WRI Europe Strategy 2023-27

The WRI Europe Strategy 2023-27 outlines the World Resources Institute's approach to supporting the energy and climate transition in Europe and leveraging the region's influence globally. The strategy positions the Europe office as an 'enabler' that connects global programs to European funding, regulation, and research, while simultaneously working to reduce Europe's own ecological footprint through targeted interventions in food, land, water, energy, and urban systems.

• WRI Europe operates in three primary roles: as a driver of positive change by supporting ambitious leadership in sectors like energy efficiency and food; as a monitor of Europe's role as a consumer to ensure its footprint aligns with planetary boundaries; and as a partner for change by engaging European donors and foundations, which provide nearly one-third of WRI's total revenues.
• In the Food, Land and Water system, WRI focuses on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), aiming to facilitate cooperation between the EU and producer countries to protect smallholders. Other priorities include the Coolfood initiative, which targets the reduction of the carbon footprint of approximately 6 billion meals per year in Europe, and supporting the Nature Crime Alliance to reduce financial rewards from nature crimes.
• The energy transition strategy emphasizes demand-side solutions to reduce the need for primary minerals and metals, promoting circular design and recycled content in products like electric vehicles. WRI also intends to use its role as host of the Ocean Panel to provide evidence-based insights on deep-sea mining for rare minerals.
• For urban systems, WRI aims to be a knowledge partner for European cities pursuing net-zero transitions, focusing on livable neighborhoods, mobility, and climate resilience. This includes research on nature-based solutions for cooling cities and the material carbon aspects of zero-emission buildings.
• WRI is implementing 'enabling systems' tools to ensure equitable transitions, specifically the Distributional Impact Assessment (DIA) tool. This methodology analyzes how economic changes and policies affect different societal groups to minimize unintended socioeconomic consequences.
• The strategy identifies a tension in the political economy: while there is enduring popular support for climate regulations and a shift toward 'Beyond GDP thinking', there is a rising conservative pushback from industry and agricultural sectors that may seek a temporary halt in environmental regulations ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). WRI Europe Strategy 2023-27. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-05/wri-europe-strategic-plan-2023-27.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. WRI Europe Strategy 2023-27. n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-05/wri-europe-strategic-plan-2023-27.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=WRI Europe Strategy 2023-27 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-05/wri-europe-strategic-plan-2023-27.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendwri, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{WRI Europe Strategy 2023-27}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2024-05/wri-europe-strategic-plan-2023-27.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }