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.

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.

The compatibility of national measures to support renewable energy schemes with international trade and investment law was the topic of a presentation by Christiane Gerstetter, Senior Fellow, Ecologic Legal. The presentation was part of the Annual Conference on European Environmental Law of the Academy of European Law at Trier (Germany). The presentation slides are available for download.

The first expert workshop of the discussion series "Improving climate protection – for Paris and beyond" dealt with the topic "Paris 2015 – Signals for non-state actors?" The event took place on 15 April 2015 in Berlin.

On 10 April 2015, Christiane Gerstetter, Senior Fellow in Ecologic Institute's legal team, gave a presentation on the relationship between international trade and environmental agreements at a conference of the Protestant Academy Hofgeismar. The conference centered on the topic: "Natural enemies – Environmental protection and free global trade as a legal and political problem." The presentation slides are available for download.

Where do Canada and Germany stand in the field of renewable energies and energy efficiency? Which initiatives and projects are leading the way? Who is driving development – and how can Canada profit from Germany’s experiences? These and other questions framed the Canadian-German Study Tour that took place from 22 to 28 March 2015 in Berlin and Hamburg, focusing on the theme "Energy Transition in Germany". The study tour had space for 11 high-level participants with professional backgrounds in policy, science, business and NGO works.

A part of the work for the research project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) is the publication of Policy Briefs. These Briefs highlight EFFACE core results and their policy implications and give recommendations for a coordinated EU approach to reduce the broad impacts of crimes against the environment. The Policy Briefs are available for download.

Invited by BfN (Federal Agency for Nature Conservation) and ENCA (European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies), Sandra Naumann, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation titled "Nature-Based Solutions – The Case of Sustainable Urbanization". Drawing on the outcomes from the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities commissioned by DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission and in which Sandra Naumann took part, the talk outlined the EU Research and Innovation Agenda on nature-based solutions (NBS) with a particular focus on sustainable urbanization.

Invited by the IASS (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies) and in cooperation with Ecologic Institute, Michael K. Orbach (Duke University Professor of the Practice Emeritus of Marine Policy) gave a presentation entitled, "Social Sciences in Ocean Policy and Resilience of Coastal Communities – What in the world is going on in America?" Drawing on studies undertaken by Ecologic Institute and Duke University investigating both Germany and the U.S., the talk described the cultural phenomena that underlie public policy regarding climate change in these two countries, with a focus on the U.S.

The new Director of Ecologic Institute, Dr. Camilla Bausch, spoke with Axel Weiß from the Südwestrundfunk (SWR) about her new position at the Institute. During the interview, Dr. Camilla Bausch talked about the Institute's work and achievements, its 20th anniversary taking place this year, and the Institute's formula for success in cooperation and competition with other environmental think tanks. As a climate and energy expert, she also highlighted opportunities and challenges on the road to the UN climate conference in Paris at the end of 2015.

For the past 5 years, Ecologic Institute has maintained a top position in the prestigious ranking of political institutions or "Think Tanks," implemented by the University of Pennsylvania. Moreover, the Institute is currently 16th amongst "Think Tanks to Watch," i.e., those organizations that have earned a particular global profile according to assessment of the consulting experts. Ecologic Institute, founded in Berlin in 1995 and currently employing around 150 individuals, is the only Think Tank among the 55 Think Tanks in Western Europe that specializes in matters relating to the environment, climate, energy and resources and is also the sole organization of this nature among the 70 Think Tanks considered to have the most significant impact on public policy.

On 22 January 2015, R. Andreas Kraemer presented the 2014 Global Go To Index Report of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, the University of Pennsylvania ((TTCSP). TTCSP launched its 2014 Report in the USA at the same day. Simultaneously, more than 50 global partners implemented local events to present the report in the national language and to discuss it with leading think tank representatives in a regional context.

The German research agenda in 2015 focuses on the future of cities ("Wissenschaftsjahr Zukunftsstadt"). This topic is also reflected in the curricula of schools. On 20 January 2015, ninety 9-year-old schoolchildren from Potsdam came together to watch the movie "Der blaue Tiger" and then discuss sustainable urban development from their perspectives. Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, was invited to talk with them about the challenges of urban development, sustainability, the participation of children, and other issues.

Ana Frelih-Larsen, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation to a group of international journalists during an Informational Tour for Journalists and Experts in the context of the Green Week in Berlin. She gave an overview of the process of climate change mainstreaming in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), outlining the underlying scientific evidence base and discussing the basic principles of mainstreaming. She further illustrated the various tools that Member States can use to integrate climate objectives in the CAP 2014-2020 and discussed the key practical aspects and barriers to mainstreaming implementation.