Publications

Publication:Brochure
 
The European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) has published the second 2026 edition of its Clean Industrial Transition Monitor Quarterly Bulletin. The publication tracks economic developments affecting European industry alongside the implementation and expected impact of key initiatives under the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.

Clean Industrial Transition Monitor

Quaterly Bulletin 02/2026

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
A policy brief from Ariadne, a Kopernikus project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, sets out why Germany and the EU should maintain ambitious climate policies and examines the instruments and formats through which they can promote climate action internationally while safeguarding domestic efforts.

Challenges and Priorities for Germany’s Climate Diplomacy

Ariadne-Dossier

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
A new policy paper by Ecologic Institute examines how the EU can better integrate climate, economic, and social governance frameworks for the clean transition. It finds that important links already exist, but differences in timing, reporting, and political priorities often prevent them from working effectively.

Connecting the Dots on EU Transition Governance

Towards more integrated climate, economic, and social policy for the clean transition

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Publication:Article
 
The EU’s Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation has established a framework for the certification of carbon farming. Yet credible certificates alone will not create demand. In an article published in Ökologisches Wirtschaften, Aaron Scheid of Ecologic Institute explains why binding climate targets for the agricultural sector are also needed.

Bleiben Carbon Farming-Zertifikate ein Ladenhüter?

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Publication:Report
 
Geopolitical tensions, volatile energy markets and the focus on strategic autonomy have pushed industrial competitiveness to the top of the political agenda. European climate policy therefore requires close coordination between emissions reduction, investment security and competitiveness. In a background paper, Ariadne researchers summarise how governance, financing, industrial transformation, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and energy infrastructure need to simultaneously ensure decarbonisation, economic resilience and public support.

Advancing EU Competitiveness Through a More Effective Climate Transition

Ariadne-Background

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Publication:Article
 
Tagesspiegel
Europe’s climate movement has adopted different approaches to engaging with far-right parties. In this Tagesspiegel opinion piece, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf of the Ecologic Institute and Erik Tang of Green Transition Denmark discuss these approaches and draw conclusions. The views expressed are solely those of the authors.

Sprechen oder nicht sprechen, das ist hier die Frage

Article in the Tagesspiegel

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Publication:Report
 
ECNO’s 2026 State of EU Progress to Climate Neutrality report provides a comprehensive assessment of whether the European Union is moving quickly enough to meet its climate goals. Drawing on a broad set of indicators and policy analysis, the report evaluates progress across the economy and identifies where stronger implementation could reduce exposure to fossil fuel dependence, supply-chain vulnerabilities, affordability challenges and climate-related risks.

State of EU Progress to Climate Neutrality – 2026 Flagship Report

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Publication:Report
 
The paper assesses four policy options for integrating Article 6 credits into the EU ETS through a central intermediary rather than allowing companies to purchase credits directly. It argues that this indirect approach would provide greater oversight of credit quality and supply, helping to preserve the EU ETS's role in driving domestic emissions reductions while offering limited flexibility where appropriate. 

Article 6 Credits in the EU ETS 1

Brief assessment of possible integration options

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Publication:Document
 
Researchers at Ecologic Institute have developed a new tool to help governments to produce socially just climate adaptation strategies. The Just2Adapt tool allows the user to analyse the justice dimensions of Heat Action Plans at the strategic level as well as at the level of individual measures. It is important that heat adaptation strategies integrate social justice considerations because of the unequal way in which the heat-health effects of climate change are distributed across the population.

Just2Adapt Tool: Supporting governments with socially just climate adaptation

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Publication:Report
 
As the European Union considers to reform its Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) by integrating permanent carbon dioxide removals (CDR), this report examines safeguards to support the gradual scale-up of permanent removals whilst keeping their quantity under control to manage risks and ensure incentives for reducing emissions remain

Options for Implementing Limits for CDR Integrated Into the EU ETS 1

Final Report

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Publication:Report
 
In light of the agreed expansion of European emissions trading (inter alia the gradual inclusion of maritime transport and the introduction of the EU ETS 2), the study contains an analysis of the current sanctions regime in emissions trading. The fundamental amendment to the TEHG brought about by the TEHG EU Alignment Act 2024 has already been taken into account. Proposals for a more effective sanctions regime are put forward, relating both the enforcement of existing regulations and reforms of these regulations. The study focuses on administrative offence law.

Effizienter Vollzug der Sanktionen im Emissionshandelsrecht

Ordnungswidrigkeitenrecht und Festsetzung von Zahlungspflichten

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
ECNO’s 2026 update provides the first comprehensive assessment of all 27 final National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). It evaluates whether Member States’ contributions and policy frameworks are sufficient to meet the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets. The results show a clearer and more complete picture than previous assessments. However, the overall conclusion remains unchanged: despite some progress, the EU is still not fully on track to meet its 2030 targets.

Delivering the EU's 2030 Climate and Energy Targets

Gaps in national contributions and policies

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Publication:Article
 
Nature-based solutions (NbS) at the landscape scale are increasingly recognised for their role in supporting biodiversity, enhancing ecological connectivity and contributing to climate change adaptation. However, their assessment and implementation remain complex. This article examines these challenges using the concept of pondscapes – networks of ponds and their surrounding terrestrial habitats – as a case for landscape-scale NbS.

