The report summarises the results of a ReFoPlan project that dealt with interactions between the three agendas, possibilities of their integrated implementation and the development of Sustainable Adaptation Pathways. It provides an overview of the background and objectives, work packages, analysis results and the events held as part of the project.
Publication:Knowledge for Future – The Environment Podcast
To achieve the EU climate targets, a lot of money will have to be invested – according to estimates by the EU Commission, an additional 350 billion euros per year by 2030. In order to avoid greenwashing and ensure that these funds actually flow into sustainable economic activities, the EU taxonomy has been in place since 2020. What are the weaknesses of the taxonomy, and how could it be further developed in the future?
As part of the "Private Households" dialog forum project, a fourth online dialog forum was held on December 1, 2022. The event focused on the Citizen Science project "Germany saves food!". This results report provides an overview of the core content of the presentations, the survey results and the discussion content. The results report is available for download.
This briefing by Michael Jakob and colleagues' reviews some of the major developments in global climate politics in the past year and looks ahead to 2023.
The German Environment Agency (UBA) is pleased to announce the 6th European Resources Forum – "Transformative approaches for sustainable resource use and a circular economy."
The fourth online dialogue forum "Private Households" took place on 01 December 2022. The event focused on the Citizen Science project "Deutschland rettet Lebensmittel!". More than 70 participants from civil society, science, administration, and associations exchanged views with the Dialogue Forum team and three speakers from the field on actions carried out during the action week, (survey-)tools and initial findings from the Citizen Science project during the three-and-a-half-hour event.
This analysis shows that there is considerable potential in Germany to facilitate, stimulate, and ultimately increase the use of recycled materials through political regulation and incentivization. It provides recommendations for a successful policy mix to increase the use of recyclates.
Climate adaptation and climate protection are among the most important challenges of our time and have therefore become a major policy responsibility. The same applies to protecting biodiversity and ensuring the availability of water. Nature-based solutions (NBS) can play an essential role in addressing these challenges, as they are multifunctional and can generate high synergy effects. But what exactly are NBS, what do they have to do with climate adaptation, and can they be implemented? Sandra Naumann, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, answered these questions in an interview with adelphi. The interview was published in the fifth issue of the Center for Climate Adaptation's Newsletter.
In light of current experiences in energy markets, Western democracies, and the EU in particular, are exploring new supply chains and strategies to reduce their raw material dependence on China. The findings presented here by the authors of this study provide an overview of the main options that the EU can currently use to counter the pressures of growing dependencies. This study discusses some positive examples of feasible circular approaches that aim to achieve savings in the use of rare earths.
On 13 September 2022, the online workshop "Strengthening supply chain resilience: identifying climate risks and taking adaptation measures" was held as part of the Climate Adaptation Week organized by the BMUV. The workshop documentation summarizes further information on the various presentations and recommendations, including further links.
The online workshop on 28 November 2022 dealt with three political approaches to promote plant-based diets in Germany. Around 30 experts discussed the three approaches in the five-hour workshop: The institutionalisation through a federal programme and a foundation, urban and spatial planning, and vocational education and training.
51 years ago, on 14 October 1971, the Federal Government's Environmental Programme was adopted and has lost none of its relevance to this day. On the occasion of the conclusion of the contemporary historical study on German environmental policy since 1971 conducted by Ecologic Institute, an exciting analysis is now available.
On 23 November 2022, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, participated as an expert in a hearing of the Hessian State Parliament's Committee for Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection on the Government draft of a Hessian Act on the Promotion of Climate Protection and Adaptation to the Consequences of Climate Change. Together with about 40 associations and experts, he commented on the draft law and answered questions from members of parliament.
Diverse crop rotation, mechanical weed control, beneficial insects to protect crops: According to a study commissioned by BUND, standard practice in organic farming could also be used more often by conventional farmers. Aaron Scheid from the Ecologic Institute and author of the study in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio about non chemical plant protection measures.
Pesticide reduction, which is urgently needed, is already anchored as a goal in the German coalition agreement between SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP and also in the EU Commission's Farm to Fork Strategy. However, in order to motivate farmers to use non-chemical alternatives, some adjustments are still necessary. A financial compensation is an important part of this. We cordially invite you to the launch of the BUND study "Alternatives to chemical-synthetic pesticides in agriculture" and appreciate your interest.