This report presents the findings from an assessment of the 22 long-term strategies (LTSs) of the EU Member States available as of March 2022. It is complemented by a briefing that summarizes the key findings and recommendations. The analysis looked at two distinct qualities of each strategy: the vision of a low-emission future represented in the pathways and projections of the LTS as well as the preparation and use of the strategy as a tool to guide policy decisions, in other words its relevance in national climate policy. Ecologic Institute's authors found that the creation of an LTS had already improved national policy in several Member States. However, most LTSs lack details on their long-term goals and their applicability to varying degrees. The report and summary are available for download.

This open access book by Dr. Luana Martin-Russu of Ecologic Institute presents an actor-centered analysis on Europeanization based on the presumption that EU-driven reforms are strongly dependent on the actions and interests of the key domestic actors. It demonstrates that the European Union's policy of conditionality, however assertive or extensive, cannot guarantee compliance with its rules unless domestic political elites are committed to reform.

Since we learned how to produce plastic, humans have manufactured more than 8.3 billion tons of it – most of which ended up as waste somewhere on the planet. How can we possibly address a problem of this size? In the latest "Green Deal – Big Deal?" podcast episode, the host Ewa Iwaszuk and a guest co-host Linda Mederake from Ecologic Institute try to get to the bottom of the problem of plastic pollution, together with their interview guests Frieder Rubik (Institute for Ecological Economic Research) and Jean-Pierre Schweitzer (European Environmental Bureau) who offer insightful information and perspectives regarding plastic pollution.

The two-year "Soil Mission Support: Towards a European Research and Innovation Roadmap for Soils and Land Management" project supported the European Union's A Soil Deal for Europe mission on soil health and nutrition and the European Green Deal to facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This animated video demonstrates the importance of healthy soils, the nature of "lighthouses" and where to find them, as well as their contributions to healthy soils. The video was created in cooperation between Ecologic Institute and INRAE.

The term "populism" is ubiquitous in political debate nowadays. But not only is the term meaningless - it poses a real problem for democracy and the political debate, writes Dr. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the IPG. The article is available online.

From 21 to 22 September 2022, the INTERLACE project held the first European Cities Talk Nature Engagement Event in Kraków (Poland). The aim of the conference was to strengthen knowledge and facilitate exchange on the implementation of nature-based solutions. Sandra Naumann, Coordinator of the INTERLACE project and Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, opened the conference by presenting the INTERLACE project and its work on the ground to the audience. The presentation slides are available for download.

From 7 to 19 December 2022, the international community will come together to discuss the future of the Convention on Biological Diversity. One of the key items to be negotiated at the upcoming COP15 is the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. In the light of these upcoming negotiations on 2 November 2022, the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law at New York University School of Law and the German Consulate General in New York organized an event featuring experts from New York City and Berlin to discuss the role of local governments in implementing global biodiversity targets, including the ways in which cities can support urban biodiversity. Sandra Naumann, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute, presented Berlin's strategy to promote urban biodiversity and participated in the final panel. The presentation slides are available for download.

Poorly planned urbanization can lead to an exacerbation of societal challenges such as social deprivation, climate change impacts, deteriorating health and increasing pressure on urban nature. Urban ecosystem restoration can contribute to lessening these challenges, e.g., through implementing nature-based solutions (NBS). This online webinar illustrated how Horizon 2020 projects are supporting international cooperation in knowledge creation and knowledge exchange between local authorities and researchers to promote urban ecosystem restoration in Europe, China, and Latin America. The summary of the webinar is available for download.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) for EU cities and regions represent an integral part of the EU's transition to achieving climate neutrality. In this panel, moderated by Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis, experts discussed effective, just and inclusive strategies to design, implement and manage NBS, while engaging under-represented or marginalized stakeholders. The event was part of the European Week of Regions and Cities. The session was supported by the findings of two Horizon 2020 research projects: euPOLIS and INTERLACE. The recording of the event and presentation slides are available online.

