Publication:Article

The EU Effort Sharing Regulation is of great importance for EU climate policy, but its revision hardly gets public attention. This is a problem. Without a public debate, important structural issues of EU climate policy could be set wrong. In the Tagesspiegel Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf makes proposals for a good outcome of the trialogue negotiations.

Falsche Weichenstellungen drohen

Article in the Tagesspiegel

Year 2022

Publication:Article

In her plans for 2023 addressed to the EU Parliament, President of the EU Commission von der Leyen did not mention the proposal for a Sustainable Food System legislative framework (SFSF). This created speculation about the timeframe of this key proposal, which has been put forward as a cornerstone of the EU Green Deal for the agri-food sector. This blogpost, co-signed by members of the Think Sustainable Europe network, underlines the importance of the SFSF to be proposed next year in order to drive a sustainable transition of the EU food system, given the urgency of such a transition.

Why an EU Framework for Sustainable Food is Crucial for Climate, Biodiversity and Competitiveness

Year 2022

Publication:Article

The Commission's proposal on the certification of Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDR) could be a milestone of EU climate policy making. It can put the EU on the right track – with a watertight CDR definition, and a firewall between removals and reductions; or the wrong track – dubious low-impact carbon removal schemes that pretend to offset what cannot be offset. As the integrity of EU climate policy is at stake, the EU cannot afford to take the wrong turn, writes Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the EU Observer.

Removing CO2 – Are member states actually ready?

Opinion

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

This Think 2030 policy brief proceeds in five parts. Section 1 defines what a sustainable agri-food system should look like according to the scientific literature and how an Sustainable Food System (SFS) law could bring EU food systems more in line with the evidence. Section 2 then explores the potential objectives of a law and how to define a sustainable EU agri-food system. Section 3 discusses the architecture of the law, and section 4 explores the need for a multi-level governance framework involving Member States. Finally, the conclusion considers possible political pathways to the achievement of an ambitious SFS law. The policy brief is available for download.

Towards a Transformative Sustainable Food System Legislative Framework

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Is infinite economic growth possible in a world with finite natural resources? For many environmentalists the answer to this question is a clear no. But economists, such as Dr. Michael Jakob of Ecologic Institute, often disagree, emphasising that economic growth can occur as productivity increases, even as consumption of natural resources and greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions decrease. His guest op-ed is available online.

Smart Growth Can Help Achieve a Good Life for All Without Killing the Planet

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Record high energy prices and inflation are putting social cohesion in Germany under stress. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf discusses in the IPG Journal whether this will divide Germany or not. The article is available online.

Vom Spaltpilz befallen?

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Member State policies for CO2 removal lack basics – a big problem for society. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf discusses possible solutions in the Tagesspiegel.

Entnahme von CO2 – sind die EU-Mitgliedsstaaten bereit?

Article in the Tagesspiegel

Year 2022

Publication:Podcast

On one of those days when the temperature hit 30 degrees, the "Green Deal – Big Deal?" podcast host Ewa Iwaszuk from Ecologic Institute in Berlin speaks with her guests about the climate change impacts in cities and especially about the EU's plans on how to adapt to and better deal with those impacts. The discussion focuses on the possibilities that nature offers to help us cope with challenges such as heat and flooding.

Beating the Heat: Europe prepares for climate change impacts

Fifth episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

This policy brief investigates the gaps in the existing international treaties on marine plastic pollution and proposes components that need to be considered in a new treaty. These proposals will complement the G20 work on plastic pollution. Furthermore, since the G20 summit will be held in Indonesia in 2022, the focus of this policy brief will not only be relevant to G20 countries but also to Southeast Asia as the biggest contributor of marine plastics.

Towards an International Agreement on Plastic Pollution: The Role of the G20

T20 Policy Brief

Year 2022

Publication:Report

It is unlikely that the deployment of CO2 removal (CDR) at the required scales will happen as a side effect of other policies. Large-scale CDR deployment will not happen by accident, but needs time, incentives, and clear rules. Without strategic orientation, it is also hard to balance the multiple implications of each CDR option for societies, economies and ecosystems. Member States' CDR strategies could be a first step to trigger the necessary public debate and to help create an adequate framework for CO2 removal.

Carbon Dioxide Removals in EU Member States

National frameworks for Carbon Dioxide Removals: State of play and how to improve it

Year 2022

Publication:Report

The regulatory framework for the transformation to a climate-neutral industry has evolved. To take account of the changes, we have revised our analysis on the role of climate protection contracts in the steel industry, which was mainly based on data from 2020. This updated study analyzes how climate protection agreements in the steel industry can be designed in such a way that – in conjunction with the reform of European climate policy – they have an impact on climate protection, energy security and a meaningful transformation of the economy as a whole.

