Projects

Project
 
Ecologic Institute, in partnership with Ramboll and I4CE, continues its collaboration with the European Environment Agency in supporting the understanding of costs of climate impacts and climate adaptation. The overall aim of this study is to extract, complement and compile quantitative information on the economic costs and socio-economic impacts of climate adaptation versus costs of inaction in EU27 Member States. The work builds on previous work conducted by the consortium for the EEA which serves as the methodological foundation for this project.

Knowledge Development and Application Concerning Costs of Adaptation Compared to Costs of Inaction

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The Plastic Pirates Plus project focuses on where participation in education needs to be particularly promoted: in school classes with a higher proportion of pupils from socially disadvantaged households. The aim is to give these young people access to the world of science through a low-threshold, practical programme – regardless of their financial or social circumstances. Participation in the project is free of charge and thus deliberately designed so that no child is excluded.

Plastic Pirates Plus: Opportunities along the coast

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This project examines whether Member States are using CAP funding to support actions that lay the foundation for reducing livestock emissions in the next funding period. This includes informing discussions on whether additional policy measures will be needed beyond CAP support, given the necessary increase in climate ambition for the agricultural sector towards meeting the EU’s 2040 climate target.

Mitigating Livestock Emissions Through the CAP – Phase II

An in-depth analysis of livestock-relevant CAP interventions in five case-study countries

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The research project analyses the need for integrated strategies in order to ensure sustainable development and preserve the basis of life. The project focuses on analysing the challenges and interactions between the three crisis areas and the question of how measures can be designed to create synergies between climate protection, biodiversity conservation and the reduction of environmental pollution. More crises are being added, e.g. land degradation and food security.

Challenges for International Climate Protection in the Face of the Global Triple Crisis

Climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution

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The aim of this project is to prepare a report that will serve as the basis for the evaluation report on the Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solution for Climate and Biodiversity (ANK) to be submitted by the Federal Government in 2025. In March 2023, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) published the Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solution for Climate and Biodiversity (ANK) with the aim of significantly improving ecosystems in Germany. It specifically counteracts the dual crisis of global heating and biodiversity loss.

Report to Support the Evaluation of Natural Climate Protection Action Programme (ANK) in 2025

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Rome, like many cities in Southern and Western Europe, is facing significant challenges from climate change, particularly in the form of Urban Heat Islands (UHI). To address these risks, PwC is leading a project funded by the EU's DG REFORM, with the Ecologic Institute playing a key supporting role. This project will develop a detailed UHI risk profile for Rome, integrating data on the city’s demographics, urban layout, transportation systems, and green spaces.

Tackling Urban Heat Islands in Rome

A Collaborative Effort for Climate Adaptation

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Ecologic Institute is working together with Biota and the Michael Succow Foundation to identify concrete and practical conflicts of interest in the restoration of peatlands. In addition, Ecologic Institute supports the identification of needs and deficits, the evaluation and development of legally compliant solutions and guidelines for dealing with these conflicting objectives as well as the development of practical guidance manuals.

Mitigate Conflicts of Interest Between Nature Conservation and Climate Protection in Peatland Protection

Development of Guidelines

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On behalf of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz – BfN), Ecologic Institute, together with other project partners, is supporting the planning and implementation of the national restoration plans. Ecologic Institute actively contributes to the content of the work, in particular through its expertise in the assessment of ecosystem conditions and the development of measures for the protection and restoration of inland and coastal ecosystems.

Supporting the National Implementation of Nature Restoration Targets

Technical analyses and development of measures for inland and coastal areas as well as coordination of the overall project

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Ecologic Institute is preparing an assessment report on "Technological options for reducing plastic waste in the oceans". The report will provide a systematic overview of technologies designed to remove plastic waste from water bodies. The analysis will evaluate technical, ecological and economic aspects as well as risks and benefits. The report will present the current state of knowledge in a concise and scientifically robust manner, identify gaps in knowledge and provide a basis for informed decisions.

