On 6 July 2026, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, participated as an expert in a public hearing of the German Bundestag’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection on the Federal Government’s draft bill to amend criminal law.

Dr Stephan Sina gave a presentation on ‘Legal frameworks for tackling climate change in Germany (mitigation and adaptation)’ to a delegation from the Legislative Affairs Commission (LAC) of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic. He provided an overview of the German legal frameworks for mitigation and adaptation, outlined the main features of the Federal Climate Change Act (KSG) and the Federal Climate Adaptation Act (KAnG), and concluded with lessons learnt and challenges.

On 19 June 2026, the Italian National Research Council hosted a workshop in Mazara del Vallo in Western Sicily, bringing together fishers, policymakers, and researchers to discuss "Strengthening the Resilience of Marine Ecosystems through Innovative Technologies and Ecosystem-Based Approaches to Fisheries in the Strait of Sicily." Dr. Grit Martinez from Ecologic Institute participated on behalf of SEA4FUTURE.

Linda Mederake presented the first results of her dissertation research on EU plastics policy at the Dreiländertagung 2026, the joint conference of the German, Austrian, and Swiss political science associations. She addressed the question of why EU plastics policy expanded significantly between 2015 and 2019, even though EU environmental policy overall was characterised by stagnation or retrenchment during this period.

On 15 June 2026, experts from Germany and the United States gathered in Berlin for the workshop "Nature-based Solutions in urban and rural contexts in the United States and Germany". McKenna Davis presented findings from the Urban Governance Atlas, the "Natürlich Klimaanpassung!" project, and her report for the European Commission on co-creating inclusive NbS. Her presentation underlined that nature-based solutions are no longer a niche concept and are supported by a growing body of evidence on their effectiveness.

On 8 June 2026, Jenny Tröltzsch and McKenna Davis from Ecologic Institute were invited to present insights on nature-based climate adaptation to the Working Group of the Green Parliamentary Group on the Committee for Housing, Urban Development, Building and Local Government (WSBK). Members of the Green working group on the Committee for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (UKN) were also invited to join the exchange. The hybrid meeting took place in the German Bundestag, focusing on the results of and emerging recommendations from the NatürlichKlimanpassung! Project.

Mandy Hinzmann joined the 35th Meeting of the International Resource Panel as an observer and supported the German delegation as part of the project "Resource Efficiency and Natural Resources in an International Context". In various scientific sessions and technical workshops, participants exchanged insights on current research and discussed priorities for sustainable resources.

Dr Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation on the new Environmental Crime Directive at a conference on water crime organised by the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland). He provided an overview of the directive’s key provisions and offered an initial assessment based on its planned implementation in Germany.

On 7 and 8 May 2026, Fenja Kroos from Ecologic Institute participated in the interdisciplinary expert workshop "Sustainability at Sea: Transformations in Contemporary Ocean Governance" at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg. Fenja Kroos gave a presentation on "Arctic Ocean governance in times of rapid change". The presentation examined how accelerating climate change, shifting ecosystems and growing human activities are challenging existing governance arrangements in the Arctic Ocean.

The fifth edition of the Climateurope2 Webstival once again brought together a diverse community of experts, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss the further development of climate services in Europe. A key highlight was the session on Co-production of Climate Services, held on 15 April 2026. Dr. Grit Martinez contributed with a keynote presentation.

The 27th Arctic Dialogue took place on 14 April 2026 at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) in Potsdam. The dialogue brought together representatives from research, government, and Indigenous communities to discuss how Arctic research can be made more sustainable, equitable, and relevant through long-term partnerships and the co-production of knowledge. Arne Riedel and Fenja Kroos represented Ecologic Institute at the dialogue.

From 17 to 19 March 2026, the European Carbon Farming Summit 2026 brought together leading voices from policy, research, private sector and practitioners to discuss the role of carbon farming in Europe’s climate and agricultural transition. Ecologic Institute, as part of the CREDIBLE and CAFAMORE consortia, has actively contributed to the programme, sharing insights from its work on carbon markets, agricultural finance, and land-use governance.

At the Good Practice Workshop on the assessment of the Green Architecture (GA) of CAP Strategic Plans, held in March 2026 in Larnaca (Cyprus) Dr. Josselin Rouillard presented key considerations for evaluating the coherence of CAP instruments. The workshop, organised under the EU CAP Network with support from the European Evaluation Helpdesk for the CAP, brought together evaluators, policymakers and experts to exchange approaches and practical experiences on assessing the GA.

At the German Nature Conservation Day (Deutscher Naturschutztag, DNT), Doris Knoblauch from Ecologic Institute presented the Urban Governance Atlas, developed as part of the EU-funded INTERLACE project. The collection highlights governance and policy instruments that can support cities in successfully implementing nature-based solutions.

As Europe moves towards implementing the Nature Restoration Regulation, a central question comes into focus: how can freshwater restoration be financed at scale? At the joint policy event in Brussels, Dr. Josselin Rouillard presented MERLIN’s approach to addressing this challenge, combining practical tools, policy insights and financial innovation to support restoration on the ground.