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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

This report analysed if and how EU Member States used their auctioning revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for climate action. For this purpose, we selected eight case study countries, namely Czech, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal. As part of these case studies, we examined the reporting, the legal provisions and the political narrative around auctioning revenues through desk research and expert interviews.

The Environment Committee of the European Parliament adopted its reform proposals for the EU Climate Action Regulation last Monday. These contain important improvements, but overall they are disappointing, says Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the Tagesspiegel.

The Ecologic Institute designed and developed the theme day website "Plastic in the Environment". It contains the event documentation and programme information.

This study analysed if and how EU Member States used their auctioning revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for climate action. For this purpose, we selected eight case study countries, namely Czech, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal. As part of these case studies, we examined the reporting, the legal provisions and the political narrative around auctioning revenues through desk research and expert interviews.

The central objective of the work presented in this report was to assess the European Commission's Strategic Long-Term Vision and supplementary materials and reflect on them in light of state-of-the-art sector analyses.

In the first episode of the Green Deal – Big Deal? podcast we unpack the European Green Deal and discuss its importance with our guests Dr Hans Bruyninckx (European Environment Agency) and Dr Åsa Persson (Stockholm Environment Institute).

The paper "Making EU Governance Fit for Net Zero" analyses the current landscape of climate policy governance against eight core parameters at EU level and for Member States, and identifies a number of remaining weaknesses. Improvements should address several key processes, such as updating of the NECPs in 2023-2024 and of national LTSs and the new progress and consistency assessments under the EU Climate Law.