In a consortium of five research institutes, Ecologic Institute evaluated the effects of the national climate initiative (NKI). With an annual volume of 280 million Euros, this initiative represents a cornerstone of Germany's efforts at climate protection. In the course of the evaluation, the consortium assessed in what way the supported projects have contributed to Germany's climate policy targets. Ecologic Institute covered a range of projects, including the fields of low-carbon transport, industrial transformation and biomass use.

Germany's national climate initiative (NKI) was launched in 2009. It is funded through revenues from auctioning emission allowances under the EU emission trading scheme. As part of the NKI, the German Federal Environment Ministry makes 280 million Euros available each year to support a number of climate protection projects within Germany. In addition, 120 millon Euros are earmarked for international projects. However, these were not part of the evaluation conducted by the Ecologic Institute.

This makes the NKI a cornerstone of German climate protection efforts. A wide range of projects and programmes benefit from funding under this initiative. This includes four major support programmes, targeting climate projects in cultural, social and other public institutions, small-scale CHP plants, industry-grade refrigeration technologies and biomass use. In addition, a number of individual projects are supported, ranging from targeted innovation support (e.g. technology development and feasibility studies) to the diffusion of existing energy efficiency technologies to general information, motivation and awareness-raising campaigns, targeting behavioural changes by private and commercial energy consumers.

The evaluation was conducted over a three-year period by a consortium of the Oeko-Institut (project lead), the environmental policy research centre (FFU) at the Free University Berlin, arepo consult, the FiFo Institute for Public Economics at Cologne University and Dr. Hans-Joachim Ziesing.