Publication:Report

The European Commission's Fit for 55 package proposes two significant reforms to energy pricing in the EU: Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) reform; and extending emissions trading to cover emissions from buildings and road transport (ETS2). A concern among stakeholders is how these reforms would impact lower income households. Various policy mechanisms are under consideration to help address potential distributional impacts. Based on a microsimulation model developed by the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) with IEEP, this report analyses a series of reform scenarios supported by graphical depictions of their distributional effects in Germany.

Can Polluter Pays Policies in the Buildings and Transport Sectors be Progressive?

Country briefing paper: Germany

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This report identifies various risks that climate change impacts pose to the critical electric infrastructure in Germany and the United States, including the generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and suggests a political course that both countries can follow. The American States of California and Texas are used as case studies in this report.

A Blueprint for Adaptation

Preparing the U.S. and German Energy Systems for the Risks that Climate Change Poses

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This paper is a slight adaptation of the German-language analysis "Wasserstoffimportsicherheit für Deutschland – Zeitliche Entwicklung, Risiken und Strategien auf dem Weg zur Klimaneutralität", published in December 2021. The analysis takes a close look at Germany’s future need for hydrogen imports, hydrogen import-related risks as well as strategies to secure hydrogen imports.

Securing Hydrogen Imports for Germany: Import needs, risks and strategies on the way to climate neutrality

Ariadne-Analysis

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Document page explaining 'Efficiency and Effectiveness of Adaptation' with a focus on climate change adaptation investments. Includes a 'Stylized framework for assessing adaptation benefits' graph depicting the impact of adaptation over time, from a UNFCCC 2009 source. Text discusses how efficiency and effectiveness inform government investments in climate change, mentioning the Green Climate Fund and the necessity of evaluating adaptation actions.

The European Environment Agency's report "Costs of Adaptation versus Costs of Inaction" highlights the urgent need for climate change adaptation strategies. In the face of increasing climate events such as heatwaves, forest fires and floods, the report notes that the European Union has already taken important initiatives on adaptation, including the formulation of the EU Adaptation Strategy. This strategy aims to make adaptation measures more efficient, faster and more comprehensive and to increase international readiness to act.

Costs of Adaptation vs Costs of Inaction

Year 2022

Publication:Brochure

A team at Ecologic Institute has produced new best-practice guidelines for co-creating research. The guidelines are based on experiences gathered in the Horizon 2020 project COACCH (Co-designing the Assessment of Climate Change Costs). The authors summarise an in-depth evaluation carried out over the four-year collaborative research process. Based on this evaluation, the Ecologic Institute team highlights lessons learned and proposes step-by-step guidelines for best-practice in co-creation.

Co-creating Research: Best-Practice-Guidelines

Insights from the Horizon 2020 EU project COACCH

Year 2022

Publication:Report

To support Member States meet their reporting requirements and improve their monitoring, Ecologic Institute developed a site selection guidance. The use of this guidance will help Member States develop a representative network of ecosystem monitoring sites across the EU, covering freshwater ecosystems, natural and semi-natural habitats as well as forests. The guidance on how sites are selected is voluntary for the Member States to apply in accordance with their own circumstances. It can be used for setting up a new monitoring network or expanding/improving an existing network to identify the most appropriate locations to monitor.

Guidance Note on Site Selection

Support to Member States regarding the monitoring of effects of air pollution on ecosystems according to Article 9(1) of the NEC Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2284)

Year 2022

Publication:Report

In the light of the financial and economic crisis, the EU has further developed and tightened its regulation of the financial market in Europe. This process has also had an impact on the actors in the European carbon market and their trading strategies. This final report brings together the results of three analyses.

Emission Trading and Regulation of Financial Markets

Abschlussbericht

Year 2022

Publication:Report

What makes climate policy transformative? This report sets out the conceptual framing of transformation and transformative climate policies taken in the 4i-TRACTION project.

