Meyer-Ohlendorf, Nils 2018: Reforming the EU: What Role for Climate and Energy Policies in a Reformed EU? Discussion Paper for the Working Group Meeting on 24 April 2018. Ecologic Institute: Berlin.

This brief aims to highlight the benefits to business of engaging with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how the EU Horizon 2020 project Knowledge, Assessment, and Management for Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Across EU Policies (AQUACROSS) can assist with the SDGs focused on managing aquatic ecosystems. The business brief is available for download.

Green growth brings about multiple social and economic benefits. Together with Ecofys, Ecologic Institute produced a brochure, which highlights examples of green growth that stem from a range of sectors (energy, buildings, transport, agriculture and industry) and are located throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. The brochure presents cutting-edge technologies, forward-thinking entrepreneurs, smart combinations of financing options, and innovative project designs. The brochure is available for download.

The objective of this case study is to apply the AQUACROSS Assessment Framework (D3.2) approach to study the Faial-Pico Channel MPA. By doing so, the overarching aim is to understand how applying the Assessment Framework and therefore the concept of Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) can lead to new and alternative management approaches for the improved protection and preservation of aquatic biodiversity.

This paper presents an integrated assessment of how EU policies influence aquatic biodiversity in order to determine how EU policies and laws contribute to achieving and/or hindering EU and international biodiversity targets. The authors from Ecologic Institute, IUCN, and ACTeon also discuss whether European policy has a synergistic or conflicting mix of instruments to address the main problems facing aquatic biodiversity, and whether there are any gaps in the existing policy framework. The article is available for download.

AQUACROSS seeks to advance knowledge and application of ecosystem-based management (EBM) for aquatic ecosystems to support the timely achievement of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy targets. The AQUACROSS newsletter delivers insights and shares developments within the Horizon 2020 research project.

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). This 'lite' version of the 2017 monitoring report makes use of the universal language of visuals, offering a shortcut to the essence of the messages delivered through the full version of the monitoring report. It thus provides a snapshot of the key trends related to sustainable development in the European Union. 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.

Ecologic Institute contributed to a practical guide for local-level evaluations of changes in ecosystem services. The approach helps to associate such changes to specific water management measures and enables both monetization and qualitative appraisal of impacts. Possible links between WFD State parameters and specific ESS classes are proposed. The article is available for download.

BASE Consortium 2016: Key Policy Issues in Implementing and Evaluating the EU Adaptation Strategy. BASE Policy Brief # 4.

Ecologic Institute analysed how three key elements of the Paris Agreement are being taken up in the EU: the long-term objectives, the 5-year pledge & review process and the planning instrument "long-term strategies".

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.

In the frame of this project a short study on the policy instrument of specific CO2-emission targets for car manufacturers in the EU is carried out which analyses and evaluates the policy instrument. The foci of the research are two questions: How did the instrument perform regarding the reductions of specific CO2-emissions of passenger cars? And how much can it contribute to reduce overall CO2-emissions of passenger transport in the EU, so as to contribute to reaching the target of the Paris agreement to stay below a warming of 2°C? The short study is available for download.

The EU research project EFFACE assesses the impacts of environmental crime as well as effective and feasible policy options for combatting it, with a focus on the EU. Ecologic Institute designed and developed the EFFACE website which provides an overview of the project objectives, structure and partners as well as events. Furthermore the website provides links to the project findings, publications and policy briefs and hosts the EFFACE Newsletter. An internal area supports the coordination of the project work that involves 11 European universities and think tanks.

Next to steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere is essential to keep average global temperature increases to 1.5°C, and well below 2°C. At this point in time, there is effectively only one realistic and sustainable way to help remove large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere: restoring degraded forests. A strong and reliable governance framework is a pre-condition to restore degraded forests at the necessary scale. A new Ecologic paper discusses how to design such a governance framework for the EU. The paper is available for download.

The EU is currently negotiating a comprehensive reorientation of energy and climate policy for the decade 2020-2030. In this strategy brief, Katharina Umpfenbach discusses how the next German federal government can shape the EU negotiations so as to create an EU electricity market regulation that is conducive to the German energy transition. Four central elements are identified: raising the ambition of energy targets and introducing long-term targets, developing effective oversight instruments to ensure compliance, adjusting the electricity market to the needs of wind and solar power, and initiating an exit strategy for coal firing. The strategy brief is available for download.