This collection of reports assesses climate and energy policies in all 28 Members States of the European Union (EU). The reports were jointly produced by ICF International, Ecologic Institute and eclareon to support the Directorate General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA) of the European Commission in its contributions to the European Semester. Covering the state of policies in December 2014, the Country Reports provide insight into national policy developments and progress towards the achievement of the EU's climate and energy targets. So called Monthly progress Updates deliver information on more recent developments in the Member States on a monthly basis. The reports are available for download.

In advance of COP21, more than 170 countries have so far pledged to implement national climate actions, INDCs. While the Paris negotiations will decide the future framework for these INDCs, this event looked at means of supporting implementation of national contributions that already exist and could be strengthened. Specifically, the discussion focused on technology needs assessments (TNAs) and current climate finance flows.

In November 2015, the joint statement of the Expert Commission on the "Energy of the Future" Monitoring Process was published. Ecologic Institute provides scientific support to the work of the Expert Commission with a focus on the key topics that Dr. Hans-Joachim Ziesing and the Expert Commission selected for their joint statement. The English summary of the report is available for download.

Waste-based bio-ethanol has the potential to both fight climate change and reduce land competition. However, in order to unlock its potential, support for research and development, as well as an enabling political framework, are needed. In this policy brief, Ecologic Institute's Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers and Jorrit Gosens explain the technology's need of further research and development. The policy brief is available for download.

The objective of this report is to assess the current policy and socioeconomic drivers affecting shipping and other vessels globally and in the Baltic Sea region. The report provides a 'baseline' reference of key policy and socioeconomic drivers against which potential future changes to vessel activity can be assessed.

In total, four technology brochures were published by the DEMEAU consortium. They cover the technologies bioassays, ANCS, AOT and MAR. The technology brochures are aimed at utilities, water associations and technology suppliers. Therefore, they present information with a high level of technical detail.

The RECREATE Policy Brief no.4 examines the case of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in two different application areas: (1) coastal protection and (2) urban drainage systems. It is based on one of the detailed narratives carried out for the RECREATE project. The RECREATE Policy Brief no.4 is available for download.

Duwe, Matthias; Ralph Bodle; Vicky Noens: Climate Finance: Where Do We Stand Before Paris? POLIMP Webinar. 26 November 2015. Web.

With this webinar, the consortium in charge of the European Commission's e-learning on emissions trading officially launches its free online course. The topic of this session, moderated by Ecologic Institute's Elizabeth Zelljadt, is "carbon market dynamics and risks" and features guest speaker Marcus Ferdinand of Thomson Reuters.

Chiabai, Aline; Alistair Hunt; Ibon Galarraga et. al. (2015). Using Cost and Benefits to Assess Adaptation Options. ECONADAPT Deliverable 3.1A.

For more than a quarter century, cutting-edge professionals in Germany and the United States have laid the foundation for a fundamental transformation of the financial industry. Due to their foresight and creativity, the world economy is poised to transition from a fossil fuel-oriented past to a sustainable, clean energy future. Several questions, however, still require answers. How can new opportunities be dynamically leveraged? What new risks are involved and how can they be managed? How best can ESG and sustainability indicators be quantified and integrated into the decision making process? And how do we move forward confidently amidst regulatory and policy uncertainty? Our goal was to determine what questions we should be asking as we set the stage for further research and dialogue, putting those of us committed to protecting the environment and the expansion of prosperity in position to create a dynamic and sustainable future.

The briefing "Supporting delivery of climate ambition through the Energy Union: What is needed from Member States' National Energy Plans?" presents key messages from three research papers that have considered the options for reforming planning and reporting, and related issues that are fundamental to the development of credible governance arrangements for the Energy Union.

The European Commission's "better regulation" agenda requires that new legislative proposals be accompanied by an evaluation of already existing relevant legislation. This study therefore evaluates the EU Emissions Trading Directive in light of potential changes to it within Europe's overall Climate and Energy Package 2030. The report uses a systematic approach to evaluate the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value of the EU ETS Directive. The study is available for download.

A group of 12 decision makers from the Midwest in the USA came to Germany from 15 until 21 November 2015 in order to explore and discuss German energy policy and aspects of structural change in former industrial and coal regions. Participants were able to speak with representatives from ministries, (state) parliaments, think tanks and businesses in Berlin, Cologne and Düsseldorf.

In order to support businesses in improving their resource efficiency, Member States use a variety of approaches, ranging from voluntary to regulatory measures. This study assesses the scope of application of ten relevant measures and provides good practice cases across Member States. Through data gathering on Member State level, this study found a wide range of successful examples of measures, varying by country and region. A number of lessons learnt can be drawn from their application; these are useful for the design of support measures in other Member States. The study is available for download.