Along with the emphasis on better regulation and lean governance in the European Union and its Member States, there has been renewed interest in policy evaluation and impact assessment. One of the main criteria in this context is cost-effectiveness, which demonstrates that environmental objectives have been achieved – or will be achieved – at least cost. At the EASY-ECO conference "Impact Assessment for a New Europe and Beyond", Benjamin Görlach was invited to present some insights on state of the art ex-post assessments of the cost-effectiveness of environmental policies.

Since 1999, the European Commission has been undertaking a series of Sustainable Impact Assessments (SIAs) of multilateral and regional trade agreements. On invitation, Markus Knigge presented at the EASY-ECO conference, organised by the Impact Assessment Research Centre in the University of Manchester's School of Environment and Development, a paper on the role of civil society engagement in these assessments. The presentation focused on the objectives of stakeholder consultations, methodologies for participation, the interplay with the negotiation process and the impediments for effective participation of civil society.

During a workshop conducted by Ecologic Institute and the German Federal Environmental Agency on the matter of user charges on global environmental goods, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf gave two speeches on the legal parameters of the introduction of a levy on airplane tickets as well as on emissions. Participants of the workshop were representatives of the German Government, of the EU-Commission as well as representatives of academia, industry and NGOs.

Export Credit Agencies like the German EulerHermes AG have often been criticized for their restrictive information disclosure and the lack of participation. Through the recently agreed OECD Common Approaches, a trend towards better and earlier information disclosure has been established; however, the actual implementation of this agreement remains to be seen. Benjamin Görlach presented recent developments in a workshop organised by the non-governmental organisation World Economy, Ecology and Development (WEED).

Floods have caused substantial economic damage in recent years in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The costs of the 2002 Elbe flood alone exceeded 10 billion Euro. Thirty experts from science and public administration gathered at the Federal Environment Agency in Berlin on 10 May 2005 to discuss the role of economic instruments for flood management and the economic assessment of flood management strategies. In his lecture, Benjamin Görlach presented some selected examples of flood management in Europe and discussed the use of economic appraisal tools in the different countries.

"Investing in Ecology and Peace: Perspectives of Transatlantic Cooperation" was the theme of a conference at the Protestant Academy of Loccum, Germany, organised in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, and the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) of the United Nations Environment Programme. R. Andreas Kraemer prepared the discussion on "How to Prevent Wars over Natural Resources?", thereby responding to the Worldwatch Institute's "State of the World 2005" summary presented by Michael Renner.

The Austrian Water and Waste Management Association (ÖWAV) organised the ÖWAV-Forum 2005 on "Water Sector and Politics – Structures, Controls and Financing". The aim of the conference was to discuss the future of the Austrian water sector, in particular the new legal, economic and environmental regulations. R. Andreas Kraemer presented the trends at European level and their potential effects on the municipal water sector.

The Technical University Berlin hosted the conference "Water – Economic Good, Weapon, Human Right" on 9 February 2005. Ecologic Associate Britta Pielen spoke on the recent trends towards liberalisation in European water policy and the implications for the German water sector. Over the last years, the water and sanitation sector has increasingly been put under reform pressure. In particular at the European level, a political trend towards liberalising the provision of water services can be observed. These attempts are generally justified by the supposedly positive experiences with the liberalisation of other network industries, as well as with stricter environmental and quality requirements.

On occasion of a dissemination seminar held in the context of the Waterbench project on "Water Utility Performance Benchmarking in Ukraine" Nicole Kranz spoke about selected benchmarking and performance indicator systems, best practice and experience from an international perspective. More than 20 participants representing utilities, municipalities, research institutions, government, administration and NGOs from all regions of Ukraine attended the seminar jointly organised with the Municipal Development Institute, Kiev and the State Committee on Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine.

An international workshop, organised by the OECD EAP Task Force, highlighted "best practice" for benchmarking initiatives in the water supply and sanitation sector of the EECCA region (Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia) and provided a discussion forum on potential future applications in the context of investment decisions. In her contribution, Nicole Kranz presented recent national experiences with benchmarking programmes in France, England and Wales, the Netherlands, Brazil and Sweden.

"Greening of Policies – Interlinkages and Policy Integration" was the title of the Fourth Berlin Conference on the human dimension of global change. Organised by the Environmental Policy Research Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin, the conference took place on 3 and 4 December 2004 in Berlin. Ecologic Fellows Benjamin Görlach and Markus Knigge presented their work on transparency in export credit agencies.

"Sustainable Development within the context of economic globalisation" was the subject discussed at a seminar organised by the University Nürtingen. The event took place on 26 and 27 November 2004 and was dedicated to raising awareness about environmental issues within Germany's higher education system. Markus Knigge, Ecologic Fellow, gave a presentation on the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and the international trade regime.

On the occasion of a delegation visit of water experts and environmental activists from Korea to the Berlin Water Works on 26 October 2004, Ecologic Fellows Britta Pielen and Nicole Kranz spoke about the German water sector, current developments in EU water policy as well as public participation in water management.

Developing and implementing emissions trading and other measures in climate protection policy were discussed at a Lunch Discussion on 23 September 2004, in Washington, DC. The event focused on experiences and opportunities for transatlantic cooperation. It was co-hosted by the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Center for Transatlantic Relations of Johns Hopkins University; Ecologic director R. Andreas Kraemer spoke on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

In his contribution for the symposium "Representation of Interests by NGOs at European Level" at the Bucerius Law School, Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf focused on the influence of European environmental interest groups on European environmental Policy. Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf analysed the institutional structures of European environmental NGOs and illustrated their success and deficits in influencing European environmental Policy. Therein, he focused on the Green G8, an umbrella association of European environmental NGOs and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).