Contents:

1. Resilient European Cities: Nature-based Solutions for Clean Water – Publication
2. Policy Instruments to Promote Urban Nature-based Solutions in Europe – Presentation
3. Options for Multilateral Initiatives to Close the Global 2030 Climate Ambition and Action Gap – Publication
4. Climate Laws in Europe: Report Summary and Translations Available – News
5. Climate: Saved by the pandemic? – Publication
6. Climate Action Regulation 2.0 – Publication
7. Culture and Climate Resilience – Publication
8. Meat Alternatives: Vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes growing – Publication
9. Quiz: Plastic in the Environment – What do you know? – Publication
10. Plastic Packaging – Emergence in Germany and environmental impact – Publication
11. Possibilities for Municipal Action to Avoid Plastics – Publication
12. Conceptual Considerations on the Concept of Plant in the Renewable Energy Act – Publication
13. Arctic Marine Conservation Dialogue – Event

1. Resilient European Cities: Nature-based Solutions for Clean Water – Publication

   This report examines how European cities can turn to nature-based solutions (NbS) to protect the water resources on which they depend, contributing to improving environmental quality in upstream watersheds. Ecologic Institute supported the preparation of this report, in particular by identifying European cities relevant for analysis and supporting the development of the methodology to assess the effectiveness and costs of NbS-WS implementation. The report is available for download.

   https://ecologic.eu/17767

2. Policy Instruments to Promote Urban Nature-based Solutions in Europe – Presentation

   Invited by the Indian Centre for Science and Environment, 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 the guidance document she co-authored upon which the presentation is based, are available for download.

   https://ecologic.eu/17798

3. Options for Multilateral Initiatives to Close the Global 2030 Climate Ambition and Action Gap – Publication

   To achieve the turnaround towards carbon neutrality, countries around the world need to take much more ambitious action in this decade. One of the key fields of action is the transition of the energy sector –from fossil to renewable fuels while drastically reducing energy consumption. This paper by Ecologic Institute's Benjamin Görlach and Ursula Fuentes Hutfilter (Climate Analytics) discusses options on how such action can be enhanced through multilateral cooperation. The paper is available for download.

   https://ecologic.eu/17745

4. Climate Laws in Europe: Report Summary and Translations Available – News

   Governments around the world are considering the introduction of framework laws to strengthen their climate policy. Good practice examples can be found in the experience of the growing number of countries that have already put such legislation in place – and now you can read about them in Spanish, Italian, Greek and Latvian. The summary of Ecologic Institute's 2020 report on climate laws in Europe is now available for download in multiple languages for use by a wide audience of interested officials and stakeholders.

   https://ecologic.eu/17738

5. Climate: Saved by the pandemic? – Publication

   With 2020 drawing to a close, Dr. Camilla Bausch was invited to contribute to "The World in 2021". This publication is an annual end-of-year publication by ISPI, a leading foreign policy think tank in Italy, on trends, crises and 10 key "questions" that are relevant for the upcoming year. Dr. Camilla Bausch's contribution looks at the interlinkages between two global crises: The Corona pandemic and global heating. The publication is available online.

   https://ecologic.eu/17740

6. Climate Action Regulation 2.0 – Publication

   The Climate Action Regulation (CAR aka Effort Sharing Regulation) regulates 57% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the EU cannot achieve its new climate targets without major contributions from the sectors regulated by the CAR. This makes reforming the CAR one of the EU's most important legislative processes in 2021. For achieving EU climate targets, it is a dealmaker or dealbreaker. There are various ideas about how to turn the CAR into a strong driver for achieving the EU's climate targets. Ideas range from strengthening the current system to almost completely replacing it by an extended emission trading scheme. This Ecologic Institute paper discusses these ideas and makes proposals for reform. The paper is available for download.

   https://ecologic.eu/17736

7. Culture and Climate Resilience – Publication

   There is a growing impetus among policy makers and practitioners to support and empower capacities of communities under changing climatic conditions. Despite this, there is little systematic understanding of why approaches work at local levels or not and what makes some communities resilient and others less so. Authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Dr. Grit Martines and Dr. Zoritza Kiresiewa, addressing this shortcoming by providing illustrative case studies and assessment tools from Europe's North, East and South helping to bridge the gap between climate change policies, decision-making and the cultural traits of communities in Europe.

   https://ecologic.eu/17768

8. Meat Alternatives: Vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes growing – Publication

   The 2021 edition of the "Meat Atlas" focuses on the issues of "youth, climate and nutrition". Stephanie Wunder, coordinator food systems at Ecologic Institute, contributed an essay on the importance of meat alternatives. With one million copies distributed annually, the "Meat Atlas" has a large outreach to the public. The Meat Atlas is available in print and available for download.

   https://ecologic.eu/17582

9. Quiz: Plastic in the Environment – What do you know? – Publication

   Plastics are all around us and make up an essential part of our daily lives. How much do we know about this material, its variety, the associated environmental problems and possible solutions? The quiz "Plastics in the environment – What do you know?" invites you to test your knowledge around the topic of plastics in five categories. Ecologic Institute was responsible for the development and implementation of the quiz.

   https://ecologic.eu/17741

10. Plastic Packaging – Emergence in Germany and environmental impact – Publication

    This article by Doris Knoblauch and Hannes Schritt (both Ecologic Institute) deals with the emergence of plastic packaging in Germany and its known environmental impacts. The authors demonstrate that there is a close correlation between the amount of plastic packaging produced and the gross domestic product (GDP) – which, interestingly, is stronger than the correlation between GDP and packaging overall. In this context, avoidance strategies and improvement options for the circular economy are discussed.

    https://ecologic.eu/17743

11. Possibilities for Municipal Action to Avoid Plastics – Publication

    This book chapter by Linda Mederake (Ecologic Institute) and Dorothea Seeger (BUND) deals with the possibilities for municipal action to avoid plastics. These options range from information and awareness-raising activities to political decisions, regulatory requirements and public procurement as a driver of packaging reduction. The authors point out that the greatest untapped potential for reducing packaging waste at the municipal level lies in the areas of informal administrative action and public procurement.

    https://ecologic.eu/17742

12. Conceptual Considerations on the Concept of Plant in the Renewable Energy Act – Publication

    As part of a project to structure the energy law, Ecologic Institute contributed to a discussion paper on conceptual considerations on the concept of plant in the Renewable Energy Act. Based on the functions of the term "plant", the authors recommend a new conceptualization, according to which the current abstract term "plant" is replaced by energy carrier-specific terms "plant", which are first combined in a catalog to form a uniform term "plant". The discussion paper is available for download.

    https://ecologic.eu/17739

13. Arctic Marine Conservation Dialogue – Event

    In November 2020, over 40 international experts with research and governance backgrounds discussed the protection of the Arctic maritime ecosystems as subject of the "Arctic Marine Conservation Dialogue". The experts converged in three working groups on 1) "Area-based management" under climate change, 2) sustainable fisheries in the Arctic and 3) oil, gas and biodiversity protection. They identified the status quo and the specific challenges of the respective subject areas and turned towards potential solutions. The workshop proceedings are available for download.

    https://ecologic.eu/17799