Klimaschutzverträge für die Industrietransformation – Aktualisierte Analyse zur Stahlbranche

Year 2022

Publication:Brochure

This study presents innovative processes and technologies of the circular economy. The case studies come from a range of industries that are of particular importance to Hesse and demonstrate the broad applicability of the technologies presented. The case studies are split into five main groups, each containing a few innovative and sustainable projects by various institutions and firms. They also offer insights into the economic and ecological advantages of the projects and provide the readers with a thorough understanding of the processes.

Kreislaufführung und Sekundärrohstoffe

Praxisbeispiele und Potenziale

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Energy prosumption through the deployment of residential renewable energy technologies reduces greenhouse gas emissions, speeds up the energy transition and provides important community benefits. In a new report, the European Environment Agency assesses energy prosumption models used throughout the EU and recommends policy tools that can allow even more EU citizens to benefit from energy prosumption. The publication builds on a study produced by CE Delft, Fraunhofer ISI and Ecologic Institute.

Energy Prosumers in Europe

Citizen participation in the energy transition

Year 2022

Publication:Book

In this open access book, Dr. Josselin Rouillard together with Christina Babbitt (Environment Defense Fund, U.S.), Edward Challies (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) and Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM, France) compile an international account of water allocation policies supporting a transition to sustainable water use in regions where agriculture is the dominant water use.

Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture

Transitioning from Open to Regulated Access

Year 2022

Publication:Podcast

In the fourth episode of the "Green Deal—Big Deal?" podcast, we ask our expert guests about the food systems approach adopted by the "Farm to fork" strategy and investigate how the strategy will impact producers, consumers and the global food markets. We discuss strategies to address food waste and explore why meat is a politically sensitive topic

Farm to Fork: Feeding a continent without wrecking a planet

Fourth episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Despite the widely recognised need to quickly move away from fossil fuels, particularly coal, many countries continue to invest in this highly polluting source of energy. Despite highly country-specific contexts, Ecologic Institute's Dr. Michael Jakob and Prof Dr. Jan C. Steckel (MCC/BTU) found that countries can be grouped into four broad clusters: those that have already announced coal phaseouts; those where coal use is in the process of being phased in; established users of the fuel; and major coal exporters. This guest post briefly presents the key findings of the recently published book, "The Political Economy of Coal".

What We Learned about Coal Phaseout by Studying 15 Countries

Guest post

Year 2022

Publication:Video

Ecologic Institute developed 3 video tutorials on the use of Climate-ADAPT as part of a 2-year outreach and engagement campaign. The videos are designed to familiarise new users with the information and knowledge available on the platform on adaptation at the local, national, transnational and European levels. They also demonstrate how this information can be used to assess impacts, vulnerability, risks and adaptation options and to develop, implement and evaluate adaptation policies, plans and measures.

Video Tutorials on the Use of Climate-ADAPT

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Preparations are currently underway for negotiations on a global plastics treaty. The treaty is intended to respond to the increasing plastic pollution, especially of the oceans, which requires international cooperation along the value chain and thus binding rules at the international level. The timetable for the negotiations is extremely ambitious, with a draft to be available as early as the end of 2024. In her editorial, Heidi Stockhaus highlights the global dimension of the problem and points to the responsibility of Germany and the EU to help the negotiation process succeed.

Verhandlungen zu einem globalen Plastikabkommen – Zeit Verantwortung zu übernehmen

Standpunkt

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This report provides the context and justification for the development of BE-Rural's Sustainability Screening, a description of its methodological procedure, and the syntheses of results from the two experimental implementations of the approach in the Stara Zagora and Vidzeme regions, which are included in full as annexes to this report. The last chapters present the main lessons learned from these two pilots and the overall conclusions of the task.

Note on the Development of a Sustainability Screening for Regional Bioeconomy Strategies

Deliverable 5.4 H2020 Research project BE-Rural

Year 2022

Publication:Article

This article explores approaches applied by transregional organisations and cooperation programmes that constitute the governance system in the European Arctic. Specifically, it scrutinises governing interactions developed by the Barents Regional Council and the Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme to overcome the normative trap of the Arctic development paradox. The article answers two questions: First, how do the transregional actors approach the Arctic development paradox in their cooperation strategies and programmes, and to what extent do these approaches differ? Second, what kind of recommendations do they provide to overcome the Arctic development paradox?

