As part of the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2015, Dr. Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute chaired the session, "Safeguarding our Shores: Social and Cultural Dimensions of Coastal Climate Change Adaptation in Europe and the United States." During the session, the origins and meanings of flood protection programs, adaptation measures and strategies in the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and the US were discussed. The presentations are available for download.

The ECCA 2015 covered a range of issues related to climate adaptation under the theme, "Integrating climate adaptation action in science, policy, practice, and business." The three-day conference took place from 12 to 14 May 2015 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference also featured a poster commercial, as well as three State of Green Tours to see innovative, local adaptation activities in action.

As part of the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2015, Dr. Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute chaired the session, "Safeguarding our Shores: Social and Cultural Dimensions of Coastal Climate Change Adaptation in Europe and the United States." During the session, which took place at the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA), the origins and meanings of flood protection programs, adaptation measures and strategies in the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and the US were discussed. Dr. Nico Stelljes provided a presentation about local adaptation strategies. The presentation is available for download.

Policy makers and environmental groups worldwide are scrambling to prepare for the adoption of a new international climate agreement at the Paris 2015 climate summit in December. However, the very specific language of the UN negotiations and the technical complexity of climate science are not readily understood by the average citizen. The nine-day training course, organized by Ecologic Institute, will include instructive training workshops on a diverse array of topics such as: "The Science of Climate Change" and "UNFCCC: How does a COP work?" All courses are designed to meet the professional needs of journalists and led by a team of experts in climate science and policy.

'One size fits it all' does not apply when it comes to the right indicators for policymaking. The NETGREEN consortium published its interactive tool which collects green economy indicators in addition to helping users navigate through them. This tool incorporated the most important indicators and useful information about each of them. Additionally, an interpretation aid and information about related indicators were provided. By doing, this, the web application provided guidance to policymakers and researchers who want to use and further develop indicators and tools in the field.

Wunder, Stephanie and Franziska Wolff 2015: International Governance Screening of Global Urban Policies and their Impacts on Sustainable Land Use. Discussion Paper prepared by GLOBALANDS Project. Öko-Institut, Ecologic Institute, Berlin.

This policy brief summarises the simulation results of the three models used to track the development of climate policy scenarios in the CECILIA2050 project. In addition, the policy brief also draws insights from a study by Huppes and Huele (2014), which developed a set of building blocks for coherent instrument mixes in respect to European climate governance. Moreover, the policy brief is also based on a comparative analysis of the simulation results of the three models that was conducted by Drummond (2014).

On 29 April 2015, Ecologic Institute US and the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law at New York University School of Law hosted a discussion about the German Energiewende (Energy Transition). The event provided an opportunity for participants to speak with experts with first-hand insight into the Energiewende and the lessons it may hold for policymakers in New York State, currently pursuing their own comprehensive energy reforms. A summary and a video of the discussion are available for download.

The American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at Johns Hopkins University released a report detailing the future of power in a post-carbon society. Max Grünig, from Ecologic Institute co-authored the report with David Livingston. This Policy Report offers German and American perspectives on the emerging fuel challenges in the transportation sector and the importance of post-carbon cities. It is an example of AICGS' commitment to comparing and contrasting the interests and policies of Germany and the United States in an effort to identify common policy challenges, choices and opportunities. The report is available for download.

The upcoming negotiations in Paris on the future global climate regime were the topic of the 30th Cairo Climate Talks in Egypt. Top level participants from the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, the French and German Embassies and Ecologic Institute’s own Dr. Camilla Bausch provided varying perspectives on the challenges and opportunities regarding the upcoming 21st Conference of Parties (COP21). Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Egyptian Minister of the Environment, offered critical insights into the current framework in Egypt, while German Ambassador Hansjörg Haber and French Ambassador André Parant served as hosts for the evening discussion.

Ecologic Institute, in cooperation with the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), organized and hosted an intensive three-day training course for PhD students from 27 to 29 April 2015 in Dessau and Berlin (Germany), entitled "Policy and Regulation of Pollutants in the Environment". The training was part of the CAPACITIE project, one of the prestigious Marie Curie Initial Training Networks (ITNs) funded by the European Commission, which focuses on pollution in urban environments. The presenters held talks focusing on local (city level), national, and EU-level efforts addressing environmental pollution and covered regulatory approaches, methodological tools and practical initiatives. The presentations are available for download.

This study collects and analyses the information from the 28 Member States and their regions and cities on the implementation of the EU Birds and Habitats Directive and management of Natura 2000. Desk-based research including a review of case law were employed to gather information on and analyse the Directives. The study is available for download.

The first Trade Night, held at Ecologic Institute, focused on the environment-related provisions of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a bilateral trade and investment agreement negotiated between Canada and the EU. Trade Nights are a regular series of events convened by Ecologic Institute that provide a forum for the trade community in Berlin to discuss current trade policy issues in an informal setting.

Energy security was the topic of a lively dialogue during the 30th German Canadian Conference in Brussels (Belgium). Representing countries with very different energy and climate policy, Michael Keenan, Associate Deputy Minister of National Resources Canada, and Dr. Camilla Bausch, Director of Ecologic Institute, outlined important aspects of their respective national debate before engaging in an exchange with the high-level participants.