The Mission Ocean and Waters service portal is now live and serves as a comprehensive one-stop-shop for stakeholders, offering essential tools, contacts, knowledge, matchmaking, financing, and support for the successful execution of the EU Mission "Restore our ocean and waters by 2030". The service portal ensures access to knowledge for all citizens while extending support and technical assistance to Mission Partners actively involved in the Mission Ocean and Waters implementation.

In some EU Member States, water balances have been in place for a long time, whilst for others this is a new field of water management. To support their development and use, an EU guidance document was adopted in 2015; however, there are still major challenges for their implementation. The analysis for this report has grouped these challenges (based on Member State self-assessments as well) in four clusters.

According to the European Commission, almost 26 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated annually in the EU. And since we learned how to produce plastic, humans have manufactured more than 8.3 billion tonnes of it – most of which ended up as a waste product somewhere on the planet. This process leads to plastic waste entering the landscape, rivers, beaches, and eventually ocean. So how can we possibly address a problem of this size?

The 4i-TRACTION research has identified additional instruments with untapped potential and possible game changer qualities, that can help tackle challenges of transformative change other policies struggle to address. In this side event, the 4i-TRACTION project presented three policy instruments that can support transformative change: transition plans for banks, public procurement for climate neutrality and integrated infrastructure planning.

With climate change, the impacts of water scarcity and droughts are becoming of increasing concern in Europe. Water allocation mechanisms are major levers to increase water resilience, however, little work has yet occurred on the topic at EU level. This report, prepared in cooperation with members of the ad-hoc technical group on Water Scarcity and Droughts of the EU Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the Water Framework Directive (WFD), reviews the literature and practice for water allocation mechanisms. It identifies key challenges in EU Member States and highlights examples of methods in place.

This report elaborates the main challenges faced by water management institutions in implementing e-flows in EU Member States, presents country progress in developing relevant good practices and presents relevant implementation examples.

In the economic climate podcast "The Price is Hot," Benjamin Görlach, along with Johannes Eber and Nils Hesse from Die Dezentrale, discussed global trends and developments in the context of emissions trading and CO₂ prices.

In this study published by the European Commission, a first assessment is made of the strategic decisions made by Member States for the use of EUR 307 billion in support of agriculture and rural areas between 2023 and 2027. It maps the choices made in the CAP Strategic Plans (CSP) approved in December 2022 and analyses the joint efforts and potential impacts of Member States’ choices in relation to the nine specific objectives and the cross-cutting objective, with a focus on selected Green Deal targets.

Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow of Ecologic Institute, held an online speech at the 8th International Forum on Environmental Rule of Law "Climate Change and Carbon Neutral Legal System: International Metropolitan Dialogue" on 6 November 2023 in Shanghai. He gave an overview of Germany's Federal Climate Change Act (KSG), its impact in Germany, and the current revision of the KSG.

Lina-Marie Dück, Fellow of Ecologic Institute, presented a case study examining climate change litigation in Germany at a workshop held online in Beijing and Berlin. The study highlighted seven distinct cases, encompassing matters related to climate mitigation at both federal and state levels, as well as within specific administrative decisions concerning project approval.

A Cities Talk Nature Global Engagement Event was organized as part of the INTERLACE project in Envigado, Colombia and streamed online on 23 and 24 November 2023 to explore these topics in more depth. Entitled ‘Rethinking urban-rural linkages for people and biodiversity’, the conference convened over 100 municipal actors and practitioners from Europe and Latin America interested in harnessing the potential of NBS in their cities and regions. Co-organised by UCLG, Humboldt Institute Colombia and Ecologic Institute, the event featured diverse formats, including field visits, practical workshops, and peer-to-peer discussions.

A new report by the Ecologic Institute and the Oeko-Institut explores the role of carbon removals in the EU's climate framework for 2040. The report gives an overview of past trends in carbon removals in the EU, and explores possible contributions from natural and technical sinks to reaching the 2040 climate target. With a focus on measures and policies governing and incentivizing carbon removals, the report also examines the extent to which temporary and permanent carbon removals can contribute to achieving the EU's 2040 target.

In October 2023, it was time for the "Plastic Pirates" team of the Ecologic Institute to leave their desks and embark on a quest to find plastic waste. In autumn weather, the "Eco" Plastic Pirates explored the river Havel in Berlin-Spandau and made some interesting discoveries. Among their findings were 502 cigarette butts, 120 bottle caps, and 45 plastic bags.

The project's ambition is to contribute to the systemic transformation needed for a nature-positive economy through collaborative multi-stakeholder research and innovation to provide clarity and guidance for policy, industry and society.

The INTERLACE Urban Governance Atlas was launched in 2023. It invites political decision-makers, urban planners, researchers, civil society organizations, and all interested parties to delve into the success stories of 250 political instruments from 41 countries. These instruments support nature-based solutions and tools for ecosystem restoration. The Atlas aims to showcase what has made them successful, the lessons learned in their design and implementation, and the governance approaches they employ. Developed by the Ecologic Institute, the infographic provides a clear overview of what the Urban Governance Atlas is and who can benefit from it.