As part of its work under the European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal, and Marine waters (ETC/ICM), Ecologic Institute supported the European Environment Agency (EEA) in an assessment of public participation processes in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This resulted in a report covering theoretical aspects of public participation as well as an analysis of 8 case studies from across the EU. The report was reviewed by a series of WFD experts from various EU Member States. The article is available for download.

Stelljes, Nico (2014): Kommunale Anpassungsstrategien im Vergleich – Inhaltsanalytische Betrachtung von neun Anpassungsstrategien in Küstenregionen. Berlin. RADOST-Journal Series, Journal No. 31.

Tedsen, Elizabeth et al. 2014: "Marine resource management and coastal livelihoods: an Atlantic perspective". ATLANTIC FUTURE scientific paper, Vol. 15, 66.

A recent study provides the members of the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI Committee) with the needed expertise to monitor the ongoing negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement. The study was co-authored by Ecologic Institute, Bio IS, and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and serves as a follow-up to a 2013 study entitled "Legal Implications of TTIP for the Acquis Communautaire in ENVI Relevant Sectors."

This study conducted by Ecologic Institute with support from the Heinrich Boell Foundation aims at providing factual background to the debate on regulatory cooperation within the TTIP. The study looks at whether fears are justified that regulatory cooperation could lead to loweer levels of protection in the EU (and to a lesser extent) in the US and parliamentary processes being bypassed. The study is available for download.

In this "Trend Report for a Forward-Looking Resource Policy" Ecologic Institute's Susanne Langsdorf and Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers analyze more than 300 individual trends, allocated to 12 trend themes. They discuss the potential developments and relevance for German resource policy. The report was released during the European Resources Forum on 10 November 2014 and is available for download.

Pearson, Adam et al. 2014: Milesecure 2050 Deliverable 3.1 Report on Drivers of Societal Processes of Energy Transition. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.

Stefes, Christoph; Andrew Reid; Lucy Smith and Elizabeth Tedsen 2014: "Climate change impacts in the Atlantic Basin and coordinated adaptation responses". ATLANTIC FUTURE scientific paper, Vol. 16, 56.

This report reviews the methodology of the European Commission's competitiveness proofing guidelines. Especially, it assesses if this methodology provides sufficient information to evaluate the impact of policies on the competitiveness of the European economy. Another focus is set on the question if the information collected can support long-term structural change and innovation in the European Union.

This report, created as part of the CECILIA2050 project, gives an overview of climate policy approaches in Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union as a whole. After highlighting the different legal and institutional structures, it provides conclusions and recommendations regarding the regulatory approach.

This report shows that much of the policy design "know-how" needed to achieve decoupling is present in terms of legislation, incentive systems, and institutional reform is also present. Many countries have tried these out with tangible results, encouraging others to study and where appropriate replicate and scale up such practices and successes.

The aim of the study was to provide an initial scoping assessment of potential priorities and policy options to support the transition to a circular economy in the EU. The study reviewed existing literature, identified potential priority areas for action where accelerating the circular economy would be beneficial and where EU policy has a particular role to play, and developed policy options for consideration across a range of areas.

This publication examines the development of independent environmental research and policy advisory institutes in Germany during the 1980s, a period marked by shifting political priorities and growing public concern about environmental issues. Economic stagnation and the oil price crisis had initially pushed environmental policy down the political agenda.

The European Commission has tabled initial proposals for new targets and some changes to key instruments such as the Emissions Trading System (ETS) upon which the EU Heads of State and Government are to make decisions later in 2014. This study assesses the status quo of EU climate and energy policy and experience with the current set of targets and instruments – and distills from it concrete recommendations for a new package for the period until 2030. The study is available for download.

This discussion paper examines the role played by the state in the changes that took place within Germany’s research landscape. It shows that this role changed considerably over time: while independent environmental research institutes were initially regarded more as adversaries than as allies, their relationship with the state has since evolved into one characterised by constructive cooperation.