With the plenary speech of the 3rd bioenergy forum Dr. Bernhard Dreher from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Jessica Löhndorf, Fellow at Ecologic Institute introduce the European sustainability requirements for biofuels and vegetable oils, which were transposed into German legislation in 2009. Germany was the first member state to implement the sustainability certification in Europe. The authors explain their practical implementation in Germany.

In this paper, Sascha Müller-Kraenner, one of the founders and a Partner of Ecologic Institute, investigates the nature of the European Union’s relations to third countries with regard to renewable sources of energy and the options available for further developing those relations in order to more effectively exploit the potential of renewable energy. While the EU has the potential to cover its electrical power needs from renewable sources alone, cooperation with third states in the use of renewable energy sources will play an important role – as can be seen in the large-scale Desertec project.

In the first issue of the Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review for 2010, Dominik Müller, fellow at Ecologic Institute and member of Ecologic Legal, reviews "The Renewable Energy Yearbook", edited by Christopher Jones. This yearbook deals with the current state and developments of European politics in the field of renewable energies.

From 15 to 16 October 2009, the Center for Foreign Trade Law of the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster hosted its 14th Foreign Trade Law Day, focusing on energy and climate change. At this conference, Benjamin Görlach, economist for the Ecologic Institute, delivered a presentation entitled "Economic Instruments between Kyoto and Copenhagen: quo vadis Climate Protection?" This presentation is now available as an article in the conference volume.

At the end of this year in Cancún, Mexico, a Roadmap for a binding climate agreement should be in place. After finding themselves at the sidelines of what was a disappointing Copenhagen summit, it is even more important that Europeans now inject new life into the negotiations.

This year, Ecologic Institute turns 15. Since its founding, Ecologic Institute has built a reputation for excellence in transdisciplinary and policy-relevant research. As an environmental think tank, Ecologic Institute uses its extensive project experience and network of partners on both sides of the Atlantic to address a broad range of environmental challenges.

Road transport is the most important driver for increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and is therefore critical to achieving the EU's 20 % greenhouse gas reduction target in 2020. The objective is to decouple economic growth and the demand for transport with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This video (8:36 Min.) visualizes European data on economic growth, transport and greenhouse gas emissions.

In this chapter, Ecologic Senior Fellow Ingmar von Homeyer argues that the institutional structures and processes underlying EU environmental governance have undergone a significant transformation in recent years. Important characteristics of this emerging "experimentalism" in EU environmental governance include the transition of many important decisions into the implementation stage, trans-nationally networked implementation, and the creation of indicators and reporting requirements for regular review and revision of policies.

This article, which is co-authored by Senior Fellow Ingmar von Homeyer of the Ecologic Institute, introduces a special issue of the journal International Environmental Agreements on environmental policy integration (EPI) at the international level. Referring to the integration of environmental concerns into other, non-environmental policies, the concept of EPI has been applied at national and EU-level but has rarely been analysed in relation to the global arena.

In this article in Internationale Politik, Germany's leading foreign policy magazine, Martin Kremer of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) and Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Senior Policy Advisor of Ecologic Institute, discuss the new tools for EU climate foreign policy under the Lisbon Treaty and the possible role of the European External Action Service.

Illegal fishing and logging, and the international trade in illegally sourced fish and wood products, cause enormous environmental and economic damage. Consumer countries contribute to the problem by importing fish and timber without ensuring legality – a problem the EU tries to address with two new regulations. In this briefing paper, Duncan Brack, Heike Baumüller and Katharina Umpfenbach compare the recently adopted EU regulations on illegal fish and timber products. The authors contrast the very different approaches and highlight areas that might need further strengthening.

What is the state of sustainable development in the European Union? The 2009 Eurostat monitoring report reviews the progress and implementation of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. The 2009 monitoring report was published on the Eurostat website.

Under the title "Setting the Course for the Future, not Nursing a Hangover – After the Copenhagen Debacle, Europe Needs an Effective Strategy for Climate Negotiations", Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Senior Policy Advisor at the Ecologic Institute, suggests options for the future external climate policy of the European Union. The article (in German) is available exclusively online from Internationale Politik, Germany's leading foreign policy magazine.

Twenty-one countries share the Mediterranean's coastline, with no single country responsible for its environmental deterioration or its protection. They are collectively responsible for both. Over four decades, the environmental dimension of Europe's policy toward its Mediterranean neighbours has become increasingly prominent. This article by Pamela Lesser, Fellow with Ecologic Institute, Washington DC, published in the Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 20, Issue 2, deals with Europe's environmental policy toward its Mediterranean neighbours and the newly launched Union for the Mediterranean.

Indicators are a major source of information for efficient economic and political decisions and provide basic quantitative support for the elaboration and implementation of policies. On behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW), Ecologic analyses the environmental situation of Austria in the context of the EU-27 Member States published in a brochure in November 2008.