Technological Options for Reducing Plastic Waste in the Oceans

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The aim of the project is to obtain as accurate an overview as possible of the ecosystems in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea before the start of intensive human use. This will support the development of a scientific basis for decision-making that will enable the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the North Sea and Baltic Sea authorities to identify the need for political action to establish specific marine protected areas, to reintroduce projects in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea and to initiate appropriate measures.

The German North Sea and Baltic Sea over 100 Years Ago

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The aim of the project is to support German federal and state activities in the development of guidelines for dealing with water scarcity. The focus is on two aspects: the management of acute water scarcity and the strategic, forward-looking authorization of water withdrawals. By analyzing the legal framework, data and forecasts, scientifically sound indicators and prioritization approaches are developed. Special emphasis is placed on the involvement of relevant stakeholders in order to ensure acceptance and practicability.

Guidelines for Dealing with Water Scarcity

A national strategy for the future

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The marine Arctic is facing rapidly changing environmental conditions that are likely to require improved and adaptive management tools to protect its specialized ecosystems. Together with the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) and the Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Center Potsdam (RIFS), Ecologic institute conducts research for the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, supported by the Federal Ministry for Environment (BMUV), on potential new dynamics of Arctic marine protection and adaptive management from different angles.

Dynamic Protection and Adaptive Management – Arctic marine protection facing climate change (DynArc)

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This project will support the European Commission's DG CLIMA to develop policies related to the financing of permanent carbon removal technologies, with an emphasis on mechanisms that can accelerate their upscaling. These include tools like public procurement, public-private partnerships, and EU funding instruments.

Strategy for the Financing of Permanent Carbon Removals

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Project:Horizon Europe
 
The increasing frequency of floods and droughts highlights the urgent need for climate-resilient landscapes. This is where the European research project SpongeWorks comes in, demonstrating sustainable "sponge" measures in river basins across Greece, France, and the Netherlands/Germany. By restoring rivers, wetlands, and implementing innovative agricultural practices, landscapes are becoming better equipped to retain and release water in a controlled way. With 28 partners involved, the project aims to inspire other regions by sharing success stories and tools to promote "sponge landscapes" across Europe.

Implementing Nature-based Solutions for Water Retention and Climate Resilience in Europe (SpongeWorks)

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Project
 
Re-use Logo
In the context of the political goal of strengthening the reuse of used goods, the project aimed at supporting and executing re-use measures in Berlin in order to foster structures and actors in Berlin that bring the used goods market out of its niche. To do so, the project draws on the experience of several predecessor projects including initial pilot tests, networking activities and the opening of the Re-Use Superstore.

Re-use Berlin Measures 2024-2025

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The aim of the project is to support the promotion of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in tropical and subtropical coastal regions. This is to be achieved by strengthening the technical information base, promoting the international exchange of experience and developing and communicating policy- and implementation-oriented recommendations for action to decision-makers.

Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Coastal Regions Worldwide (TROPICAL ADAPT)

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Digital technologies have the potential to close economic loops, reduce CO2-emissions and increase resource efficiency. However, the possibilities of digitalisation for shaping a comprehensive circular economy are far from exhausted. This research project investigates how digital solutions can support consumers in aligning their consumption with sustainable and circular criteria.

Conceptualising and Planning Digital Solutions to Promote Sustainable Consumption for a Circular Economy

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Ecologic Institute supports the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) in preparing the ratification of the so-called BBNJ Agreement and the related German implementing laws. The BBNJ Agreement of June 2023 is a UN treaty and the first multilateral legal framework for the protection of biodiversity on the high seas. Ecologic Institute identifies the obligations for Germany and which of them require new legislation, and drafts legal proposals for implementing provisions.

Implementing Legislation for the BBNJ Agreement

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Livestock GHG-emissions are a significant contributor to agricultural GHG emissions. The latest Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding period has integrated several funding mechanisms designed to support the implementation of environmental and climate friendly practices through measures such as the eco-schemes and the agri-environmental-climate measures. Despite these positive approaches to reduce the emissions from livestock, the CAP still entails the risk of subsidizing high-emissions livestock production, in particular through coupled income support. This underlines the need for better understanding CAP funding mechanism for effective reduction of livestock emissions.

