Ecologic Institute

1. Ecologic Institute in the International Year of Biodiversity 2010
2. Sustainable development in the European Union. 2009 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy – Publication
3. Climate change mitigation in German agriculture – Study online
4. Climate and Environmental Governance after Copenhagen – Transatlantic Lunch with Adil Najam
5. Certification of Biofuels – Presentation
6. Assessment of Proposals on Climate Tech Transfer – Final study online

On 22 January 2010, an Ecologic Transatlantic Luncheon was held in Berlin in honour of Adil Najam, a Professor at Boston University. In his short speech, Adil Najam pointed out that Copenhagen was different from other international conferences and also that the wrong conclusions have been drawn from the event. In the lively discussion that followed, participants discussed whether Copenhagen was a spectacular failure or not. Read more ...

The project aims to further refine estimations of costs and benefits associated with Natura 2000 network and to collect information and recommendations on methodologies for these estimations as applied at EU Member State level. Ecologic Institute and its partners have interviewed representatives from different ministries and key stakeholders in all 27 EU Member States to gather insights on costs and benefits associated with the network. Read more ...

The debates on the benefits and threats of genetically modified crops are highly controversial and often misleading due to insufficient information and varying interpretations of existing data. In addition, it has not clearly been shown whether farmers benefit economically over time from growing genetically modified crops in relation to growing conventional crops. The project aims at analysing the direct monetary and income effects for farmers growing genetically modified crops, as well as the decisive factors behind them.   Read more ...

Sustainability of biofuel policies is a largely debated issue, particularly with regards to environmental impacts. To address these issues, European and national legislative initiatives have been designed that aim to ensure the sustainability of biofuels. Germany has been among the top runners in trying to implement sustainability criteria for biofuels. In August 2009 the German government set up the Biomass-electricity-sustainability ordinance (“Biomassestrom-Nachhaltigkeitsverordnung”, abbreviated “BioSt-NachV”). The background paper written by the Ecologic Institute in October 2009 provides an overview for plant operators who will need to proof their compliance with the new ordinance. Read more ...

The Konrad von Moltke Library was founded in memory of Konrad von Moltke (1941-2005) and consists of his private library. Until his death in 2005, Konrad von Moltke was a partner and great supporter of the Ecologic Institute.

The Konrad von Moltke Library is now a part of the Ecologic Institute and serves its employees as a true reference library. Key aspects of the collection are Investment and Trade, International Environmental Affairs, and Governance, as well as European Environmental Policy and Law. The Library consists of about 1,000 books, journals, conference reports and gray literature, some of which are autographed. The majority of the items are in English. Read more ...

The German Packaging Ordinance of 1991 marked one of the first attempts to introduce the concept of producer responsibility into environmental policy.  In this article, Tilman Eichstädt, Alexander Carius, and R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute use policy network analysis to assess policy outcomes as well as the environmental and economic efficiency of the German packaging policy.  Read more ...

German agriculture is responsible for approximately 11% of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and thus there is considerable potential for increased mitigation efforts in this sector. The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) commissioned the Ecologic Institute to analyze the mitigation potential of German agriculture and the necessary policy measures to support emission reductions. The analysis points to a number of measures which can, along with obligatory reduction targets for both agriculture and land-use change, deliver significant GHG-emission reductions. The study is available for download. Read more ...

Deforestation is responsible for roughly one fifth of global carbon emissions, most of it in the tropical forests of the developing world. At the Copenhagen climate talks, negotiators discussed a potential new mechanism to compensate nations for keeping their forests intact. The article by Duncan Brack and Katharina Umpfenbach looks at these REDD proposals (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), arguing that carbon finance alone might not be enough to stop deforestation – unless part of it is spent upfront on improving forest governance. Read more ...

For climate policy to be implemented successfully, decisions on the local and regional level are crucial. A key instrument of the EU to drive progress on this level is the Intelligent Energy Europe programme which provides start-up funding for local and regional energy agencies. In cooperation with Matrix Insight, Ecologic evaluated the impact of the programme and developed recommendations on future improvments. Read more ...

1. Linking Car and Bike Sharing with Public Transportation – Project Report online
2. How Can Germany Reach its 40% Climate Mitigation Target in 2020? – Recommendations for Additional Measures – Study online
3. Setting the Course for the Future, not Nursing a Hangover – After the Copenhagen Debacle, Europe Needs an Effective Strategy for Climate Negotiations – Publication
4. Corruption Risks in Water Licensing. With Case Studies from Chile and Kazakhstan – Publication
5. Living in the Laboratory? Geo-Engineering and the Right to Change the World – Publication
6. Ecologic Institute Side Event in Copenhagen on Regional Adaptation for Coastal Areas
7. The WTO Judicial Decision-Makers: How Do They Deal with Multilateral Environmental Agreements? – Lecture

Under the title "Setting the Course for the Future, not Nursing a Hangover – After the Copenhagen Debacle, Europe Needs an Effective Strategy for Climate Negotiations", Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Senior Policy Advisor at the Ecologic Institute, suggests options for the future external climate policy of the European Union. The article (in German) is available exclusively online from Internationale Politik, Germany's leading foreign policy magazine. Read more ...

A traditionally jurisprudential perspective on linking emissions trading systems is provided in this book chapter by Michael Mehling. He provides a conceptual framework for the distinction of legal and political criteria for the feasibility of carbon market linkages. Legal considerations, he argues, arise during the process of establishing the link, which necessitates recourse to recognized sources of law and legal procedures; and, second, in the event of a conflict between the link as such with substantive legal norms and principles, whether these originate in international, regional or domestic law. Read more ...

Ecologic Institute
1630 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
USA

Tel. +1 (202) 518-2060
Fax +1 (202) 387-4823
E-Mail.

Directions

The office of the Ecologic Institute, Washington DC, is located 5 minutes from the Dupont Circle Metro station (Red Line), north exit.

From Union Station (15 minutes):

• Take Metrorail Red Line, direction "Shady Grove"
• Exit Dupont Circle

From Reagan National Airport (25 minutes):