An European study shows that the rebound effect repeal energy and resource savings between 10 and 30 percent. Therefore, the adverse effect should already taken into account when designing policy instruments to improve efficiency. If the measures are combined skillfully, the rebound effect can be decreased. The results of the project conducted by BIO Intelligence Service, GVSS, and Ecologic Institute are summarized in the journal articel. The article is available for download.

"Helios to the Rescue" – This is what Sascha Müller-Kraenner and Martin Kremer recommend to the economically weak Greeks in their "Internationale Politik" online article of the same title. What makes Greece so especially capable of producing renewable energy and what is preventing progress in this direction? Müller-Kraenner, Advisor of Ecologic Institute, and Kremer, Senior Fellow at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, analyze these issues and caution against passing up timely opportunities for investment and growth.

As part of the BiogasWorld, an international fair for biogas technology, Ecologic Institute's Wolfgang Urban gave a lecture on the further development of the German Renewable Energies Law (EEG) in 2012 and its implications for biogas and biomethane. Additionally he presented results of the monitoring process the EEG has undergone. The presentation slides are available for download.

This short movie features different perceptions, approaches, and solutions in regard to climate change adaptation in Germany, Poland, and the Baltic States. The footage was recorded during a workshop series in Szczecin, Gdansk, Klaipeda, and Riga from 24 to 28 October 2011. Scientists and local stakeholders from Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia comment on climate change and climate adaptation. Local problems and solutions in the different countries are described, and the advantages of an international exchange of experience are emphasized.

Ecologic Institute's lawyers Dr. Volker Hoppenbrock (Fellow) and Anke Rostankowski (Associate) have contributed to the latest commentary on the German Renewable-Energy-Law (EEG). The new issue of this practice-oriented legal standard work deals with the EEG which is one of the most important cornerstones of German environmental energy law.

Two thousand and eleven has proven to be yet another exciting and intellectually enriching year for our institute. In our sixteenth year of researching and shaping European environmental policy, we not only continued to provide high quality and innovative expertise to the European community, but we also grew consistently – both in our diversified staff and our competencies. Our Project Handbook 2011 is available for download.

As part of the German Energy Agency's Annual Conference of Biogas Partnerships, Dr. Wolfgang Urban (Ecologic Institute) informed the participants about the role of biogas in the Renewable Energies Act (EEG). He explained the political guidelines of the Germany Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and presented monitoring results as well as principal changes in the new EEG. The presentation slides are available for download.

This article provides a stock-take of the state of the European Union's (EU) position heading into the climate change negotiations in Durban in late 2011. A long-time champion of an effective global system under the auspices of the UN, the EU finds itself in a difficult position as the future of the Kyoto Protocol is seen to being a stake at the summit in South Africa. With a number of other industrialised countries jumping ship and declaring their unwillingness to continue the Protocol in a Second Commitment Period, the EU is feeling ever more exposed and under pressure to declare for the continuation of Kyoto.

Technology transfer is an important part of ongoing efforts at climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a central issue in negotiations between developed and developing countries. In a German publication for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Christiane Gerstetter summarises the state of the debate prior to the Durban climate summit.

"Limited Freedom above the Clouds: Aviation Becomes Part of European Emissions Trading Scheme" was the topic of the 20th Climate Talk, hosted by Dr. Camilla Bausch and Benjamin Görlach of the Ecologic Institute, as well as Dr. Susanne Dröge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) on 21 November 2011.

Adaptation to climate change: What does this mean in practice? Where can I find support and orientation, what good examples already exist? Answers to these questions can be found in a brochure prepared by Ecologic Institute on behalf of the Competence Centre on Climate Impacts and Adaptation (KomPass) of the German Federal Environment Agency.

Martinez, Grit; Bray, Dennis (2011): Befragung politischer Entscheidungsträger zur Wahrnehmung des Klimawandels und zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel an der deutschen Ostseeküste. Ecologic Institut Berlin & Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht. RADOST-Berichtsreihe, Bericht Nr. 4.