<img alt="lee lane" hspace="2" src="downloads/dinner_dialogue/2005/lee_lane_II_80_80.jpg" align="right" vspace="2" border="0" />US energy and climate policy was the topic of the Transatlantic Climate Dinner in honor of Lee Lane, Executive Director of the Climate Policy Center in Washington, D.C. The event participants discussed the possibility of and need for an effective US climate policy, in light of the developments at the sub-national, federal and international levels. This Transatlantic Climate Dinner took place on 14 December 2005 in Berlin.

The protection and management of water resources at the river basin scale is gaining in importance world-wide. Only through careful and sustainable management can the current water problems be addressed, particularly in developing countries. The Nile River with its ten riparian states is like no other basin faced with specific challenges in terms of reaching integrated water resource management. On invitation of the German Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (gtz) and the German Ministry for Development and Co-operation, experts and decision-makers from the Nile riparian states visited several German and European water management institutions on 23 November 2005 and came together with Ecologic staff to exchange thoughts and ideas on experiences with the water management challenge in Europe and Africa.

“Engaging the Climate Behemoths: Transforming Energy Policy in America and China” was the topic of the Transatlantic Climate Dinner in honour of William K. Reilly, co-chair of the US National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP). The challenges for China’s coal driven energy sector as well as for the US, considering not only energy and climate protection needs but also the wish for economic growth, were discussed in the light of the new proposals of the NCEP. This Transatlantic Climate Dinner Dialogue took place on 6 September 2005 in Berlin.

The United Kingdom put Africa and the Millennium Development Goals high on its agenda for its presidency of the G8 in 2005. In a discussion with Camilla Toulmin - Director of the Institute for International Environment and Development - the impacts of this initiative, its potential and possible implementation challenges were spelled out and debated. The Dinner Dialogue took place in Berlin on 6 June 2005.

Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, presented and discussed her ideas on „Green Ways to Growth“ at an Ecologic/IEEP Dinner Dialogue arranged in her honour on 28 February 2005. Considering the tensions related to emphasising synergies between the economy and the environment on the one hand and the plea for a strong independent environmental policy in its own right on the other, participant statements highlighted aspects of and debated solutions for a green path for growth.

The Ecologic Dinner Dialogue on 17 February 2005 focused on the role of renewable energies in the USA. It was held to honour Jan McFarland and James H. Caldwell. This "zero-emission-pair" has shown great commitment over the last decades for a change in energy supply leading to an increased use of renewable energies in the USA.

International climate policy, the significance of Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and the US elections were the subject at the Dinner Dialog on 6 December 2004. It was held in honour of Oran Young, university professor in the U.S. and in Norway. The institutional structure and goals of the international climate regime, the opportunities, both for the further development of existing structures and agendas and for the creation of possible new regimes as well as the need for concrete action, were vividly and controversially discussed.

The Arctic has been described as an indicator region for global environmental health. Both in the case of persistent organic pollutants and in the case of global warming, detrimental effects on indigenous peoples are becoming visible throughout the region - impacts that will also be felt in other parts of the world. A Dinner Dialogue with John Crump discussed possible impacts and the actions taken by the Arctic Council in response to these threats. The Dinner Dialogue took place in Berlin on 13 October 2004.

International Climate Protection Policy was the subject at the Dinner Dialogue in honor of Lee Lane, Executive Director of the Climate Policy Center in Washington DC. The roots and the role of growing US conservatism as the driving force of American climate policy were controversially discussed, as well as the most efficient and promising approaches to tackle climate change issues. The Dinner Dialogue took place on 6 October 2004 in Berlin.