Challenges for Assessing and Implementing Nature-based Solutions at Landscape-scale

Insights from project on ponds and pondscapes

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Publication:Infographic
 
Infographic showing assessment of progress along the clean industrial value chain in Europe, covering upstream inputs, production, and demand side, including clean energy access, industrial decarbonisation, electrification, circularity, energy efficiency, and clean technology supply, with cross-cutting factors like finance, skills, and trade highlighted (ECNO 2026).
The infographic underscores a central insight of the Clean Industrial Transition Monitor: Europe has put in place many of the necessary building blocks for a clean industrial transition. However, achieving scale will depend on addressing remaining bottlenecks and ensuring coherent implementation across all parts of the value chain.

Assessment of Progress Along the Value Chain

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Publication:Report
 
The transition to a clean and competitive industrial base is crucial to strengthening Europe’s resilience and strategic economic independence. The Clean Industrial Transition Monitor by ECNO assesses real-world progress using more than 50 indicators and provides a comprehensive and nuanced picture of both progress and remaining gaps.

Moving to a Clean Industrial Future in Europe

Clean Industrial Transition Monitor

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
This policy brief examines how current climate-action rewarding mechanisms address – or fail to address – organic farming as a systemic and climate-resilient approach. It analyses existing monetary, regulatory and supportive instruments at EU level, with a particular focus on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation.

Incentivising Systemic and Climate-resilient Farming Approaches through Rewarding Mechanisms

Barriers, challenges and recommendations

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Publication:Book Section
 
The chapter “International climate finance: institutions in the climate regime” by Dr. Ralph Bodle appears in the Research Handbook on Climate Finance and Investment Law. The volume is part of the Research Handbooks in Climate Law series and was published by Edward Elgar Publishing in 2025.

International Climate Finance: Institutions in the climate regime

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Publication:Report
 
This pilot roadmap is designed to support national authorities and stakeholders in Romania in develo ping a strategic framework for planning coastal wetland restoration, for example in the context of National Restora tion Plans. It draws on the latest scientific data, tools and methods developed by the EU-funded project RESTORE4Cs.

Restoring Coastal Wetlands in Europe – Romania

Pilot roadmap on coastal wetland restoration in Romania

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Publication:Report
 
This pilot roadmap is designed to support national authorities and stakeholders in Portugal in developing a strategic framework for planning coastal wetland restoration, for example in the context of National Restoration Plans.

Restoring Coastal Wetlands in Europe – Portugal

Pilot roadmap on coastal wetland restoration in Portugal

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Publication:Report
 
"RESTORE4Cs Restoring Coastal Wetlands in Europe – Implementation Roadmap to Guide National Action" is a practical guidance document, designed to support national authorities and stakeholders in developing or strengthening strategies for coastal wetland restoration, helping countries meet these and other related obligations. The Implementation Roadmap builds on the latest scientific knowledge and integrates key RESTORE4Cs findings, tools and methodologies into a coherent decision-support framework.

Restoring Coastal Wetlands in Europe

Implementation Roadmap to Guide National Action

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
Implementing the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) requires reliable spatial information on habitats, land use and ecosystem pressures. This RESTORE4Cs policy brief highlights an important challenge: established classification systems describe landscapes differently, which can influence environmental assessments.

Bridging Landscape Classification and Policy Objectives: the case for crosswalks

RESTORE4Cs Policy Brief

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Publication:Case Study
 
This paper examines the penalty provisions in the draft Czech implementing law submitted on 11 November 2025 by the Minister for the Environment to the Prime Minister. It briefly considers the draft's legislative status in light of the political situation following the 3–4 October general election, assesses its compliance with the EU-MER, and compares it with good practice in Denmark and with Italy's draft law.

Czechia's Draft Penalty Rules for Violations of the EU Methane Regulation

Assessment of the draft law of 11 November

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Publication:Case Study
 
This paper examines the penalty provisions in the draft Romanian implementing law proposed by the Romanian government on 22 July 2025. It briefly considers the draft's legislative status, assesses its compliance with EU-MER, and compares it with good practice in Denmark and with Italy's draft law.

Romania's Draft Penalty Rules for Violations of the EU Methane Regulation

Assessment of the draft law of 22 July 2025

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Publication:Report
 
This report, commissioned by the German Federal Agency (UBA), provides a systematic analysis of this triple planetary crisis. It demonstrates why climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution cannot be understood and tackled in siloes, but instead share common drivers, feedback mechanisms, and cascading effects. The aim of the report is to close knowledge gaps and provide political and scientific actors with an integrated, holistic understanding.