Governability of Regional Challenges: The Arctic Development Paradox

Year 2022

Publication:Book Section

red cover of the Springer book "Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower"

This chapter provides an overview of public perception of hydropower projects, describes methods for studying public acceptance and presents an application of the Q-methodology in four Europe case studies from hydropower-intensive regions. The chapter, written by Mandy Hinzmann, Holger Gerdes (both Ecologic Institute) and Terese E. Venus is available for download.

Public Acceptance of Hydropower

Year 2022

Publication:Book Section

Hydropower is at the cross-road of different policies on renewable energy, climate change, water and nature. Knowledge of current policies and regulations at different levels is crucial for understanding the framework conditions for more sustainable hydropower. In this chapter, Ecologic Institute's Dr. Eleftheria Kampa examines the role of policy in planning and implementing mitigation actions for European hydropower. The chapter is available for download.

Policy Framework for Hydropower Mitigation

Year 2022

Publication:Book

This open access book presents (selected) new and innovative developments for sustainable and fish-friendly hydropower. It offers unique insights into the challenges, practices and policies of hydropower developments across 8 European countries, providing examples from on-site studies and European-wide analyses. The case studies throughout the book are practical "real-world" examples, which are intended to serve as inspiration for anyone who would like to know more about how solutions for more sustainable hydropower production can be designed and implemented. The book was co-edited by Ecologic Institute's Dr. Eleftheria Kampa. Authors of the Ecologic Institute contributed to the chapters on "Policy Framework for Hydropower Mitigation" and "Public Acceptance of Hydropower."

Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower

Year 2022

Publication:Document

On 9 May 2022, Europe Day, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CFE) closed – with the adoption of 49 recommendations. This is not the end of the process, but the beginning of new political action. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the role of the CFE as a starting point for renewed discussions on important topics such as climate, energy policy and EU democracy has been reiterated. Indeed, many recommendations from the CFE address EU climate policies – especially the ones prepared by its third citizens' panel on climate change, the environment and health. In this Ecologic Institute paper, Deyana Spasova questions how the panel's recommendations can improve EU climate policy? Where do the recommendations merely reiterate what is already in place? And how could the EU best translate the suggestions into policy action? The paper is available for download.

Conference on the Future of Europe

What is next for EU climate policies?

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Report Cover "Global Rules in a New Global Treaty"

In March 2022, at the resumed fifth meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly, UN Member States adopted the historic decision to start negotiating a global treaty to combat plastic pollution. As national delegations and relevant stakeholders in Asia start preparing for the upcoming negotiations, this report by Linda Mederake and Doris Knoblauch (both Ecologic Institute), aims to provide an analysis of the region’s opportunities to end single-use plastics (SUPs) pollution through the development of this new global treaty.

Global Rules in a New Global Treaty: Asia's opportunity to end single-use plastic pollution

Year 2022

Publication:Conference Paper

This discussion paper focuses on the potential for political intervention to promote regionalization (in the interests of sustainability) in the most effective way possible. It is part of the work of the research project "Socio-ecological Transformation of the Food System" (acronym STErn) carried out on behalf of UBA/BMU.

Politische Strategien für eine nachhaltigkeitsförderliche Regionalisierung von Ernährungssystemen

Diskussionspapier

Year 2022

Publication:Flyer

The priorities of the German chairmanship of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) from 2020 to 2022 included strengthened ocean governance in the Baltic Sea region, updating the Baltic Sea Action Plan and measures on biodiversity, climate, eutrophication, pollutants, ammunition dumps, underwater noise and marine litter. The ten-year Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), which was adopted by the environment ministers of the Baltic Sea states and the European Union in Lübeck in 2021, provides for around 200 measures. Specific programs and strategies complement these measures. The goal: a healthy and sustainably used Baltic Sea. This flyer, conceived and designed by Ecologic Institute, provides an overview of the Baltic Sea Action Plan and the work of the Helsinki Commission.

Together for a Healthy Baltic Sea!

The Action Plan of the Helsinki Commission

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Citizen assemblies are in high demand – also in the EU. The European Commission wants citizen assemblies to draft future recommendations for key EU legislative projects. The European Parliament is pushing in the same direction. It seems likely that citizen assemblies will become an integral part of the EU decision-making. Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf asks if this is a good idea and what lessons can be learned from the EU Citizen Assemblies?

The People Have not Spoken

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Social concerns around introducing a carbon price for transport and heating fuels (ETS2) are legitimate. But the EU Parliament overshot the mark in its aspiration to cushion households, which becomes apparent in its request for changes to the Social Climate Fund (SCF), write Michael Pahle, Nils aus dem Moore and Benjamin Görlach in their article for EURACTIV.

