Environmental Think Tanks in the EU and the USA How influential? - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Environmental Think Tanks in the EU and the USA – How influential? How independent?

• R. Andreas Kraemer

Director, Ecologic Institute, Berlin – Brussels – Vienna, EU Chairman, Ecologic Institute, Washington DC, USA University Zhejiang, Hangzhou, 25-26 August 2010

www.ecologic.eu

http://www.ecologic.eu/ 1995 - 2010

Private, independent, non-partisan, mission-based, non-profit Independent, constructive and competent Voice for: Environment in international & EU affairs International & EU dimension in environment policy Integration of environment into other policies 'Think tank’, 6 founders, Euro 120K core capital, 1.2 m net assets ('09) Governed by company law (business), ‘operative foundation’ 100 Experts & support staff in Berlin, Brussels, Vienna; Washington DC Policy-relevant science, and science-based policy analysis & advisory Project-driven, solution-oriented, inclusive and thus 'trans-disciplinary'

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Ecologic Institute Family Structure

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http://www.ecologic.eu/ 1995 - 2010

1995 Ecologic Institute Berlin, Germany 2000 Ecologic Legal (14 staff lawyers, 2010) 2001 Ecologic Institute Brussels, EU Office 2001 Transatlantic Program 2002 Ecologic Events 2005 Konrad von Moltke Fund (DE chapter 75K Euro, 2009) 2006 Relaw, Clearing House for renewable energy 2007 Ecologic Institute Vienna, Austria 2008 Ecologic Institute Washington, DC 2009 Konrad von Moltke Fund (US chapter 4K US$, 2009) 2010 ...

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http://www.ecologic-institute.us/

• est. Earth Day 2008

Legally and financially independent Public Charity (laws of the D.C.) Qualified under US IRC Sections 170(b)(10)(A)(vi), 501(c)(3), [509(a)(1)] Programs: Policy-relevant work but no lobbying, in six core areas:

Explaining the European Union (and changing the Washington debate) Climate and Energy (e.g. carbon trading & international negotiations) Infrastructure Finance & Economics of Transition (e.g. crisis & stimulus) Transatlantic Dialogues & Exchanges (e.g. farmers, journalists, business) US & EU as Partners in the World (e.g. Arctic, UN, security) Biodiversity and Conservation (e.g. access & benefit sharing)

Dedicated Team of 5+1 (end 2009) at Dupont Circle in DC Focused on Washington DC, with coast-to-coast outreach

5 Michael Mehling

Director, Ecologic Washington

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What is the "Environment" ?

Water, oceans, soil, air, fauna & flora (biodiversity), chemicals, noise, ... Renewable resources (water, timber, fish, cattle, bush-meat, ...) in the wild or in management systems (husbandry, agro-forestry, etc.) Non-renewable resources (minerals, coal, oil & gas, ...) Ecosystem Services (functions), e.g. nutrient cycles, heat transfers, ... Requiring integrity and resilience of ecosystems Resources, but also threats: Floods, droughts, fires, pests, predators, ... Relevant for human health, public health, "livelihood security", ... Space for human life, relevant for identity, mental stability, spirituality, ... Today also "Climate", a currently dominant, global theme Need to integrate environmental concerns into other policy fields ! Many Think Tanks work on specific aspects or in limited geographies; There are only a few "full service environment Think Tanks"

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What is Special about Environment Policy ?

Environmental protection and the rational management of resources are in the public interest (even if on occasion small groups benefit)

This forces environmental Think Tanks into (public interest) advocacy

Environmental concerns are "urgent"; civilization is under threat, but: Environmental concerns are largely "low politics" (except for climate)

This forces environmental Think Tanks to rely on attention-creating events, including environmental catastrophes, and to create regular "events"

Environmental concerns play out in the long run, are "future-relevant"

This forces environmental Think Tanks to work with scenarios ("speculation")

Environmental concerns are global, international, or "trans-boundary"

This forces environmental Think Tanks to think globally and form networks (as there are few truly global environmental Think Tanks: IUCN, IISD, WRI)

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Environmental Science and Policy – The Interface

Environmental science, technology, economics, regulation are dynamic

This creates uncertainties and the need to act on "precautionary principle"; environmental Think Tanks are drawn into controversies This also creates the need for "adaptive (cyclical) policy management"; environmental Think Tanks are drawn into policy implementation

The urgency of the environmental challenge comes from natural sciences Natural sciences say that individual and collective human behavior must change. Legitimacy for some, "eco-dictatorship" for others. Solutions are formulated in terms of technology, planning & zoning etc. Solutions are implemented through social-science approaches, such as economics, political science, law, sociology, psychology, ...

Environmental Think Tanks must be multi-disciplinary or "trans-disciplinary" which lowers acceptance of their science output and risks a loss of credibility

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Global Environmental Think Tanks – Who are They ?

Of Global Relevance, visible at all key international events: International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Canada & CH; the most credibly international (not Canadian) Think Tank; IISD runs the Earth Negotiation Bulletin, a reporting services on multilateral negotiations International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the "World Conservation Union", CH & everywhere; an NGO and a hybrid network of governmental, IGO and NGO members (Ecologic Institute is member) World Resources Institute (WRI), USA; 'classic' US Think Tank with very strong international standing; WRI carried out the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the basis for discussion of biodiversity & conservation policy World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), industry Many behind, but all of mainly national visibility and importance, or relevant only in specific areas, such as water, conservation, oceans, ...

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European Environmental Think Tanks – A Selection

Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), contract research first

• f its kind, most relevant; pioneered comparative implementation research,

partner of the European Parliament (EP), (was) represented on the board

• f the European Environment Agency (EEA)

Ecologic Institute, similar but younger, focus on integration of environ- mental concerns into other policy, partner of the EP, framework (service) contracts with European Commission and EEA Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), governmental core and program funding, complemented by contract research, not only "Skandinavian" Regional Environment Center (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe, analysis and capacity building in countries and regions of transition Institut du Developpement Durable et Relations Internationales (IDDRI), government-created, increasingly academic, strong focus on global issues Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI), network of experts

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German Environmental Think Tanks – A Selection

Öko-Institut, membership-based NGO, advocacy, "full service" think tank Wuppertal Institute, state government-created, partly core-funded, focus

• n climate, energy, production & consumption, industrial transformation

Potsdam Institute, state and federal government-created, largely core- and program-funded, focus on climate change and adaptation Ecologic Institute, extra-academic, science-based & policy-relevant, "full service", international profile, moves into non-environmental policies Environmental Policy Center (FFU), Free University Berlin, academic, contract research, focus on policy-making & governance, international Institute for Ecological Economics (IÖW), extra-academic but scientific, focus on economics and economics policy, increasingly "full service" Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISÖE), extra-academic but scientific, defined "social-ecological" and "trans-disciplinary" science

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Environmental Think Tanks – How to Work in Low Politics ?

Limited influence: Environment remains a marginal policy field; environment continues to deteriorate, persistence of environmentally harmful or "perverse" subsidies Subversive influence: Ideas travel and are "adopted" by politicians,

• rigin in a think tank is forgotten (condition for success of the ideas)

Strategic influence: Good at "packaging arguments" for the longer term, "framing the issues" and "scoping the solutions" Guerilla Tactics: Ambush an issue at the right time. Needs preparedness and "analysis on the shelf" Creating opportunities for influence: Create "policy rhythm" through regular reports, events, press releases etc. ("policy cycle management") ...

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Environmental Think Tanks – How Influential ?

Limited influence, but Influence cannot be measured or compared because of the complexity

• f political decisions, multiplicity of actors and the time-delays involved

But case studies and anecdotes can tell stories of influence For fundraising and recruitment, perception of influence is more important than actual influence

Reputation is more important than influence.

But reputation can easily lead to conflicts with (political or governmental) sponsors or clients. Think Tanks engaged in contract research are in competition with their clients about visibility and media attention

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Environmental Think Tanks – How Independent ?

Independence is in the eyes of the beholder, for instance:

Ecologic Institute is independent because we get all funding in competitive settings, and have diversified sources of revenue (no core funding) Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig (UFZ) is independent because it gets almost all its funding as a core grant from the German Federal Government Resources for the Future (RFF) is independent because about 50% of their annual revenue comes from their own capital and real-estate Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) is independent because they have low fixed costs and are thus resilient when funding goes down Some US Think Tanks are independent because they take no money from governments; some European Think Tanks are independent because they take money only from government.

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Network Example: Konrad von Moltke Network (informal)

Working on "Konrad von Moltke's Agenda":

European Environmental Policy and Law International Trade and Investment International Environmental Affairs and Governance

Members:

Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), London and Brussels International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Winnipeg & Geneva Institute for Sustainable Development & International Relations (IDDRI), Paris Institute for Environmental Issues (IVM), Free University of Amsterdam Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Brussels, Vienna | Washington DC Plus: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London World Wildlife Fund United States (WWF US), Washington DC

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Network Example: Green Economy Coalition (formal)

The Green Economy Coalition brings together environment, development, trade union, consumer and business sectors, North and South. The GEC is committed to a common cause: accelerating a transition to a new green

• economy. (See for details: http://www.greeneconomycoalition.org )

Members: Consumers International (CI), Inspire Foundation for Business and Society (InSpire), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), WWF International, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Ecologic Institute, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, Bellagio Forum for Sustainable Development, Center for Human Ecology, UNEP's Green Economy Initiative; International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Europe, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

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Environmental Think Tanks in the EU and the USA – How influential? How independent?

• R. Andreas Kraemer

Director, Ecologic Institute, Berlin – Brussels – Vienna, EU Chairman, Ecologic Institute, Washington DC, USA University Zhejiang, Hangzhou, 25-26 August 2010