The article reflects on the 59th Tutzing Symposion entitled "Polymers for a better life and circular economy" that took place as an online event in October 2021. Based on the presentations at the symposium, the contribution provides an overview of current debates on the circular plastics economy, as well as insights into existing political regulations, present challenges, and possible future developments with regard to this major societal project.

This article explores how (in)coherence in policies and responsibilities affects coordination at process and outcome level. It presents a rigorous comparative study of cross-sectoral coordination in six river basins worldwide. The authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Dr. Ulf Stein, observe that coherence can favor coordination at the process level, but it remains difficult to establish causality. Coherence of policies and responsibilities does not change the relationship between process-level and outcome-level coordination.

One of the top priorities of the German government is the establishment of a "climate club". However, this would be inadequate if it focused on border compensation. Rather, cooperative approaches are essential. In this opinion piece, Clara Brandi and Dr. Michael Jakob of Ecologic Institute weigh the problems and possibilities of designing a climate club.

Prof. Michael Mehling (Deputy Director, MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR)), and Dr. Camilla Bausch (Director, Ecologic Institute) were invited to contribute to the inaugural issue of the new journal "Klima und Recht" (Climate and Law). In their contribution, Mehling and Bausch provide an overview of the results of the Glasgow Climate Summit, covering not only formal decisions but also key initiatives and declarations announced at the Summit.

Natural gas and oil not only finance the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, they also lie at the heart of the problem: authoritarianism and a lack of democracy. Decarbonization is not only a climate policy necessity, but also an agenda for democracy and thus for peace, writes Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the Tagesspiegel.

The EU has not clarified the contribution of CO2 removals for achieving its climate goals. The Commission's communication on carbon cycles was an opportunity to provide more clarity. But it leaves important questions unanswered and chooses a wrong framing for future debates, writes Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf in the Tagesspiegel.

The transport sector plays a crucial role in achieving German, European and global climate targets. But policymakers are pursuing three goals with transport policy that cannot be reconciled. First, emissions in the transport sector are to be sharply reduced. Second, the transport policy framework is not to be fundamentally changed. Third, the financial burden on consumers resulting from a CO2 price is to be kept low. The German government now has the opportunity to embark on a mobility transition. However, this requires honestly dealing with trade-offs, Michael Jakob writes in the Tagesspiegel.

The future will increasingly be about hydrogen import security, writes Raffaele Piria in this article published in the Tagesspiegel. On the way to climate neutrality, the risk landscape will change fundamentally. Germany must prepare for this with determination and foresight - and make numerous trade-off decisions. In this article, Raffaele Piria describes three strategic legislative steps that should be taken to advance Germany's hydrogen import strategy.

Climate protection for 1.5 degrees calls for fundamental changes in many areas, but not in Germany's democracy. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf discusses the relationship between climate protection and democracy in an article for the Tagesspiegel.

Citizens' councils are booming. Now, EU citizen panels have started. A first step has been taken, but it is still a long way to go for the EU Panels to be successful, write Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf from the Ecologic Institute and Felix Nasser from the German Bürgerrat Klima in the Tagesspiegel Background. They make three proposals how to turn the EU Citizens Panels into a success.

This article describes the project "Drought and Water Use Conflicts in Germany (WADKlim)" its approach and the context in Germany. The project provides a nationwide overview of current water availability and its future development under climate change conditions. It analyzes emerging conflicts of use and develops possible solution strategies. For example, a concept for regional water advisory councils to strengthen intersectoral coordination will be designed. In addition, the potential of water reuse for irrigation in urban areas will be investigated. The project is funded by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA).

In this review, Ecologic Institute's Doris Knoblauch and Linda Mederake analyse the subject focus of 45 articles (published 2019–2021), dealing with government action to regulate plastic pollution. Policies described in the articles and introduced between 2016 and 2021 are clustered in four categories: production – consumption – disposal – circular approaches. The article is open access and available for download.

Just a few weeks before the UN climate summit (COP26), Dr. Camilla Bausch responded to the invitation to contribute to the most recent dossier published by ISPI under the tagline "Climate Change: A Global Fight at a Crossroads". Her timely contribution outlines the complexity of the issues and the international political landscape in the eve of COP26.

Natural resource extraction and processing accounted for 23 % of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. Therefore, reducing resource use through resource efficiency promises significant contributions to climate protection. This "climate-resource-nexus" has mostly been explored from a scientific, Global North-oriented perspective. In this article, researchers from the Ecologic Institute analyze the potential interactions between climate and resource policy in different world regions. They did not find a generic climate-resource-nexus policy. The article is available online.

Coasts and seas both are characterized by intense social-ecological interactions, recently the industrial appropriation of coasts worldwide and oceans as a waste disposal site for port industries and land-based production facilities. In September, White Horse Press' transdisciplinary history journal Global Environment published a special issue dedicated to Coastal Cities and their struggle for coping mechanism to the recent crisis. The special issue was edited by Ecologic Institute and starts with an introductory chapter on the more-than-ever-growing need to consider different ideas, narratives and power relations of coastal and maritime actors and groups in order to shape a coastal management that is ecologically and socially sustainable.