How to Make ETS2 Work for Climate and People

Year 2022

Publication:Brochure

This brochure summarizes the most important key messages from 20 joint research projects and seven cross-cutting topics of the German research focus "Plastics in the Environment". The brochure is structured along the life cycle of plastics and includes five sections: Green Economy, Consumption, Recycling, Fresh-water Ecosystems, and Saltwater Ecosystems.

Key Messages of the BMBF Research Focus "Plastics in the Environment"

Short version

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

screenshot of the policy brief's first page

This briefing paper, co-authored by Ecologic Institute's Natalia Burgos Cuevas, provides an overview of how the climate change–human mobility nexus has been addressed in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted thus far by South American countries and identifies pathways towards improved management of population movements in revised NDCs. To date, a partial integration of the human mobility perspective prevails: References to the topic indicate a slow – but progressive – acknowledgment of the impacts of a changing climate in vulnerable communities, which may include human displacement. Given the urgent need to move forward from the recognition of the topic to the establishment of effective measures to tackle forced population movements associated with the impacts of climate change, the updating of NDCs – currently under way in the region – entails an opportunity to incorporate strategies aimed at enhancing the management of human mobility.

Addressing Human Mobility in National Climate Policy

Insights from Updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in South America

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Experts from Ecologic Institute, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Stiftung Umweltenergierecht, ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research and IER Stuttgart analyzed various options for the relief and level of the CO2 price – and identified advantages and disadvantages as well as implementation requirements of different design options. The focus is on two key political points of contention, where scientific findings can prevent an impending hardening of the position and thus promote a consensus that is conducive to climate protection. This German-language abridged version summarizes the findings.

Ein fairer und solidarischer EU-Emissionshandel für Gebäude und Straßenverkehr

Zusammenfassung

Year 2022

Publication:Report

In this Ariadne publication, experts from Ecologic Institute, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Stiftung Umweltenergierecht, ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research and IER Stuttgart analyzed various options for the relief and level of the CO2 price – and identified advantages and disadvantages as well as implementation requirements of different design options. The focus is on two key political points of contention, where scientific findings can prevent an impending hardening of the position and thus promote a consensus that is conducive to climate protection.

A Fair and Solidarity-based EU Emissions Trading System for Buildings and Road Transport

Ariadne Report

Year 2022

Publication:Article

Not democratically elected, but popular: Citizen councils can strengthen public participation in the EU, but they must not be overrated. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf discusses in the IPG Journal how citizen councils can be involved in EU decision-making in the future.

Ultimative Bürgerbeteiligung?

Year 2022

Publication:Podcast

Together with our interview guests Arianna Nicoletti (Circular Textiles Lead at Circular Berlin) and Mandy Hinzmann (Fellow at Ecologic Institute) we explore the concepts of circular and sustainable fashion and discuss the potential impact of the recently published European Union Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. We also get philosophical and ask: is the constant change and quick consumption an inherent characteristic of fashion?

Sustainability in Style: Circular fashion in the European Green Deal

Third episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

Year 2022

Publication:Report

The aim of this strategy paper is to summarise the results of the National Dialogue on Food Systems on the two thematic areas "Food Economy of the Future" and "Food of the Future – More Plant-Based", particularly with regard to the policy options and instruments discussed there.

Ernährungspolitische Strategien zur Förderung pflanzenbasierter Ernährungsweisen in Deutschland

Year 2022

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Agriculture
Arctic
Biodiversity
Bioeconomy
Cities
Climate
Climate Foreign Policy
Coastal + Marine
Communication
Consumer Policy
Culture + Ecology
Digitalization
EU
Economics
Education
Energy
Environmental Law – Ecologic Legal
Evaluation
Events
Finance
Food
Foreign Policy
Governance
Health
Indicators
Industry
International Development
Land Use
Mobility
Nature-based Solutions and Green Infrastructure
Plastics
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Trade
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Publications

Article in the Tagesspiegel

Opinion

Article in the Tagesspiegel

Fifth episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

T20 Policy Brief

National frameworks for Carbon Dioxide Removals: State of play and how to improve it

Praxisbeispiele und Potenziale

Citizen participation in the energy transition

Transitioning from Open to Regulated Access

Fourth episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

Guest post

Standpunkt

Deliverable 5.4 H2020 Research project BE-Rural

What is next for EU climate policies?

Diskussionspapier

The Action Plan of the Helsinki Commission

Short version

Insights from Updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in South America

Zusammenfassung

Ariadne Report

Third episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

Recent Multimedia Publications by Ecologic Institute

Fifth episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

Fourth episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"