Both the USA and Germany are currently engaged in a battle over the respective rights of the federal government vs. the states in determining environmental standards and regulations. In the United States, California and a number of other states are endeavoring to introduce emissions regulations, either singly or in regional partnerships. In Germany, reform of federalism could lead to exceptions from country-wide environmental regulations. In both instances, this tug of war could lead to disparate environmental regulations and standards from region to region, an outcome that could pose significant challenges for industry. An AICGS Policy Report focuses on the federalism debate as it relates to environmental regulation in Germany and the United States and its implications for business. This contribution of R. Andreas Kraemer focuses on federalism and environmental regulation in Germany and the EU.

Ecologic led a study examining the potential contributions that trade policy could make to combating climate change. The objective of the study was to provide Members of the European Parliament with an assessment of the relationships between international trade and climate change, and to identify possible means of using trade policy options to combat the problem. The study examined the economic, policy and legal aspects of the issue and included a quantitative evaluation of carbon dioxide emissions associated with specific traded and EU-produced goods. The study is available for download.

Schlegel, Stephanie; Camilla Bausch 2007: Akzeptanz und Strategien für den Ausbau Erneuerbarer Energien auf kommunaler und regionaler Ebene. Berlin.

Dworak, Thomas; Eleftheria Kampa; Colette de Roo et al. 2007: Simplification of European Water Policies. Brussels.

The book "Water and Liberalisation. European water scenarios" presents the results of the EUROMARKET project that analysed the organisation of the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector in Europe. At the heart of the project was the development of possible scenarios for the future of the European WSS sector. Ecologic contributed one chapter to the book and analysed the environmental implications of the different scenarios.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) initiated the first regional greenhouse gas emissions trading system in the United States. This cap-and-trade program will begin on 1 January 2009 and will include sources from the electricity generating sector. The article by Camilla Bausch and Sandra Cavalieri analyses the implementation design of the RGGI trading scheme and its significance for the evolution of the international carbon market.

The transport sector has significant environmental impacts and subsidies are a significant piece of the policy framework that influences public and private decisions about transport. This report, which was published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and co-authored by Ecologic, provides a comprehensive picture of transport subsidies, classifying them by subsidy type and transport mode.

2007: Verhältnismäßigkeit der Maßnahmenkosten im Sinne der EG-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie – komplementäre Kriterien zur Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung – UFZ/Ecologic, Institut für Internationale und Europäische Umweltpolitik/ Universität Leipzig, Institut für Infrastruktur und Ressourcenmanagement, Stiftungsprofessur für Umwelttechnik/Umweltmanagement. Leipzig/Berlin.

The impact of climate change on Europe's water resources is a critical issue for people's lives and the economy. Even if emissions of greenhouse gases were stabilised today, increases in temperature and the associated impacts, including water availability and flooding, will continue for many decades to come. This report, which was published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in February 2007 and co-authored by Ecologic, shows that there is a need to adapt to climate change for water resource policy and regulation across Europe. The report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of current policies and regulations, and describes progress and activities in European countries.

Martinez G., Shordt, K., Reducing corruption in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector. Contribution of Netherlands' development assistance to risk assessment and mitigation of corruption in the WASH sector. Final report, 08 February 2007 (unpublished). At request at the Directorate-General for International Cooperation of the Netherlands (DGIS).

The heads of state of the eight major industrialised nations recently reinforced that the United Nations will remain “the appropriate forum for negotiating future global action on climate change.” Within the U.N., however, a number of concurrent “tracks” have emerged for negotiations and discussions, accompanied by a certain degree of overlap, and giving rise to questions on the mandate, scope and limitations of each track as a pathway to a future climate regime. Options for global climate governance beyond 2012 have been addressed in formal negotiations based on Article 3 (9) and 9 of the Kyoto Protocol, while parties to the UNFCCC have initiated an open and non-binding dialogue on future co-operative action under the Convention. In this article Dr. Camilla Bausch and Michael Mehling provide an overview of these developments.

Bowyer, Catherine; Peter Hjerp; Alexander Neubauer 2006: The Proposed Directive on Waste. An assessment of the Impact Assessment and the Implications of the Integration of the Hazardous Waste Directive into the existing Waste Framework Directive. Brussels.

Bakkes, J.A.; I. Bräuer; P. ten Brink et. al. 2006: Cost of Policy Inaction. Scoping study for DG Environment.

Between 1990 and 2000 alone, more than 800,000 hectares were built on in Europe. This phenomenon is due to changing lifestyles more than increased population. The amount of space consumed per person has more than doubled over the past 50 years. Today, more than a quarter of the EU's territory has been directly affected by urban sprawl, according to a study by the European Environment Agency, which also suggests potential policies to combat the trend. R. Andreas Kraemer, Director Ecologic, was consulted as an external expert throughout the development of the report.

This OECD-report analyses selected public expenditure programmes supporting environmental investments in water supply and sanitation in four OECD countries (Austria, Belgium, France and the German New Länder) with the goal of illustrating a variety of possible institutional arrangements for the management of water sector public expenditure programmes in transition economies.