekom research AG is one of the world&#39;s leading providers of information on the social and environmental performance of companies, sectors and countries. The scientifically based rating system for the assessment of businesses and their products, processes, services and business models is being constantly updated with the support of an independent advisory board, co-chaired by R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic.