As part of the project CECILIA2050, which examines policy options to improve European climate policies, this report specifically analyzes greenhouse gases reduction potential in the transport sector. After giving an overview of policy instruments in this sector, the authors review transport elasticities and highlight limits to carbon pricing in the road transport sector.
This study by Ecologic Institute examines the current landscape of lighting efforts and initiatives, as well as market growth and development for modern, sustainable off-grid lighting alternatives. The study considers the benefits and costs of upgrades in target regions, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Policy recommendations are given for action from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) that would enhance existing efforts and achieve more rapid black carbon reductions and climate benefits. The study is available for download.
Global population growth, climate change, shifting consumer patterns, competing demands on and the environmental impacts from agricultural land use – the convergence of these issues places food security and sustainable land use in a precarious balance. Ecologic Institute contributed to the report 'Technology Options for Feeding 10 Billion People' commissioned by the STOA Panel of the European Parliament, which outlines the EU's role and potential options for responding to these challenges. The report is available for download.
Naumann, Sandra; Ana Frelih-Larsen; Elizabeth Dooley et al. 2013: Overview and assessment report of decision support tools and knowledge platforms. Ecologic Institute and Aarhus University.
This report provides a conceptual, a legal and an institutional overview of the European Union as well as three Member States – Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom – to highlight prominent regulatory approaches. The three Member States were chosen for their contrasting characteristics: they represent different legal systems, different approaches to governance, and different historical attitudes towards certain regulatory approaches. Besides arguably differing in their overall approach to climate policy, they have chosen different instruments with which to accomplish EU climate and energy provisions. Lastly, while the United Kingdom and Germany are "old" Member States, Poland is one of the "new" Member States of the EU.
The existing measures in Germany are not sufficient to meet the efficiency targets of the Energy Concept and the requirements of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. On behalf of the European Climate Foundation, Ecologic Institute has compared essential proposals aimed at increasing energy efficiency and deduced possible political demands.
Researchers of the project "GLOBALANDS – Global Land Use and Sustainability" have published a comprehensive governance screening analyzing the most relevant international policies with a high impact on global sustainable land use. The report further identifies current "windows of opportunity" to strengthen sustainable land use through international policies. The work was carried out by Ecologic Institute and the Öko-Institut, led by Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute. The discussion paper is available for download.
Ecologic Institute and BIO IS were commissioned by the European Parliament to investigate the potential impacts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on the EU's environmental and food safety policies and the EU's right to regulate. TTIP is currently being negotiated between the US and the EU. The study provides recommendations regarding the role of the European Parliament in the negotiation of TTIP. The study is available for download.
The objective of the DYNAMIX project is to identify policy mixes to absolute decoupling of economic growth from resource use and its associated environmental impacts. This study by Ecologic Institute's Katharina Umpfenbach serves to clarify the shared key assumptions that are used throughout the project and ensure their consistent application. It goes on to present a framework for assessing the effectiveness, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness of EU policy mixes aimed at achieving absolute decoupling. The study is available for download.
Despite the legislation in place and the growing awareness of the need for full cost recovery and incentive pricing in the European water sector, Member States have not yet achieved the objective of integrating these key principles into their water policy. Through a comparative analysis of water pricing schemes and governance structures across selected European countries, a recent study in which Ecologic Institute participated provides practical information on the implementation of the key principles under Article 9 of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The study is available for download.
Climate change has and will continue to have far-reaching impacts on environmental, social and economic conditions. Increasingly, climate change and the associated increase in the frequency of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and rising sea level is recognized as not only having humanitarian impacts, but also creating political and security risks that can affect national/regional stability and the welfare of people. This report presents a comprehensive regional assessment of these questions in the CLICO study area – the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Sahel – and is available for download.
Hirschnitz-Garbers, M. / Porsch, L. (2013): Bürgschaften für die Finanzierung von Aktivitäten zur Steigerung der Ressourceneffizienz von KMU. Kurzanalyse 4 im Projekt Ressourcenpolitik: Analyse der ressourcenpolitischen Debatte und Entwicklung von Politikoptionen (PolRess). www.ressourcenpolitik.de
The Baltadapt Strategy and its accompanying Action Plan on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region were launched and presented during the final Baltadapt Conference. The aim of the Baltadapt Strategy is a connected region with informed actors on all levels, where the specific objective of the Action Plan is to strengthen the capacity for adaptation action at all relevant levels and to enhance adaptive capacity in the region. The aim of the Baltadapt project was to formulate a Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region, as well as an accompanying Action Plan with recommended actions and proposed guidelines for climate change adaptation. Both documents are available for download.
Gerdes, Holger et al. 2013: Ökosystemleistungen. Landnutzung, Lebensqualität und marktbasierte Instrumente in land- und forstwirtschaftlich genutzten Kulturlandschaften. Ecologic Institut, Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Öko-Institut e.V.