Mitigating Livestock Emissions Through the CAP

A brief analysis of livestock-relevant CAP interventions in five case-study countries

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Oeko-Institut and Ecologic Institute are jointly supporting the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz – BfN) in the necessary further development of environmental legislation at federal level in line with the objectives of the new NBS 2030 and the EU-BDS. The aim of this project is to identify existing deficits in national biodiversity protection and to develop proposals for improvement.

Legal Options for Biodiversity Protection

Implementation of the National Strategy on Biodiversity 2030 (NBS 2030)

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This project supports the European Commission (EC) in enhancing the integration of environmental, biodiversity, and climate goals in the EU budget post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). It provides insights and concrete recommendations for effective, efficient, coherent, and measurable external funding strategies, ensuring that these priorities are mainstreamed throughout budgetary processes to maximize their policy impact. The project's results will feed into the EC's proposal for the post-2027 MFF, expected by mid-2025.

Mainstreaming Climate and Biodiversity Objectives in EU International Funding Programmes in the Post-2027 Period

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The project objective was to analyse several datasets to gather insights on the progress of concepts of just resilience/equity within adaptation planning/policies at both national and sub-national levels in EEA countries. These insights are included in the Just Resilience report, published in 2025 by the EEA and in a separate draft briefing on just resilience at the national/sub-national level.

Data Analysis on Just Resilience

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As part of the implementation of its NDC, the Chinese government is focusing on further developing its climate legislation. According to recent developments, China plans to develop an environmental code with a chapter on climate. The Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) supports the Chinese side by strengthening exchange between experts and stakeholders from the two countries and providing information on German and EU experience in this field. In this context, Ecologic Institute will conduct two studies on German and European climate legislation, one of them focusing on the structure of climate-related laws and their relationship to environmental laws.

Analyses of German and European Climate Law Structure

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Ecologic Institute is conducting a review of the current sanctions regime in emissions trading for the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) and making proposals for improvements to enforcement and the legal situation. The focus of the project is on administrative offence law.

Efficient Enforcement of Sanctions in Emissions Trading Law

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Scaling up nature-based solutions (NbS) to deliver their full range of potential benefits requires coordinated efforts to enhance technical skills, devise innovative financing mechanisms, and improve governance. The ‘EU-LAC Policy Dialogue on Nature-based Solutions’ – an initiative led by the Directorate General of Research and Innovation of the European Commission – aims to establish a regular exchange between the EU and Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) regions around nature-based solutions (NbS) to advance policy uptake and action in both regions.

Supporting an EU-LAC Policy Dialogue on Nature-Based Solutions

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The Brandenburg Action Plan for Organic Agriculture has been implemented since 2022 and aims to increase the proportion of organically farmed land in the state to 20 per cent by 2024. As part of the Action Plan for Organic Agriculture, product-related market information meetings will be organised to bring together market players from the agricultural and food sectors and discuss current developments, challenges and opportunities. These talks are key to strengthening the regional organic value chain and promoting dialogue between producers, processors and marketers.

Market Information Talks for the Organic Sector: Organic value chains for cereals, niche crops, meat and community catering

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The aim of this project is to compile an up-to-date overview of existing scientific studies on the economic valuation of marine ecosystems and their services, as well as on the environmental impacts of the oceans. The aim is to go beyond the consideration of short-term "provisioning services", both in terms of the ecosystem services recorded and in terms of geographical coverage.

Economic Valuation of Marine Ecosystems and Environmental Pressures on the Oceans

An inventory

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The project aims to quantitatively assess the carbon storage potential of the North Sea and Baltic Sea in good environmental status according to the MSFD and in good ecological status according to the WFD. This assessment will provide clear recommendations on how natural climate protection in the seas can be improved and whether the current targets are sufficient from a climate protection perspective.  

