In January 2019, Germany made a big step towards a coal phase-out: A stakeholder commission established by the federal government agreed on a schedule for plant retirement and on measures to support coal regions. For experts and journalists seeking to understand the context of the phase-out decision, scientists from the German Institute for Economic Research, Ecologic Institute, and the Wuppertal Institute have developed a comprehensive reader detailing what is at stake. The publication explains why the phase-out is needed and how it can become a success.

This publication is the second of Eurostat's regular reports monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an EU context. The monitoring report provides a statistical presentation of trends relating to the SDGs in the EU over the past five years ('short-term') and, when sufficient data is available, over the past 15 years ('long-term'). Ecologic Institute's authors covered the chapters on SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The publication is available for download.

How can cities and municipalities contribute to climate mitigation? What are the municipal institutions, actors and processes that matter? Which areas of activity and which approaches show promising results? These are the questions addressed in this anthology of Ecornet. In the book, researchers describe and analyse in 14 articles how the implementation of the Paris Agreement can be advanced by activities at the local level.

This book, edited by Ecologic Institute's Brendan O'Donnell, Max Gruenig, and Arne Riedel, highlights both the diversity of perspectives and approaches to Arctic research and the inherent interdisciplinary nature of studying and understanding this incomparable region. The chapters are divided into four liberally-defined sections to provide space for dynamic interpretation and dialogue in search of sustainable solutions to the issues facing the Arctic. From governance to technology, scientific research to social systems, human health to economic development, the authors discuss fundamental questions while looking toward the Arctic’s future. Whether the reader is well-versed in the history and complexity of Arctic policy or looking for an insightful introduction to the vast world of Arctic research, everyone will find answers that lead to new questions and even more discoveries in these pages, laying the foundation for tomorrow’s discussion on the future of the Arctic.

EUROSTAT has issued its 2017 edition on Sustainable Development in the European Union. The report provides an updated snapshot of the current situation concerning a selected number of indicators related to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Over the past five years, the EU has made significant progress towards five goals and moderate progress towards eight SDGs. Ecologic Institute's authors covered the chapters on SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The publication is available for download.

This book describes and analyses necessities for a more resource-efficient world. Authors across Europe, discuss solutions for a more sustainable use of natural resources and present good practice examples – such as repair services, digitalised construction projects and chemical leasing. The book addresses decision-makers and experts from the fields of policy development, industry, academia, civil society, and the media. Ecologic Institute's Mandy Hinzmann, Nick Evans, Terri Kafyeke, Stephen Bell and Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers took on the role of managing editors.

Ecologic Institute co-authored the guideline "Relevance of Indicators for Policy Making" which is the third and final publication in the Eurostat's series. This guideline takes a closer look at how indicators, which take up an increasingly prominent role in the political sphere, can improve policy making by providing examples from theory and practice. It also puts forward recommendations for researchers and experts on how to create indicators that are relevant, and points out the potential stumbling blocks of using indicators to guide political processes. The guideline is available for download.

The edited volume, Fighting Environmental Crime in Europe and Beyond: The Role of the EU and Its Member States, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in March 2017. The edited volume sums up the findings of EFFACE, a multi-disciplinary and international research project on environmental crime in Europe, funded by the European Union (EU). "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) was a 40-month research project that included eleven European research institutions and think tanks and was led by Ecologic Institute Berlin. The edited volume consists of six case studies conducted during the project on different types of environmental crime.

The Mediterranean Basin is extremely vulnerable to climate change. It is already experiencing the effects of higher-than-average temperatures and the increasing incidence of extreme events such as unprecedented heat waves, severe droughts, and major floods. A new book co-written by Ecologic Fellow Katriona McGlade examines the water-related impacts of climate and global change in the UNESCO Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean (IBRM) that straddles Spain and Morocco.

The first volume of the International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy includes an important discussion on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals that are the basis for the post-2015 development agenda up to the year 2030; the Yearbook focuses in particular on Goal 15, which includes achieving a "land degradation-neutral world." It also provides a comprehensive and highly informative overview of the latest developments at the international level, important cross-disciplinary issues and different approaches in national legislation. Ecologic Institute's Timo Kaphengst contributed to the chapter on "The UN Convention on Biological Diversity and Soils: Status and Future Options". Elizabeth Dooley had been involved as advisory editor.

For many populations that are already socially marginalized, resource dependent, and with limited capital assets, human security will be progressively undermined by environmental change. A new book, co-edited by Katriona McGlade, Fellow and Coordinator of International Development at Ecologic Institute, examines interactions between environmental change and human security in the Middle East and Africa. The collected volume, published by Springer, demonstrates that global environmental change in general, and climate change in particular, are putting both human security and human rights at risk.

This handbook by Ecologic Institute is intended to provide the reader with the necessary information how to guide the participatory development of a River Basin Adaptation Plan. The handbook begins with more general contextual information about the BeWater project before highlighting the importance of adaptation, the state of the art in river basin planning, society's role in the process and finally the need for resilient social-ecological systems. The handbook is available for download.

This publication has been issued by EUROSTAT and provides a snapshot of the current situation concerning a selected number of SDG-related indicators and accompanies the European Commission Communication on the next steps for a sustainable European future (22 November 2016). Ecologic Institute's authors covered the chapters on SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life below water), SDG 15 (Life on land) SDG 17 (Partnership for the goals). The publication is available for download.

This book, edited by Professor Carol Hager, Ph.D. and Ecologic Institute's Associate Professor Christoph H. Stefes, Ph.D. analyzes Germany's path-breaking Energiewende, the country's transition from an energy system based on fossil and nuclear fuels to a sustainable energy system based on renewables. The authors explain Germany's commitment to a renewable energy transition on multiple levels of governance, from the local to the European, focusing on the sources of institutional change that made the transition possible. They then place the German case in international context through comparative case studies of energy transitions in the USA, China, and Japan. These chapters highlight the multifaceted challenges, and the enormous potential, in different paths to a sustainable energy future. Taken together, they tell the story of one of the most important political, economic, and social undertakings of our time.

This book draws on the European Commission funded project MILESECURE-2050. It considers low-carbon energy security and energy geopolitics in Europe with a focus on four thematic clusters: challenging the energy security paradigm; climate change and energy security objectives (the components of a secure and low-carbon energy system); energy security in a geopolitical perspective, as it relates to economics, resource competition, and availability; and the influence of large scale renewable energy projects on energy security and shifting geopolitical alliances. Max Gruenig served as one of the book's editors and further researchers, Andreas Prahl, Katherine Weingartner and Brendan O'Donnell, were chapter authors.