The Interconnected Challenges of Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Environmental Pollution

Drivers, Interdependencies and Impacts of the Triple Planetary Crisis

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Publication:Report
 
The triple planetary crisis is a systemic challenge, not three separate issues: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution reinforce one another through shared drivers and feedback, threatening planetary and human well-being. It is driven by fossil fuel dependence, unsustainable production and consumption, overexploitation of land and resources, and structural inequalities. The analysis concludes that the triple crisis can only be effectively addressed through systemic, cross-sectoral, and justice-oriented approaches. By linking resource governance, NbS, and transformative change, this report highlights how today’s triple crisis can be turned into an opportunity to regenerate ecosystems, reduce inequalities, and build resilient societies within planetary boundaries.

Moving from Interconnected Crises to Systemic Solutions

Resource efficiency, nature-based solutions, and systemic transformation as responses to the complexity of the triple planetary crisis

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Publication:Fact Sheet
 
This fact sheet summarizes the information contained in the publication Burgos Cuevas et al. (2025): Moving from interconnected crises to systemic solutions. Resource efficiency, nature-based solutions, and systemic transformation as responses to the complexity of the triple planetary crisis. Interim report, Climate Change 83/2025. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau. https://doi.org/10.60810/openumwelt-8108.

Moving from Interconnected Crises to Systemic Solutions

Resource efficiency, nature-based solutions, and systemic transformation as responses to the complexity of the triple planetary crisis

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Publication:Report
 
Humanity has already exceeded six of the nine planetary boundaries, with climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution pushing the Earth system beyond its safe operating space. Because these boundaries interact through complex feedback loops, surpassing one accelerates pressures on the others, creating cascading effects that amplify environmental degradation. This interconnected dynamic is driving a systemic triple planetary crisis, or polycrisis, that undermines ecological resilience and threatens long-term human well-being. Addressing it requires integrated, cross-sectoral approaches that tackle shared drivers and deliver co-benefits across environmental and socio-economic domains.

Integrated Approaches to Addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis: Country Best Practices

Lessons learned from Brazil, Colombia, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, Rwanda and Sweden

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Publication:Fact Sheet
 
The fact sheet explains why climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution must be understood as a systemically interconnected crisis driven by shared pressures such as resource use, land-use change and structural inequalities. It highlights how direct and indirect drivers interact across sectors and regions, creating reinforcing feedbacks and compounding risks for ecosystems and societies.

The Interconnected Challenges of Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Environmental Pollution

Fact sheet

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Publication:Infographic
 
Infographic depicting drivers
Climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution are deeply interconnected and reinforce one another. This infographic, based on the report "The Interconnected Challenges of Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Environmental Pollution: Drivers, Interdependencies and Impacts of the Triple Planetary Crisis", illustrates the main human-driven causes of the triple planetary crisis and the feedback loops that intensify its impacts.

Drivers and Feedback Loops of the Triple Planetary Crisis

Infographic Series

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Publication:Infographic
 
Infographic depicting selected nature-based solutions
Nature-based solutions (NbS) can address multiple dimensions of the triple planetary crisis at once: climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution, while delivering benefits for people and ecosystems. This infographic, visualises how NbS can function as systemic responses when designed and implemented under the right conditions. It illustrates how measures such as mangrove restoration, constructed wetlands, and urban green infrastructure can simultaneously contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation, strengthen biodiversity, and reduce pollution-related pressures. It also highlights the broader societal challenges that NbS can support, including water and food security, human health, risk reduction, and reversing environmental degradation.

Examples of nature-based solutions as systemic solutions for the triple planetary crisis

Infographic Series

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Publication:Infographic
 
Infographic titled “Current model of material use and key policy actions to address structural barriers.” The graphic illustrates global material flows from sources and extraction through provisioning systems to disposal and sinks. It shows that material use has more than tripled over the past 50 years, exceeding 100 billion tonnes annually and potentially reaching 160 billion tonnes by 2060. Key policy actions such as circular economy solutions and sustainable consumption are highlighted.
This infographic presents the current model of material use and shows how extraction, production, consumption and disposal drive environmental pressures. It also outlines key policy actions to overcome structural barriers, reduce resource use and decouple human well-being from environmental harm. It is based on the report “Moving from Interconnected Crises to Systemic Solutions. Resource Efficiency, Nature-based Solutions, and Systemic Transformation as Responses to the Complexity of the Triple Planetary Crisis” and highlights concrete pathways for action. The infographic is also included in the accompanying fact sheet under the same title.

Current Model of Material Use & Key Policy Actions to Address Structural Barriers

Infographic Series

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Publication:Infographic
 
Infographic titled “Impacts of the triple planetary crisis on human and ecosystem health.” It shows how climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution create cascading effects on ecosystems and human health, amplified by socio-economic inequalities, climate hazards, global interconnectedness, and pollutant interactions. The graphic links environmental pressures to impacts such as disease risks, ecosystem degradation, and reduced resilience.
This solution-oriented infographic showcases nature-based solutions (NbS) as systemic responses to the triple planetary crisis, illustrating how measures such as wetland restoration, mangrove protection or urban green infrastructure can simultaneously address climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, while delivering co-benefits for health, resilience and livelihoods.

Impacts of the Triple Planetary Crisis on Human and Ecosystem Health

Infographic Series

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