Publications

Publication:Policy Brief
 
This policy brief, developed within the Horizon Europe project CAFAMORE, examines the proposed EU Buyers’ Club for carbon farming. The brief sets out how the Club should be designed to support early demand for CRCF carbon farming certificates while ensuring environmental integrity and that it benefits farmers.

The Do’s and Don’ts of a Buyers’ Club

Recommendations for an EU Buyers’ Club for Carbon Farming

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
The policy brief highlights the need for a fundamental shift in how pesticides are used in European agriculture. Rather than further optimising chemical inputs, agricultural systems need to be reoriented more broadly. To support this transition, the brief outlines concrete policy measures at EU level, including binding pesticide reduction targets, stronger support for agroecological approaches, the development of independent advisory services, fairer value chains, and increased transparency in pesticide use.

Transitioning Away from Pesticide Dependency

EU policy recommendations

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Publication:Report
 
The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) has published the report “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in the Agri-food Sector – Recommendations for a Coherent EU Policy”. The report calls on the EU to better integrate climate mitigation and adaptation across the entire value chain. Its aim is to safeguard food security, strengthen farmers’ livelihoods and align the agri-food system with the EU’s climate goals.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in the Agri-food Sector

Recommendations for coherent EU policies

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Publication:Book Section
 
As Europe seeks to restore its degraded freshwater ecosystems, a key question comes into focus: is the EU’s main agricultural policy delivering on its environmental promises? In a new paper published in the special issue Wetlands in a Changing Climate: Restoring Coasts and Floodplains, Dr Josselin Rouillard examines whether the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 is effectively supporting freshwater restoration.

Does the Common Agricultural Policy 2023–2027 Support the Restoration of Freshwater Ecosystems?

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Publication:Report
 
The CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) bring together a wide range of instruments designed to address environmental and climate objectives. This combination of instruments is referred to as 'green architecture' (GA). These guidelines support managing authorities and evaluators in assessing how these instruments function collectively. The focus is not on individual measures in isolation but on analysing the GA as an integrated system.

Evaluation of the Green Architecture of the CAP Strategic Plans

Guidelines

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
This policy brief assesses how relevant CAP instruments currently address pesticide use and identifies adjustments to better support and accelerate the transition toward more sustainable farming practices.

Using the CAP to Reduce Pesticide Dependence

Creating the Conditions for Structural Change

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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:Report
 
This publication provides a quantitative overview of the development and status of environmental crime in Germany between 2013 and 2024, based on data from the police crime statistics ("Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik") and the Federal Statistical Office's criminal prosecution statistics ("Strafverfolgungsstatistik"). The report provides both an overview of general trends and an in-depth account of individual environmental offences. The report was prepared by a team from Ecologic Institute on behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency.

Umweltdelikte 2024

Auswertung von Statistiken

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Publication:Postcard
 
Two information postcards have been developed for the Market Information Talks for the Organic Sector 2026. The postcards support communication for the dialogue series and draw attention to key challenges along organic value chains in Brandenburg.

Market Information Talks for the Organic Sector 2026 – Postcards

Information postcards for the Market Information Talks 2026

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Publication:Report
 
This report contributes to a better understanding of the economic implications of climate change adaptation across the European Union. Its central objective is to analyse three key dimensions: the costs of adapting to climate change, the costs of inaction, and current levels of adaptation funding. The analysis focuses on three climate-sensitive sectors of strategic importance for the EU economy and society: transport, energy, and agriculture.

Knowledge Development and Application Concerning Costs of Adaptation Compard to Costs of Inaction

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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
 
Climate change is exacerbating drought, low water levels, and heavy rainfall in German river basins, posing new challenges for agriculture, forestry, water management, ecosystems, and municipal planning. Against this backdrop, the project KliMaWerk investigated how the landscape water balance can be made climate-resilient through integrated, practical strategies and measures. The KliMaWerk final report summarises the key findings and strategic conclusions.

Nachhaltige Bewirtschaftung des Landschaftswasserhaushaltes zur Erhöhung der Klimaresilienz (KliMaWerk)

Management und Werkzeuge

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Publication:Report
 
This report, by Ecologic Institute and Öko-Institut, explores how emerging EU policy instruments – such as the proposed Agricultural Emissions Trading System (AgETS), Mandatory Climate Standards (MCS), and public procurement programmes – can integrate carbon farming while maintaining high environmental standards. The study highlights both the opportunities and the pitfalls of linking these policies to the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF) and its system of temporary certified carbon units – and investigates alternative approaches to promote carbon farming.

Temporary Carbon Units from Carbon Farming and EU Agri-food Climate Policy

Assessment of risks, opportunities, and alternatives for promoting carbon farming

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Publication:Report
 
Europe's agricultural sector holds tremendous potential to advance climate and environmental goals, but realizing that potential depends on the right mix of funding and targeted support. A new report led by Ecologic Institute, together with partners in the Climate Farm Demo (CFD) project, introduces a framework to better understand and navigate the wide variety of rewarding mechanisms that encourage farmers to adopt climate-smart practices.

Incentivizing Farm-level Climate Action through Rewarding Mechanisms

A categorization framework

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Publication:Report
 
On 25 September 2025, the Sowing Solutions: Science & Policy for a Sustainable and Thriving EU Agriculture event, organized by the Environmental Defense Fund Europe, explored these challenges. A dedicated session on "livestock methane in CAP Strategic Plans" brought together scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders to share evidence and discuss how the CAP can drive real impact. The goal was to spark fresh thinking, informed debate, and practical pathways forward.

Leveraging the Common Agricultural Policy to Accelerate Livestock Emission Reductions

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
With the 2027 deadline of the Water Framework Directive approaching and the new Nature Restoration Regulation mandating large-scale ecosystem recovery, the CAP’s role in safeguarding rivers, wetlands, and catchments has become critical. This Policy Working Paper argues that long-term agricultural resilience is inseparable from healthy freshwater ecosystems and illustrates how water restoration can be embedded in future agricultural policies to enhance water resilience.

Restoring Healthy Rivers and Wetlands

How can agricultural policies support the uptake of water resilient farming practices?

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