This webinar, co-hosted by Climate Analytics and Ecologic Institute, presented findings and recommendations for how the EU27 can transform its economy to fulfil the Paris Agreement's 1.5 °C goal. The findings are based on a quantitative analysis of the latest evidence assessed by the IPCC, which had been used to develop 1.5 °C-compatible pathways for the EU27 and selected Member States. The findings and recommendations presented in the webinar, as well as an event recording of the webinar, are available online.

During this webinar, Ecologic Institute's Dr. Nico Stelljes presented the highlights and the findings of the project "Indicators of an Integrated German Marine Policy" and gave an overview of a possible set of indicators to assess an integrated maritime policy at a national level, with the aim to stimulate discussions on similarities and differences in the integrated approaches to the maritime economy in the Baltic Sea Region. The presentation slides are available for download.

The European Citizen Science Association Conference 2022 took place from 5 to 8 October 2022 in Berlin under the cross-cutting theme of Citizen Science for Planetary Health. In her presentation titled "Evaluating environmental policies with citizen science data? An example from the Plastic Pirates investigating plastic pollution of rivers", Linda Mederake (Ecologic Institute) presented an approach to evaluate the Single-Use Plastics Directive with the help of citizen science data. The presentation slides are available for download.

This workshop explores whether and how citizens' panels could become a standard element of EU decision-making. It discusses the lessons learned from the Conference on the Future of Europe and its European Citizens' Panels. Illustrating lessons learned, the workshop also discusses the impact of the European Citizens' Panels on EU climate policy-making. It will take place on 11 November 2022 in Berlin at the Ecologic Institute's HQ, as well as on the Zoom platform.

Our first Green Deal – Big Deal webinar will take place on 21 November from 17:00 to 18:30 CET. Join the webinar hosts Ewa Iwaszuk and Aaron Best from Ecologic Institute and their expert guests Adam Wallin from We Don’t Have Time and Stefan De Keersmaecker from the European Commission to discuss what the European Green Deal means for young people in Europe. Registration is possible through 11 November 2022.

On 1 December 2022, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is hosting   the European Resources Forum for the 6th time – "Transformative approaches for sustainable resource use and a circular economy." The conference addresses European decision-makers and experts from the fields of policy development, industry, academia, civil society, media, as well as representatives of the "young generation". 700 participants from over 50 nations are expected, including 90 speakers. The preliminary program is available online. Register now to secure your spot.

On 1 December 2022, from 10:00am to 1:30pm, the dialogue forum "Private Households" will host the fourth online event on the reduction of food waste. The event will focus on the first insights of the Citizen Science Project. In the project, consumers were invited to take part in the German action week "Germany saves food" and measure their own food waste to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures. Preliminary results on the data were analyzed by the project team and will be presented during the event. There will be space for joint discussion and exchange after the presentation. Registration is possible until 17 November 2022 via the registration form.

The project "New Cooperation and Pooling Models for Sustainable Land Use and Food Supply in Urban-Rural Networks (KOPOS)" is looking for one model project in each of the project regions Berlin-Brandenburg and Freiburg im Breisgau for the period 2023-2024. The best project idea in each region, which uses a sustainable approach to practically test concepts for a sustainable and regional food supply and relies on principles of cooperation, will be awarded 100,000 euros each. Applications can be submitted online until 4 December 2022.

To support our team in Berlin, we are looking for a researcher with expertise in resource conservation and circular economy. The Ecologic Institute's resource team is engaged in several projects dealing with resource policy, decoupling of resource consumption and economic growth, resource use and circular economy and the associated transformation processes. We are looking forward to your application.

Ecologic Legal links environmental analysis and policymaking to legal frameworks and the law-making process. Our aim is to enhance the design and implementation of environmental policy and governance with our research. In the advertised position, you will work on highly relevant issues concerning energy and environmental law as part of the legal team – and at the interface of the energy and climate team – and can actively shape framework conditions for the energy transition. We look forward to hearing from you!

We are looking for Student Assistants to support our Human Resources Team - primarily in administration/recruitment or personnel development. We are looking forward to your application.