The climate crisis is impacting cities and communities across the globe. As extreme weather events become increasingly frequent, cities must work together to find effective nature-based solutions (NBS) to adapt to their changing climates. As lead partner in the BEGIN project, the Dutch city of Dodrecht welcomed cities, practitioners, researchers and citizens to join the conversation on the future of livable cities. To this end, the NEXT LEVEL 2021 conference was held as a hybrid event on the 20th of October 2021. Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis was invited as an expert to present on NBS governance and policy.

Mandy Hinzmann, fellow researcher at the Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation in a scientific session of the World Resources Forum, which took place from 12 until 14 October 2021. She presented key policy options on how to foster the circular economy in the European textiles sector. She also participated in the discussion session after the presentations.

In this presentation, Ecologic Institute's International Climate Protection Fellow Mario Alejandro Delgado Galarraga reviews whether the evolution of Rights of Nature in America has influenced International Environmental Law, especially at a Regional level. It appraise and contrast national legal conducts with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' Advisory Opinion "OC-23/17" (Environment and Human Rights). Thus, it centre on Comparative Law and International Environmental Law. The presentation was held during the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2021.

On 1 September 2021, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, participated as an expert in a hearing of the Hessian State Parliament's Committee for Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection on the draft of the SPD parliamentary group for a law to protect people and nature from climate change and its consequences. Together with twelve associations and experts, he commented on the draft law and answered questions from members of parliament. The written statement of Stephan Sina is published on the website of the Hessian State Parliament (Part 1, page 39 ff.) and is available here separately as a download.

Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow of Ecologic Institute, gave a keynote speech at the China-EU Conference on Climate Change Legislation on 29 June 2021. He presented the main features of the Climate Change Act (KSG) and its latest amendments based on the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on 24 March 2021. He also participated in the discussion session after the presentations.

Climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are linked and interdependent challenges needing to be addressed in an integrated manner. Synergies can be enhanced by building on the multifunctionality and multiple benefits of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, captured under Nature-based Solutions (NbS). These topics were explored in the session "Nature as a solution: For resilience, mitigation and sustainable development" during the 5th European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA2021). Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis was a keynote speaker, presenting on the EU and global environmental policy landscapes and their role as a help or hindrance to NbS uptake.

The 2021 annual conference of German Association of Dietitians has put a focus on sustainability and its relevance for the work for dietitians as well as policy makers. Stephanie Wunder gave a impulse presentation on this topic entitled "Effectively using synergies between health-promoting and environmentally friendly nutrition".

The Urban Agenda for the EU recognizes the importance of nature-based solutions as tools for sustainable recovery and development. Yet implementation and mainstreaming at city level remain limited. Can the European Green Deal support these efforts? What role can European research projects play? To answer these questions, McKenna Davis was invited as an expert to contribute to the European Urban Knowledge Network’s (EUKN) Policy Lab on 'The Urban Agenda for the EU, its 'green' actions and the European Green Deal'. The 18 March 2021 event aimed to unravel the 'green' actions of the Urban Agenda for the EU and develop concrete messages for the ministers under Slovenia's Presidency on how to support cities dealing with regulatory obstacles when trying to reach environmental goals.

Invited by the Indian Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), McKenna Davis (Ecologic Institute) joined the "International Knowledge Conclave on Green Infrastructure" and presented on 'Policy instruments to promote urban nature-based solutions in Europe'. She focused on the range of policy, planning and financial instruments relevant for nature-based solution design, implementation and maintenance within a European context. Her presentation slides and a guidance document she co-authored are available for download.

Doris Knoblauch gave a presentation on plastic waste at the Freudberg School in Berlin on 9 December 2020. The lecture took place as part of the "Plastic Pirates" project.

Countries around the world are considering the introduction of national framework laws to make their climate policy more effective. A debate is underway in Israel on the adoption of such a climate law, to establish a clear institutional set-up and regular processes for climate action. Ecologic Institute's Matthias Duwe presented best practice lessons from European countries to policy-makers as inspiration for the law's design.

The Think2030 Conference got off to an inspiring start with keynotes by Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute, Prof. Hans Bruyninckx, President of the EEA and Prof. Klaus Töpfer, founder of TMG and former Executive Director of UNEP. Their speeches marked the opening of the 2-day conference on "Harnessing the European Green Deal to address the Climate Crisis". The conference marked the occasion of Ecologic Institute's 25th anniversary.

With around 75% of EU population living in urban areas, cites will play a key role in curbing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing vulnerability to impacts of climate change and building resilience. Multifunctional nature-based solutions can be a powerful tool to jointly address climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban areas. A number of innovative pilot projects introduced in Berlin in the last 20 years were able to demonstrate in practice how cities can save energy, cool down buildings, reduce urban heat island effect and sequester and store carbon by working with natural climate solutions.

On October 12th and 13th the 2020 European Sustainable Development Network (ESDN) Annual Conference took place. Together with prominent speakers like Angela Merkel and Achim Steiner participants discussed the transformative potential of the EU Green Deal. Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute presented what steps are needed next to implement the Green Deals’ Farm to Fork Strategy. The presentation is available for download.

On 25 September 2020, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, participated as an expert in a hearing of the Bavarian State Parliament’s Committee for Environment and Consumer Protection on the draft of a Bavarian Climate Change Act. Together with nine other experts, he commented on the draft law and answered questions from members of parliament.