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This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the social and environmental impacts of lithium mining in the Argentine Altiplano. It argues that current UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators often overlook the leadership and lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, creating a gap between global policy and local reality. The document proposes a framework for more inclusive stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and the co-creation of SDG indicators to ensure a socially just energy transition.

This guide from the Stockholm Environment Institute provides a framework for implementing energy-efficient lighting in cities, focusing on the transition from incandescent bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs), LEDs, and efficient fluorescent tubes. It details the technical and financial benefits of these technologies, identifies implementation barriers, and provides case studies from South Africa and international examples to illustrate potential energy and carbon savings.

This guide provides an overview of the necessity and implementation of a transport modal shift in South African cities, moving commuters from private vehicles to public or non-motorized transport to reduce carbon emissions and congestion.

This guidebook, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute and authored by Prayas Energy Group, provides a framework for policymakers to design and implement Super-Efficient Equipment Programs (SEEP). Using the experience of India's program for ceiling fans, it outlines a strategy to accelerate market transformation by providing financial incentives to manufacturers to produce appliances significantly more efficient than current local market offerings at comparable prices.

This report evaluates the public engagement practices of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and its peers to identify best practices for communicating scientific research on climate change. It combines an internal staff survey, a workshop, and a desk study of 10 peer organizations and three in-depth case studies to provide recommendations on improving research impact and institutional learning.

This executive summary, produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute for the Combat Climate Change (3C) initiative, examines how resource scarcity in biomass, metals, and water could hinder the transition to a low-carbon economy. It evaluates various scenarios for resource availability and proposes strategies—including technological innovation, policy shifts, and efficiency improvements—to ensure the viability of green technologies.

This briefing describes UrbanCircle, an initiative by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) designed to help urban centres transition from linear waste systems to a circular economy. The project focuses on converting organic waste—including sanitation wastewater, excreta, and food waste—into commercial products like fertilisers, biogas, and dry fuels to generate revenue and improve public health.

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute discusses the concept of indirect climate change impacts—risks that originate outside a country's borders but are transmitted through biophysical, trade, finance, and human pathways. It highlights a systemic lack of attention to these international dimensions in national adaptation planning and proposes the 'Adaptation Without Borders' project to improve conceptual frameworks and evidence bases for decision-makers.

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the risk of global food price volatility as an indirect impact of climate change, specifically for import-dependent countries. Using Senegal as a case study, it argues that while pursuing self-sufficiency in staple crops like rice can reduce exposure to international price shocks, it may increase vulnerability to direct domestic climate impacts and create a 'rice risk lock-in'. The document recommends a diversification strategy that balances imports with domestic production and promotes a variety of locally grown crops to enhance climate resilience.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has launched an initiative to investigate the cross-sector links between water, energy, and food (the WEF nexus) to support sustainable resource management. The initiative employs a 'nexus toolkit' combining the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system and the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system to provide quantitative assessments and scenario modeling. The program is structured around three themes—governing, understanding, and implementing the nexus—and is being applied through case studies in Myanmar, Zambia, and Colombia to help decision-makers align sector policies and manage resource trade-offs.

This policy brief from the MEDIATION project evaluates the use of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) as a decision support tool for climate change adaptation. While CEA is a primary tool for mitigation, the document highlights that its application to adaptation is more challenging due to the lack of a single common metric and the critical need to account for uncertainty.

This policy brief, produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute in partnership with the 3C initiative, examines the water-energy nexus within the context of a low-carbon transition. It highlights that while low-carbon electricity technologies are essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, some may require as much or more water as fossil-fuel generation, potentially limiting their viability in water-stressed regions. The document provides a detailed case study of California to demonstrate how strategic technology choices—such as prioritizing solar photovoltaics over solar thermal and adopting dry-cooling systems—can simultaneously reduce emissions and water demand.

This policy brief examines the impact of the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) (EU-RED) on palm oil production in Southeast Asia. It argues that the EU's focus on greenhouse gas emissions and its reliance on voluntary certification schemes fail to address severe socio-ecological impacts, including water pollution, land disputes, and the marginalization of local communities and smallholder farmers.

This policy brief describes 'Sustainable Hökarängen' (Hållbara Hökarängen), a 2.5-year pilot project (2012–2015) in an urban district of Stockholm. The initiative, implemented by Stockholmshem, Sustainable Innovation, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), aimed to reduce energy consumption and promote resource-efficient lifestyles through an action-research approach involving residents, local businesses, and stakeholders.

This policy brief summarizes the outcomes of a regional retreat held in October 2017 in Colombia, organized by the Government of Colombia and the Independent Research Forum (IRF). The event brought together policy-makers from 12 Latin American countries to share experiences and identify strategies for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The brief focuses on five key themes: mainstreaming the SDGs into national policy, building cooperation and partnerships, monitoring progress, financing the agenda, and creating spaces for dialogue and learning.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines consumption-based emissions (CBEs) within the European Union, highlighting that the EU is a net importer of CO2 emissions. It analyzes the environmental footprint of EU household consumption, evaluates current policy frameworks, and provides detailed case studies of Sweden, Denmark, and France to identify barriers and opportunities for mitigating CBEs.

This September 2020 report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) provides practical guidance for organizations to track, report, and reduce business air travel emissions. Based on the TR2AIL project, which involved interviews at SEI and the University of East Anglia, the document outlines strategies for setting emissions targets, implementing decision-support tools, and fostering an organizational culture that prioritizes lower-carbon travel alternatives.

This report details a study tour conducted from November 12 to 16, 2012, in the Aguié department of the Maradi region in Niger. Organized by EAA and funded by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) as part of the Triple Green project, the tour aimed to train a working group of government officials and researchers on 'productive sanitation' (AP). The mission focused on the use of hygienized human urine (Takin Ruwa) and feces (Takin Boushashé) as ecological fertilizers, visiting pilot sites in Gazaoua and Madaoua to observe application methods, yield comparisons, and community acceptance.

This policy brief from the Stockholm Environment Institute and UNEP argues that traditional measures of 'water productivity' are too narrow because they often focus solely on agricultural output (e.g., 'crop per drop') while ignoring the essential role of landscape ecosystem services. The document advocates for an integrated water resource management (IWRM) approach that balances agricultural needs with the maintenance of natural water storage and ecosystem functions to ensure long-term sustainability and human well-being.

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluates the environmental integrity of Joint Implementation (JI) during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The authors conclude that approximately three-quarters of JI offsets likely did not represent additional emissions reductions, potentially increasing global greenhouse gas emissions by 600 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.