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This 2009 report by Edmundo Claro for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the integration of sustainable development—specifically environmental and labor standards—into Chile's trade and investment policies. While Chile has actively included these themes in many of its free trade agreements (FTAs), the report identifies significant gaps in its foreign direct investment (FDI) framework and its approach to climate change.

This report analyzes the evolution of Peru's trade and investment policies from the 1990s through 2009, focusing on how sustainable development standards—specifically labor and environmental regulations—have been integrated into its national agenda. The author argues that these standards were primarily driven by external pressures and conditionalities from trade agreements, most notably the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, rather than internal priorities.

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the 2009 amnesty program initiated by the Nigerian Federal Government for militants in the Niger Delta, questioning whether financial compensation can resolve deep-seated socio-economic grievances.

This document presents the 'Co-Chairs' Recommendations' from a workshop held in Cape Town on 24-25 June 2009. The event, hosted by the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), aimed to raise awareness of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy among African civil society organizations (CSOs) and explore ways to increase their participation in its implementation.

This case study by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) details a deep energy efficiency retrofit of the Empire State Building in New York City. The project focused on reducing thermal loads and upgrading systems to achieve significant energy savings and carbon reductions, utilizing an integrative design process and life cycle cost analysis to balance financial returns with environmental goals.

This report by RMI argues that nuclear power is an uncompetitive and inefficient solution for climate change compared to decentralized alternatives. The authors contend that nuclear power suffers from escalating capital costs, high financial risk, and slow deployment speeds, making it unattractive to private investors. They suggest that 'micropower'—including wind, solar, and cogeneration—along with end-use efficiency, provides a more cost-effective, reliable, and secure path to reducing carbon emissions.

This report details the proceedings of the Africa Trade and Climate Change Dialogue held in Johannesburg on May 7-8, 2009. The event, organized by ICTSD, IISD, and SAIIA, brought together African trade officials, policy-makers, and experts to examine the intersection of trade policy, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development. The dialogue focused on identifying policy priorities and research gaps to prepare African countries for the UNFCCC Copenhagen summit, specifically addressing vulnerabilities in agriculture, the need for predictable financing, and the diffusion of low-carbon technologies.

This 2009 research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute maps the climate change finance portfolios of five institutions: three bilateral finance institutions (AFD, KfW, and JICA) and two multilateral institutions (EIB and NEFCO). The report analyzes the scale, regional and sectoral distribution, and financial instruments used for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, while identifying barriers to effectiveness and opportunities for future coordination among bilateral finance institutions (BFIs).

This report demonstrates a criteria-based approach to comparing sanitation systems for municipal planning across three contexts: Sweden, South Africa, and Mexico. It finds that while centralized waterborne systems are often the social norm, they frequently suffer from financial and operational unsustainability. Conversely, dry urine-diversion systems consistently show superior environmental performance and resource conservation, despite lower socio-cultural acceptance and higher household-level management requirements.

This document contains the proceedings of a two-day workshop held in August 2009 by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and EcoSanRes. The workshop focused on the legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks required to promote the sustainable reuse of nutrients from wastewater, human excreta, and greywater across various global regions.

This research paper examines the challenges of identifying and ranking countries that are "particularly vulnerable" to climate change for the purpose of allocating adaptation funding. The author argues that vulnerability is a poorly defined concept without an agreed metric, making any attempt to create an objective vulnerability index a political rather than a purely academic exercise.

This report, titled 'México: Estudio sobre la disminución de emisiones de carbono (MEDEC)', provides a comprehensive economic and technical evaluation of low-carbon development options for Mexico. It identifies 40 specific interventions across five key sectors—electricity, oil and gas, end-use energy, transport, and agriculture and forestry—to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. The study compares a 'baseline' scenario of continued fossil fuel reliance against a 'MEDEC' scenario, demonstrating that Mexico can stabilize its emissions at 2008 levels while maintaining economic growth through a combination of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable land management.

This policy brief from the Stockholm Environment Institute argues that rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a critical, low-cost tool for enhancing ecosystem productivity and human well-being. It highlights RWH as a decentralized alternative to large-scale water infrastructure that supports rainfed agriculture, urban water security, and climate change adaptation.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute synthesises the impacts of agricultural water management (AWM) interventions across 37 cases in developing and newly-industrialised countries. Using the sustainable livelihoods framework, the authors evaluate changes across five capitals: natural, financial, social, human, and physical. The review finds that while AWM interventions generally lead to positive outcomes—particularly in income and yield—there is a significant lack of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation, especially regarding negative externalities and long-term sustainability.

This research paper explores the financing of climate change adaptation in developing countries, focusing on the intersection of adaptation and poverty reduction. It examines the costs of adaptation, methods for generating and channeling funds, and the effectiveness of spending strategies to support the world's poorest communities.

This fact sheet by the World Resources Institute outlines the foundational agreements and key points of contention leading up to the December 2009 climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark, including the roles of the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Bali Action Plan.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute synthesizes country submissions to the UNFCCC regarding technology and financial support for climate mitigation, mapping party positions across the stages of innovation from research and development to commercial deployment.

This policy brief examines China's increasing influence in the agribusiness, hydropower, and mining sectors of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, driven by China's demand for inexpensive natural resources.

A transcript of a December 2008 address by Jonathan Lash of the World Resources Institute outlining key environmental questions for 2009, focusing on green economic stimulus, U.S. climate legislation, U.S.-China relations, and global forest protection.

A statement by Friends of the Earth International criticizing industrialized Annex I countries for their lack of commitment to emission reductions and financial support for developing nations during climate talks in Poznan.