The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provides the basis for concerted international action to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impacts. The Handbook aims at providing an overview of the institutional framework as well as the thematic work undertaken under the convention. It targets governments, researchers, non-governmental organisations and others interested in the international climate change negotiations.

This OECD-report analyses selected public expenditure programmes supporting environmental investments in water supply and sanitation in four OECD countries (Austria, Belgium, France and the German New Länder) with the goal of illustrating a variety of possible institutional arrangements for the management of water sector public expenditure programmes in transition economies.

While Germany has introduced a comprehensive ecological tax reform (ETR) in 1999, Poland has taken only first steps into this direction. In order to intensify the exchange between German and Polish experts from politics, research and NGOs, the Polish Ministry of the Environment together with the German Ministry of the Environment organised a workshop in Warsaw during which the design of the German ecological tax reform and its implications were discussed. Helen Lückge, Fellow at Ecologic, presented the economic implications of the German ETR.

The European Emissions Trading System is a central pillar of German climate policy. After its introduction in 2005, some weak points, however, became obvious so that great hopes were pinned on the National Allocation Plan for the second trading period (NAP II). In their article for DowJones TradeNews Emissions, Helen Lückge and Camilla Bausch discuss if the German NAP II fulfills its economic objectives.

<p>&#13; Sustainable energy and climate change policy with respect to biofuels has become more and more important. In addition to offering a noteworthy alternative to fossil fuels, they also offer carbon reduction potential. However, increasing use of biofuels has led to new challenges in the field of economy, nature protection and social acceptance. Due to these new challenges, one important step is to develop a certification system for biofuels based on criteria of sustainability. Stephanie Schlegel, a Fellow at Ecologic Insitute, presented experiences with the FSC Forest Certification at the workshop ”Sustainable biofuels – How to certify?“, organised by Econsense.</p>&#13;

Between 1990 and 2000 alone, more than 800,000 hectares were built on in Europe. This phenomenon is due to changing lifestyles more than increased population. The amount of space consumed per person has more than doubled over the past 50 years. Today, more than a quarter of the EU's territory has been directly affected by urban sprawl, according to a study by the European Environment Agency, which also suggests potential policies to combat the trend. R. Andreas Kraemer, Director Ecologic, was consulted as an external expert throughout the development of the report.

Between 1998 and 2004, Europe suffered more than 100 major flooding events, including the catastrophic floods along the Danube and Elbe rivers in the summer of 2002. In the wake of these events, the European Commission has embarked on the development of a European policy on flood risk management, resulting in a proposal for a floods Directive that was tabled in January 2006. This paper by Thomas Dworak and Benjamin Görlach tracks the development of the European approach to flood risk management and discusses future options for a European policy on floods.

How can the effectiveness of environmental policies be assessed in retrospect? Have the stated targets of environmental policies been achieved, and if so, was it because of the policies or because of other factors? Have targets been achieved at proportionate costs, or could there have been cheaper options of reaching them? These and other questions on ex-post policy evaluation were discussed at an expert workshop convened by the European Environment Agency and the Environment Agencies of Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK. Benjamin Görlach gave an introduction to cost-effectiveness analysis as an evaluation tool, and presented experiences with ex-post cost-effectiveness analyses of environmental policies in Europe.

Within industrialised countries, oil is a crucial resource for economic success and social well-being. However, the exploitation of the last reserves of the "black gold" is increasingly leading to wars. At the same time, climate change is making energy efficiency essential. Though people have relied on crude oil since the beginning of the 20th century, this reliance will not be possible in the future.

In the future, increases in motorization and traffic capacity will no longer be synonymous with mobility. In particular, inhabitants in rural areas need to consider that short distance public transportation (ÖPNV) will be strongly reduced. The state now anticipates the problem of guaranteeing the public’s general interest in the principle of equal living conditions.

Nature conservation contributes significantly to preserving the natural heritage of Germany. However, conservation has been unable to stop biodiversity loss and the negative effects of intensive land use in such a closely populated country. In this chapter, Rainer Müssner shows how in times of demographic and social change, nature conservation has dangers as well as concrete options as to how to preserve the German cultural landscape.

Since 1950 about the same amount of land was taken into usage for settlement and transport as in the entire history in Germany before. Although the population is decreasing, increases in demand for improved living conditions and growing rates of single households will continue land development. While ecological disadvantages of urban sprawl were recognised long ago, there could also appear – under conditions of population decrease – devastating economic and social consequences.

Which effects does climate change have on the infrastructures near coastlines? Who pays for social security programs in the future? Which potential energy sources are still to be used? Trying to ignore the problems behind these questions is not a sustainable solution.