Report | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Publication

Die Energiewende als europäisches Projekt

Chancen, Reibungspunkte, Handlungsoptionen

The EU is discussing how to reform its energy and climate policy for the period after 2020. The short study "Energiewende as a European project" looks at the negotiations on the Clean Energy package from a German perspective. It shows the enormous opportunities of the European internal market. A more developed cross-border electricity market in the EU will make it much cheaper to make the German Energiewende a reality. Yet, to go further and define a joint project for an EU-wide energy transition will require additional efforts to develop concrete objectives and implementation steps together with the other Member States.

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Water

RISC-KIT Synthesis Report

This Synthesis Report provides an overview of the achievements, lessons learned and challenges identified through the RISC-KIT project activities, including the development and application of the tools at ten case study sites in a range of coastal regions across Europe. The lessons learned are then fed into a series of recommendations for improved DRR for Europe and beyond. The resulting insights and accompanying recommendations have been considered in relation to their relevance to EU and international processes that both directly and indirectly address coastal DRR. The RISC-KIT Synthesis Report is available for download.

Publication

Key Descriptive Statistics on the Consideration of Water Issues in Rural Development Programmes 2014-2020

European level report

As part its on-going participation to a framework contract with the European Commission on supporting the implementation of European water policies, Ecologic Institute led an assessment of how Member States' current Rural Development Programmes (2014-2020) address agricultural pressures on water bodies and promote measures that can contribute to protect and restore the water environment, reducing flood and drought risk. The report is available for download.

Publication

Guidance on "Good Practices" for Rural Development Programmes from a Water Perspective

In the context of a framework contract with the European Commission focused on supporting the implementation of European water policies, Ecologic Institute has contributed to the preparation of a best practice overview report on how water management issues can be addressed within Rural Development Programmes. The report is available for download.

Publication

Report

Climate

Energy

Analysis of Selected Climate Protection Scenarios for European Countries

This paper explores six climate protection studies, namely for France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom and Germany. The authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Lena Donat, analyze objectives, results, modeling approaches, main assumptions and input parameters. The inclusions of long-term strategies in the Paris Agreement and in the European Commission’s proposal for a new regulation on the "Governance of the Energy Union" make this analysis very topical. The analysis is available for download. Read more

Publication

Report

Indicators

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

The Circular Economy

A Review of Definitions, Processes and Impacts

Transforming the linear economy, which has remained the dominant model since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, into a circular one is by no means an easy task. Such a radical change entails a major transformation of our current production and consumption patterns, which in turn will have a significant impact on the economy, the environment and society. Understanding these impacts is crucial for researchers as well as for policy-makers engaged in designing future policies in the field. This requires developing an in-depth knowledge of the concept of the circular economy, its processes and their expected effects on sectors and value chains. This paper reviews the growing literature on the circular economy with the aim of improving our understanding of the concept as well as its various dimensions and expected impacts. On the basis of this review, it attempts to map the processes involved and their application in different sectors. The paper suggests that research on the circular economy is currently fragmented across various disciplines and there are often different perspectives and interpretations of the concept and the related aspects that need to be assessed. This fragmentation is also evident in the available studies that adopt different approaches in calculating the impacts, which makes efforts at comparing the results from different sources very challenging. This paper also suggests that there is limited information on the indirect effects on the economy (e.g. impacts on the value chain and/or changes in consumption spending patterns) as well as the social impacts of the circular economy transition. Read more

Publication

Web-based Management Guide

The RISC-KIT Web-based Management Guide is one of the five RISC-KIT tools designed to highlight key principles recommended for the planning of local DRR measures using examples from the case studies and elsewhere to provide practical illustrations. It is intended to give guidance to coastal managers in Europe and those facing similar challenges beyond the region as well as other groups concerned with coastal management (i.e. coastal resource users, technical and scientific experts and policy makers). The guide includes prevention, mitigation, protection and preparedness measures with recommendations for their use in various socio-economic, cultural and environmental settings. The RISC-KIT Web-based Management Guide is available for download.

Publication

Report

Climate

Energy

Developing 2050 Decarbonization Strategies in the EU

Insights on Good Practice from National Experiences

National long-term (2050) climate strategies have received increased attention in European policy debates in the past two years. The Paris Agreement also invites countries to develop such strategies. This study (a collaborative effort between IDDRI and Ecologic Institute) looks at five existing 2050 strategy processes in the EU and assesses what lessons they hold and how they fit within the emerging 2030 governance framework. The study is available for download.Read more

Publication

Consumer Rights in International Trade Agreements

In principle, increased trade resulting from trade agreements can offer consumers access to goods and services that are less expensive or of higher quality. At the same time, there is a risk that rules in trade and investment agreements limit the sovereign right of states to adopt measures for consumer protection at the domestic level. Hence, much depends on how these agreements are designed. A study, compiled by Christiane Gerstetter, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute and Christian Pitschas, provides an overview of consumer-related rights in recent international trade agreements. The study is available fro download.Read more

Publication

Report

Soil

Updated Inventory and Assessment of Soil Protection Policy Instruments in EU Member States

Based on a comprehensive analysis of EU laws and nationally initiated policies in 28 Member States, a new study led by Ecologic Institute assesses how existing EU legislation protects soils, identifying gaps and incoherencies in policy coverage. Nationally initiated policies do not consistently address these gaps in EU legislation, leading to a situation where requirements for soil protection can vary significantly across Member States. The study provides an up-to-date understanding of soil protection policies in Europe, delivering a baseline on which to discuss further EU soil policy action. The study is available for download.Read more