Strengthening the Carbon Storage Potential of the North Sea and Baltic Sea

Focus on good environmental status eutrophication

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The Plastic Pirates start a new small project in the autumn of 2024. The new focus this time: the river system of the Danube! The second-longest river of Europe, stretching over 2.850 kilometers, starts in the Black Forrest, and flows through a total of 10 countries before emptying in the Black Sea. The river system includes many important tributaries, for example the Isar, Inn and Lech. The new project focused on the Danube is an addition to the ongoing analysis of the Elbe River System and the German coasts. Gaining further insights in plastic pollution of these water bodies will be the aim of the Plastic Pirates’ 2024 autumn campaign period.

The Plastic Pirates Go to the Danube

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Ecologic Institute acts as partner in a consortium led by COWI on a framework agreement (FWA) to support the European Investment Bank's (EIB) Advisory Services on Lot 6: Bioeconomy. Ecologic Institute will provide a range of services within the framework contract, including for example thematic expertise on sector "Natural resources & natural capital management" and horizontal sub-sectors "Capacity building, knowledge creation and dissemination", "Provision of advice on regulatory matters" and "Climate action – adaptation".

Advisory Services on Bioeconomy

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Ecologic Legal is supporting the German Federal Foreign Office in the international climate negotiations, particularly on the identification and analysis of German, EU and international negotiation positions. This project builds on previous work conducted in the projects on "Scientific and Legal and Support of the Climate Negotiations".

Scientific and Legal Support of the Climate Negotiations

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This project will help identify cross-sectoral (climate action) policies, instruments, and programmes that contribute to a carbon-neutral circular economy in the EU. It aims to identify options to optimise the policy interplay in different regions in order to support the achievement of the European climate action targets and to accelerate ambition increases in this decade and the next.

Cross-sectoral Climate Policies

for sustainable waste management and circular economy in the EU and beyond

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Brandenburg's cabinet adopted a peatland protection program in March 2023, building on the National Peatland Protection Strategy and the 2021 "Climate Protection through Peatland Protection" initiative. The project aims to develop recommendations for communication on peatland protection in Brandenburg, examining the current communication landscape. The Ecologic Institute is commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg.

Communication Concept Implementation of Peatland Protection in Brandenburg

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This project for The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) aims to convey in an effective and accessible way that our actions today have an impact on the future, especially on nature and the livelihoods of future generations. Through carefully designed visualizations that are based on scientific research, we want to show how the climate crisis is affecting nature and the German landscape, and how climate protection and adaptation can prevent damage, mitigate the effects of the biodiversity crisis and ultimately improve our lives.

The Impacts of Climate Change in Germany

Research and Visualization

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The German agriculture sector faces significant climate-related challenges due to extreme weather events along with shifts in temperature patterns, impacting crop yields and biodiversity and exacerbating water scarcity and water quality deterioration. The Panda Fördergesellschaft (on behalf of WWF) is commissioning Ecologic Institute to create a handbook, "Water Stewardship in German Agriculture," aiming to offer practical solutions to enhance water retention, quality, and biodiversity. The handbook will include an overview of Germany's water situation, legal framework, specific measures with contextualised examples, and ways to promote collective action.

Water Stewardship in German Agriculture

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The Pacific Island Countries face severe climate-related challenges affecting water access and sanitation, endangering public health and hindering development. The PacFresH2O project aims to enhance rural communities' water resilience in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands by improving water infrastructure, implementing nature-based solutions and water resource management, integrating climate resilient WASH into national plans, and collaborating with local stakeholders to maximize socio-economic benefits and mitigate climate change impacts.

Protecting Freshwater Resources for Increased Climate Resilience in the Pacific Islands (PacFresH20)

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Project:Horizon Europe
 
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.

GoNaturePositive!

Co-creating a Nature-Positive World

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This project is focused on assessing and improving the impact of Climate-ADAPT through an evaluation that looks both backward and forward. The primary objective of the project is to comprehensively evaluate Climate-ADAPT, including its subsites such as the European Climate and Health Observatory and the EU Mission on Adaptation Portal.

Evaluation of the European Platform for Climate Adaptation Climate-ADAPT

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