The briefing provides a didactic overview on carbon farming. Specifically, it summarizes the current scientific understanding of the mitigation potentials, co-benefits and trade-offs of carbon farming, as well as the key agronomic practices and key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to scale up carbon farming and to deliver robust climate mitigation and EU Green Deal objectives.

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.

Land and soils are essential for life on Earth. Yet one third of the global land is considered as degraded and this process is continuing due to higher food production, urbanization and industrial activity. In a new Horizon 2020 project, Ecologic Institute develops a roadmap for research and innovation on soil systems and land management – jointly with stakeholders. The Soil Mission Support project will thus improve coordination in this field and support the EU Mission on Soil Health and Food, the European Green Deal, and contribute to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Ecologic Institute is member of the European Topic Centre on Urban, Land and Soil System (ETC/ULS) which works with the European Environment Agency (EEA) under a Framework Partnership Agreement for the period from 2019 to 2021. Ecologic Institute's expertise in the ETC/ULS covers soils, forests and land use policy evaluation. In particular, it carries out screening and review of the evolving needs from EU policy regarding geospatial information and indicators. It also reviews the data, information and indicators needs of the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030.

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.

With three quarters of the European Union's population living in cities and further increases expected, societies are increasingly facing socio-political shifts and marginalization. Limited availability of physical space, changing urban demographics, and increasing cultural diversity compound these challenges and create issues like high crime rates, social inequality, poverty, health threats, and unemployment. Some areas are particularly vulnerable, such as economically deprived, abandoned and neglected urban areas with a low share of green spaces. The Horizon2020 funded project “CLEVER Cities” responds to these challenges by designing and implementing locally tailored nature-based solutions (NBS) to foster sustainable and socially inclusive urban regeneration.

A consortium including Ecologic Institute has been commissioned by the European Commission to provide support in the evaluation of the contribution of Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Floods Directive (FD).

Ecologic Institute provides a legal assessment of whether German law is suitable to achieve the sustainable development goal "land degradation neutral word" (LDN) by 2030, and recommends options for improvement. The project also compiles key insights and lessons learned, in English, as a contribution to the international discussion on implementing LDN. The project results are discussed in an international workshop.

The project "Rural Urban Nexus – Global Land Use and Urbanisation" is developing approaches and policy recommendations directed at an integrated and sustainable rural and urban development.

The project Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils aimed to examine how the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 15.3 on 'Land Degradation Neutrality' could be implemented in Germany and at the global level. Ecologic Institute analysed potential indicators, developed an own indicator concept build on land use changes and developed policy recommendations to implement the SDG 15.3.

Fertile soils are an indispensable resource for agriculture and the Bioeconomy as a whole. Subsoils contain a major part of the nutrients essential for plants, a resource potential that has thus far not yet been fully understood nor used. In order to harness this untapped potential, the Soil³ project examines the subsoil processes and application of alternative subsoil management measures. The Ecologic Institute will conduct research on the costs, benefits and social acceptance of these measures.

Veterinary medicinal products (VMPs) and their metabolites are increasingly becoming the focus of scientific and public debate as environmental contaminants. The project developed an overview of research results, mitigation measures and concepts to reduce the inputs of veterinary pharmaceuticals into the environment. The results are summarised in the handbook "Concepts for Mitigating Veterinary Pharmaceutical Inputs from Agriculture into the Environment."

Inefficient use of fertilisers leads to the accumulation of nutrients in areas of intense agricultural activities and can cause serious environmental problems in these areas and beyond. Those problems stem from the disturbance of natural mineral cycles, partly resulting from the extraction of elements in one location and being applied elsewhere. Furthermore, the production of fertilizers consumes natural resources, such as energy, water, and non-renewable mineral resources that contain necessary elements.