The CIS Guidance Document No. 37 proposes a common practical framework for defining the good ecological potential which is the environmental objective of heavily modified water bodies designated under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The Guidance aims to assist the comparability of approaches between Member States. Its recommendations are based on a common understanding of the WFD requirements on this topic and good practice for implementation developed within the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) of the WFD.

This research report of the Ecologic Institute addresses how Germany can contribute, through international governance, to reduce the environmental impacts of mining activities outside its territory. It provides a stocktake of existing governance approaches at the international level or with transboundary effect. It then develops specific policy options and recommendations for the German federal government to strengthen international governance for an environmentally sound supply of raw materials.

No two climate laws are the same, but an analysis of nine existing laws in Europe finds that most draw on a set of common design elements to streamline action, align policy goals, establish expert and public review mechanisms and monitor progress towards national climate goals. The assessment of the existing national legislation highlights good practices and also identifies several improvements to European climate governance that could be made via the pending EU climate law.

This report presents for the first time an overview of anthropogenic pressures and their combined effects on Europe's seas. The assessment covers the period of 2011 to 2016 and presents how human activities and pressures on seas have changed over a longer time horizon. The highest potential combined effects are found along coastal areas of the North Sea, Southern Baltic Sea, Adriatic and Western Mediterranean. However, there are also positive developments and the report points to improvements in nutrient levels, hazardous substances and northern fish and tuna stocks.

Ursula von der Leyen, the new President of the European Commission, took office today, on 1 December 2019. As one of her first proposals, she promised to propose a European Climate Law in the first 100 days of her term in office. This 'Law' is a critical step to make Europe climate neutral. It can close gaps in existing EU climate rules. These gaps will impede the EU from becoming climate neutral before 2050. A new paper by Ecologic Institute discusses what a European Climate Law should look like, and how it could close existing gaps. The paper is available for download.

Technological developments and trends can contribute significantly to resource conservation. In addition to political framework conditions, social routines, patterns of action and consumption styles are important, as they have a considerable influence on individual and societal resource requirements. The present trend analysis therefore systematically examines how socio-economic and socio-cultural trends can affect the use of resources.

The report "Integrated approaches for sustainable urban-rural development" published by the German Federal Environment Agency at the end of 2019 summarizes the results of the three-year research project "Rural Urban Nexus – Global Land Use and Urbanization" (RUN). The findings of the project, that was led by Ecologic Institute, show that there is already a wide range of strategic approaches, instruments and institutional forms for better collaboration between cities and their surrounding areas. Rather than establishing new instruments, administrations and policy makers should make greater use of existing possibilities – especially informal instruments of regional planning – and to integrate sustainable urban and peri-urban development into existing policies. In particular, the development of regional food strategies can be an important entry point and catalyst for achieving sustainable urban rural development.

With the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the world of climate policy has changed, with important implications for the debate on carbon leakage. This report looks at how the risk of carbon leakage changes for different constellations of climate policy targets, how the incentives for countries have changed, and what carbon leakage entails for global emissions under these constellations.

This study shows that a commitment to a regional food policy promises positive effects in a whole range of policy areas, including environmental protection, sustainable land use, health, strengthening local value chains, education, and participation. Regional food policy in Germany requires the establishment of new structures and can only succeed if administrations work together across disciplines and sectors, if there is cooperation between the city and its environs and if it is shaped in a participatory process together with all the actors concerned. Due to the high media interest and the mobilisation potential that the topic of nutrition has to offer, it might be easier to set up these processes compared to many other topics.

Ecologic Institute and its partner EMVIS Consultant Engineers have supported The Nature conservancy (TNC) in the preparation of this report, by outlining the key water challenges in Europe and the types of Nature Based Solutions that are applicable for addressing these challenges in Europe. The report is available for download.

Olmeda C., Šefferová V., Underwood E., Millan L., Gil T. and Naumann S. (compilers) 2019: EU Action plan to maintain and restore to favourable conservation status the habitat type 6210 Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) (*important orchid sites). European Commission Technical Report.

This FAQ note presents the links between the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Nitrates Directive. The FAQ note specifies the legislations’ objectives, highlight the interactions between both areas of legislation, and points to the opportunities for greater coordination between the directives. This note by Ecologic Institute is available for download.

As part of the 'Sustainability 2030 Science Platform', Ecologic Institute has published a study on oceans as a global commons. An overview of the different governance mechanisms in regard to the Global Commons "Oceans" area are discussed. The study is available for download and will be presented at the beginning of December at the Annual Conference 2019 of the Science Platform.

This report analyses two specific activities within the REFRESH project: First, the dissemination of the Framework for Action ("Blueprint") that helps national governments to build Voluntary Agreements with the relevant stakeholders in the sector to reduce food loss and waste and second, work with Standardisation Bodies, specifically barcode standards used by retailers.