Transformative Climate Policies

A conceptual framing of the 4i's

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Basic industries – steel, cement and chemicals – need to transform rapidly so as to remain competitive in a world that is headed towards climate neutrality. To achieve the climate targets defined for the sector, any new investment of the steel, cement and chemical industries must be compatible with the path to climate neutrality. This report by Agora Industry, FutureCamp and the Ecologic Institute takes a deeper look at Carbon Contracts for Difference – how they work, what their function should be, and how they can best be aligned with other policy instruments such as emissions trading.

Klimaschutzverträge für die Industrietransformation

Kurzfristige Schritte auf dem Pfad zur Klimaneutralität der deutschen Grundstoffindustrie

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Comparative analysis of the long-term strategies in Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia finds both commonalities as well as significant differences. The strategies in their current form represent an initial guide for each national transformation pathway towards a net-zero economy in the EU, but will benefit from further specification along the way. There is also presently no evidence of cross-border thinking or a search for joint solutions in the strategies. The publication identifies best practices and weaknesses of these strategies. The analysis has been conducted within the framework of the Climate Recon 2050 project, which is led by Ecologic Institute.

Long-Term Strategies Assessment of the Visegrád Group Countries

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This study presents selected (inter)national and regional initiatives for the circular economy, including the European Circular Economy Action Plan and the circular economy in China's 14th Five-Year Plan and shows if and how these strategies take developing and emerging countries into account. Furthermore, the study explores some of the key effects that come with increased circularity. Key topics discussed are the effect on trade in primary raw materials, the shift to bio-based products, a possible reduction in waste exports and knowledge transfer. The report also provides a brief analysis of selected specific measures from the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan of 2020, with a special focus on their potential impact on developing and emerging countries.

The Circular Economy and its Impact on Developing and Emerging Countries

An explorative study

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This study examines the role of nature-based solutions (NBS) for global climate protection and in international climate policy. It provides a critical assessment of global mitigation potentials of NBS in forests, croplands, grasslands, terrestrial and coastal wetlands, and settlements and provides recommendations for international climate policy such as under ⁠UNFCCC⁠. The results show that the potential of NBS to mitigate emissions is probably overestimated in the scientific literature due to various factors. Nevertheless, NBS can bring multiple benefits for people and the environment and should be promoted actively.

Nature-based Solutions and Global Climate Protection

Assessment of their global mitigation potential and recommendations for international climate policy

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere – 'carbon removals' – is essential to achieve Europe's 2050 net-zero climate goals. This report considers twelve nature- and technology-based carbon removal solutions, evaluating their climate mitigation potential and suitability for deployment across Europe. The report supports the European Commission's development of a certification mechanism for carbon removals.

Certification of Carbon Removals. Part 1: Synoptic review of carbon removal solutions

Year 2021

Publication:Report

The European Commission is developing a certification mechanism to incentivise the removal of carbon from the atmosphere. To support its development, this report reviews 24 existing carbon removal certification mechanisms and methodologies and identifies key lessons for mechanism design.

Certification of Carbon Removals. Part 2: A review of carbon removal certification mechanisms and methodologies

Year 2021

Publication:Report

The guidance document on Barrier Removal for River Restoration has been developed by the European Commission, with the support of Eleftheria Kampa (Ecologic Institute) as advisor. The guidance was developed to assist Member States in identifying and prioritising barriers that could be removed to help achieve the target of the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 to restore 25 000 km of rivers to be free-flowing. The guidance document is available for download.

Barrier Removal for River Restoration

Biodiversity Strategy 2030

Year 2021

Adaptation
Agriculture
Arctic
Biodiversity
Bioeconomy
Cities
Climate
Climate Foreign Policy
Coastal + Marine
Communication
Consumer Policy
Culture + Ecology
Digitalization
EU
Economics
Education
Energy
Environmental Law – Ecologic Legal
Evaluation
Events
Finance
Food
Foreign Policy
Governance
Health
Indicators
Industry
International Development
Land Use
Mobility
Nature-based Solutions and Green Infrastructure
Plastics
Public Diplomacy
Resource Conservation + Circular Economy
Trade
Water