Ecologic Institute

At the EU level, there is great need for legal reforms concerning the liability of enterprises for violations of human rights and environmental norms abroad. This is the result of a study co-authored by Christiane Gerstetter, Fellow Ecologic Legal and pro-bono lawyer for the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. Read more ...

This article by Christiane Gerstetter, Dominic Marcellino, and Elena von Sperber explores the state of the climate technology transfer negotiations following the COP 15 meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009. The article appears in the Spring 2010 edition of the journal Carbon and Climate Law Review. Read more ...

What is the state of sustainable development in the European Union? The 2009 Eurostat monitoring report reviews the progress and implementation of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy.

The 2009 monitoring report was published on the Eurostat website. As partner in a consortium with the Vienna University of Economic and Business (RIMAS), INFRAS, and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the Ecologic Institute played a substantial role in drafting the monitoring report on behalf of Eurostat. Read more ...

4 December 2009, Amsterdam - Christiane Gerstetter
Christiane Gerstetter, Fellow at the Ecologic Institute, contributed a paper to and gave a presentation at the Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions on Global Environmental Change. She discussed how the Dispute Settlement Bodies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) deal with international environmental law, thus contributing to the conference’s section on actors in international environmental governance. The paper and the presentation are available for download. Read more ...

Legal and Institutional Dimensions of the Copenhagen Regime – this is the title of the most recent issue of the Carbon & Climate Law Review (CCLR). Camilla Bausch, Ralph Czarnecki and Michael Mehling edited this issue, which opens the stage for a timely discussion on the most recent international climate negotiations. It features a preface by Congressman Edward J. Markey, who co-authored the successful climate and energy bill for the U.S. House of Representatives. Read more ...

28 April 2008, Berlin - R. Andreas Kraemer

As part of the celebration of its 25th anniversary, the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) hosted a workshop on "Globalization, Trade, and Environment: German-American Cooperation or Confrontation?" in Berlin on 28 April 2008.  R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic moderated the panel on Climate Change and the Economy.

The Speakers were: Read more ...

In their policy paper for the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation’s Dialogue on Globalization section, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf and Christiane Gerstetter of Ecologic Legal, shed light at the most important aspects of the relationship between trade and climate change policies. They investigate which trade-related policies should be adopted to combat climate change and review the compatibility of those measures with the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Particular attention is given to issues that are of relevance to developing countries. The first focus of the paper is on the transfer of climate-friendly technologies to developing countries. Read more ...

6 February 2006, London - R. Andreas Kraemer
The ongoing world trade negotiations are expected to have significant impact on sustainable development and the production and consumption patterns world-wide.  After the Meeting of Trade Ministers in Hong Kong at the end of 2005, Chatham House convened a conference on 6-7 February 2006 to look at the WTO as well as the Sustainable Development Agenda and its prospects after Hong Kong.  R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic chaired a key session on NAMA, IPRs, and Services. Read more ...

More and more instruments require the internalisation of greenhouse gas emissions costs. Yet it is very unlikely that a single global price for carbon will prevail. A frequently voiced concern is that states with stringent climate policies will place domestic industries at a disadvantage relative to competitors in states with less ambitious climate efforts. Read more ...

In recent years, the debate on trade and the environment seemed to lose some of its earlier controversy: after a string of highly polarizing cases before the WTO, the Appellate Body’s Article 21.5 Implementation Report in the Shrimp/Turtle case appeared to finally herald a period of reconciliation between free trade and environmental concerns. Upon closer analysis, however, this assessment proves to be misleading: as a matter of substantive law, the chasm between both issue areas is still substantial. Read more ...

In 2006, the European Community adopted a new regulation dealing with the geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs. Ecologic, along with ADAS and London Economics, carried out an evaluation of the scheme focusing on the development and effectiveness of Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) systems. Read more ...

