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Ecologic Newsletter No 61 - March 2008

Ecologic Newsletter No 61 - March 2008

Ecologic Institute Newsletter
  1. The Amendment of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) within the context of the integrated energy and climate programme - Publication
  2. How much does nuclear energy really contribute to climate protection? - Climate Talk
  3. Power Grid 2.0: Will the Information Technology Fairy Kiss and Wake the Electric Utilities? - Dinner Dialogue with Suedeen Kelly
  4. Analysis of the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI) - Publication
  5. WFD meets CAP - Looking for a consistent approach - Background paper online
  6. Building Blocks: The Role of NGOs in International Environmental Governance - Dinner Dialogue with Mark Halle
  7. If biofuels are the answer - what is the question? A review on the benefits and drawbacks of biofuels from an environmental, development, and climate perspective - Lecture
  8. The EU's new Climate and Energy Package: A breakthrough in Europe's Renewable Energy Politics? - Lecture

1. The Amendment of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) within the context of the integrated energy and climate programme - Publication
This article describes the important changes to the Renewable Energy Sources Act due to the amendment within the framework of the Integrated Energy and Climate Programme of the German government.
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2. How much does nuclear energy really contribute to climate protection? - Climate Talk
The debate regarding the expansion of nuclear energy capacity has gained new prominence in the face of climate change. In scientific and political scenarios, nuclear energy is often seen as an important element of a future energy system. Against this backdrop, the Climate Talk tried to evaluate the actual contribution of nuclear energy towards greenhouse gas reduction targets. Taking into account existing and emerging alternatives, the experts assessed the future role of nuclear energy in the international climate policy regime.
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3. Power Grid 2.0: Will the Information Technology Fairy Kiss and Wake the Electric Utilities? - Dinner Dialogue with Suedeen Kelly
On 27 February 2008, an Ecologic Dinner Dialogue was held in honour of Suedeen Kelly, Commissioner at the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In her initial remarks, Suedeen Kelly pointed out that many electric utilities in the United States are indeed aware of the potential new grid technologies have - the "fairy kiss" by information technology seems to be happening. However, the deployment of smart grids is not going to happen on its own.
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4. Analysis of the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI) - Publication
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) identifies targets for several core environmental policy categories and measures how close countries come to meet them. Ecologic compiled and analysed the data sources of the EPI for Germany, and assessed the methodologies of the Index. Based on this assessment, both the scientific and political relevance of the index for German environmental policy performance were determined. The report was published by the German Federal Environment Agency in UBA-Texte 09/08.
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5. WFD meets CAP - Looking for a consistent approach - Background paper online
The conference on Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) was held on 20-21 September 2007 in Paris. In addition to the discussion of several issues in the context of linking the EU CAP to water policies, the impacts of increasing bioenergy demand on water was discussed. The background paper "WFD and Bioenergy production at the EU Level - A review of the possible impact of biomass production from agriculture on water" is now available.
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6. Building Blocks: The Role of NGOs in International Environmental Governance - Dinner Dialogue with Mark Halle
On 25 February 2008, an Ecologic Dinner Dialogue was held in Berlin in honour of Mark Halle, European Director of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) as well as Global Director of Trade & Investment. Mark Halle introduced key aspects of the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in international environmental governance (IEG). He pointed out that environmental issues for governments often come second, leaving NGOs as important actors in the field of IEG. The decisive question of how to move environmental issues to the centre of political decision making still needs to be tackled.
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7. If biofuels are the answer - what is the question? A review on the benefits and drawbacks of biofuels from an environmental, development, and climate perspective - Lecture
Stephanie Schlegel gave a presentation discussing the current bioenergy policy in the U.S. and the European Union. The presentation focused on the analysis of current support schemes for biofuels and compared the expectations and objectives to the actual impacts and results of bioenergy policy approaches from an environmental, climate and development perspective.
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8. The EU's new Climate and Energy Package: A breakthrough in Europe's Renewable Energy Politics? - Lecture
At a panel discussion, Stephanie Schlegel, Fellow at Ecologic, gave a presentation on the current achievements and crucial discussion points of renewable energy politics in Europe. The presentation focused on the developments in the context of the "Climate action and renewable energy package" - the recently published legislative proposal of the European Commission. The discussion was organised by the University of Denver's Center for 21st Century Global Governance and brought together experts from the U.S. and Europe to discuss different approaches in renewable energy politics.
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