The 4i-TRACTION Community of Experts Coffee Hour format is one of the stakeholder engagement activities. This dynamic series of Coffee Hours addresses and engages members of the "Community of Experts", a select group of experts with different backgrounds on the "4Is" of the project: Innovation, investment, infrastructure and integration. Each session explored critical issues in EU climate and energy policies, fostering an open and insightful exchange under the Chatham house rule.

In the light of the financial and economic crisis, the EU has further developed and tightened its regulation of the financial market in Europe. This process has also had an impact on the actors in the European carbon market and their trading strategies. This final report brings together the results of three analyses.

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.

This infographic provides a look behind the scenes and introduces some of the people who make up the heart and soul of the Ecologic Institute. The infographic was developed, designed and implemented by Ecologic Institute's staff members.

The 2020s are the pivotal decade to get on the path to climate neutrality by 2050. EU climate policy needs to rise to this challenge. How must EU climate policymaking evolve to become transformative? This policy brief of the 4i-TRACTION project sets out conceptual hallmarks required for attaining climate neutrality in the EU.

This edited volume provides an overview of the political economy of coal in diverse country contexts. It contains 15 country case studies that have been conducted by renowned researchers along a harmonized framework. Countries studied include Australia, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa, the UK, the US, Turkey and Vietnam.

What makes climate policy transformative? This report sets out the conceptual framing of transformation and transformative climate policies taken in the 4i-TRACTION project.

Comparative analysis of the long-term strategies in Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia finds both commonalities as well as significant differences. The strategies in their current form represent an initial guide for each national transformation pathway towards a net-zero economy in the EU, but will benefit from further specification along the way. There is also presently no evidence of cross-border thinking or a search for joint solutions in the strategies. The publication identifies best practices and weaknesses of these strategies. The analysis has been conducted within the framework of the Climate Recon 2050 project, which is led by Ecologic Institute.

Transforming and decarbonising industry is essential for reaching climate-neutrality and the goals of the Paris Agreement. How can the G7 accelerate the decarbonisation of industry? Ecologic Institute's policy brief maps out a number of opportunities and potential priorities for the German Presidency. The Recommendations are available for download.

This study presents selected (inter)national and regional initiatives for the circular economy, including the European Circular Economy Action Plan and the circular economy in China's 14th Five-Year Plan and shows if and how these strategies take developing and emerging countries into account. Furthermore, the study explores some of the key effects that come with increased circularity. Key topics discussed are the effect on trade in primary raw materials, the shift to bio-based products, a possible reduction in waste exports and knowledge transfer. The report also provides a brief analysis of selected specific measures from the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan of 2020, with a special focus on their potential impact on developing and emerging countries.

This study examines the role of nature-based solutions (NBS) for global climate protection and in international climate policy. It provides a critical assessment of global mitigation potentials of NBS in forests, croplands, grasslands, terrestrial and coastal wetlands, and settlements and provides recommendations for international climate policy such as under ⁠UNFCCC⁠. The results show that the potential of NBS to mitigate emissions is probably overestimated in the scientific literature due to various factors. Nevertheless, NBS can bring multiple benefits for people and the environment and should be promoted actively.

Sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere – 'carbon removals' – is essential to achieve Europe's 2050 net-zero climate goals. This report considers twelve nature- and technology-based carbon removal solutions, evaluating their climate mitigation potential and suitability for deployment across Europe. The report supports the European Commission's development of a certification mechanism for carbon removals.

The European Commission is developing a certification mechanism to incentivise the removal of carbon from the atmosphere. To support its development, this report reviews 24 existing carbon removal certification mechanisms and methodologies and identifies key lessons for mechanism design.

The guidance document on Barrier Removal for River Restoration has been developed by the European Commission, with the support of Eleftheria Kampa (Ecologic Institute) as advisor. The guidance was developed to assist Member States in identifying and prioritising barriers that could be removed to help achieve the target of the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 to restore 25 000 km of rivers to be free-flowing. The guidance document is available for download.