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is the most recent piece in the current regime complex on plant genetic resources. In their article for the Journal of World Intellectual Property, Christiane Gerstetter, Benjamin Görlach, Kirsten Neumann and Dora Schaffrin investigate the legal relationship between the ITPGRFA, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the TRIPS Agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Acts of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Read more ...

Ecologic led a study examining the potential contributions that trade policy could make to combating climate change. The objective of the study was to provide Members of the European Parliament with an assessment of the relationships between international trade and climate change, and to identify possible means of using trade policy options to combat the problem.

The project examined the economic, policy and legal aspects of the issue and included a quantitative evaluation of carbon dioxide emissions associated with specific traded and EU-produced goods. Read more ...

AGRINERGY (EU Bioenergy Policies and their effects on rural areas and agriculture policies) is a Specific Support Action (SSA) within the Sixth EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP6). Read more ...

Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) play a substantial role in the financing of infrastructure in developing countries. As the activities of ECAs are backed-up by public resources, national governments have the power to set guidelines for ECA lending policies. Most governments include social and environmental aspects in their ECA guidelines. This book section takes a closer look at the role of transparency, information disclosure and participation in the cover decisions of ECAs. Read more ...

16 June 2005, Manchester - Markus Knigge
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. Read more ...

The challenge of developing robust methodologies to undertake ex ante and/or ex post sustainability assessments of trade policies remains largely unmet. In cooperation with further members of the CAT-E network Ecologic analyses and develops methodological approaches for sustainable impact assessments for specific trade areas. Read more ...

International investment agreements and arbitration have significant roles for sustainable development. However, there is wide scepticism about the approach currently reflected in the existing agreements. Konrad von Moltke, Partner at Ecologic, together with colleagues at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), developed a Model Agreement on Investment. Read more ...

26 November 2004, Hohenheim - Markus Knigge
"Sustainable Development within the context of economic globalisation" was the subject discussed at a seminar organised by the University Nürtingen. The event took place 26-27 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. Read more ...

Why did Cancún fail to achieve an agreement on investment? This was the main question discussed during this Dinner Dialogue with Prof. Dr. Konrad von Moltke on 23 March 2004 in Berlin. Seventeen representatives from policy making, research, NGOs and business came together to informally discuss the importance of investment agreements with regard to the environment, development and sustainability. Read more ...

Sustainable Consumption is one of the key factors on the way to Sustainable Develoment. So far, the implementation of suatinable consumption lacks legally binding international obligations. This study therefore identifies whether and to what extend existing international agreements or organisations could serve as a tool to implement aspects of sustainable development. In addition, the study offers recommendations how further policy integration in the field of sustainable consumption can be achieved. Particular emphasis is placed on international trade law. Read more ...

This study on the Inter-Relations between Intellectual Property and the Conservation of Genetic Resources  involved researching a range of global, regional and national laws and policies, and assessing these in the context of several commercial sectors. Read more ...

"Trade, Environment and Development: The North-South Dimensions" was the topic of the second international conference of the Concerted Action on Trade and Environment (CAT&E). The event was held at the Trippenhuis of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in Amsterdam on 1-2 November 2004. Read more ...

In cooperation with the European SUSTRA-Network Ecologic analyses the relationship between trade, environment and sustainable development. As a part of the project, Ecologic convened an international workshop on the architecture of global governance of trade and sustainable development which focussed on the global institutional set-up, the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and WTO rules as well as the role of non-State actors in the international fora. The results of the workshop were summarised and published in a policy brief. Read more ...

Ecologic published a study on the incorporation of environmental and social standards into export credit agencies' lending practices. The study, which was commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), surveys the environmental guidelines of eight OECD member states' export credit agencies. Special emphasis was given to the support of large dams; in this context, the study evaluates to what extent the recommendations made by the World Commission on Dams are reflected in the environmental and social guidelines. Read more ...

This study analyses the relationship between sustainable forest management
and international trade policy. Further it presents recommendations on how these
two policy objectives can be mutually supportive. Read more ...