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This report summarizes a virtual workshop hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) on June 23, 2022, focused on the monitoring and modelling of water retention projects in the Canadian Prairies. The event brought together 20 participants from government, academia, and industry to share research on the effectiveness of small dams, retention ponds, and wetlands in managing water quantity and nutrient loads, specifically phosphorus. The workshop highlighted the technical challenges of monitoring in cold climates, the use of new technologies like UV-Vis spectrometers, and the need for better business cases to encourage the adoption of natural infrastructure by agricultural producers.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) evaluates the costs and economic benefits of 10 water retention projects implemented between 2014 and 2020 in the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District of Manitoba. The analysis finds that for livestock producers, the average benefit-cost ratio is 3.16, with benefits including improved water quality, extended grazing, and reduced operational costs. While most projects showed a positive return on investment, those on crop-only farms were more likely to have costs outweighing benefits due to high upfront construction expenses.

This report details a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of wastewater treatment infrastructure options for the Hartenbos estuary in South Africa, evaluating their impact on water quality, nutrient loads, and potential for agricultural water reuse.

This report details a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of a tree-planting initiative in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, concluding that nature-based infrastructure (NBI) provides greater societal value and climate resilience than grey infrastructure alternatives.

This report presents a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of planned reforestation and water retention wells in Indonesia's Brantas River basin, demonstrating that nature-based infrastructure is more cost-effective than traditional reservoirs and provides significant societal benefits.

This policy brief argues that Community-Based Water Monitoring (CBWM) is a cost-effective and scientifically rigorous method for collecting long-term water quality data across Canadian watersheds. It advocates for a shift from short-term competitive grants to long-term core funding to prevent the loss of technical capacity and the creation of 'dark data' that cannot be used for policy decisions.

A research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluating the sustainability and economic feasibility of ecotechnologies for recovering carbon and nutrients in Sweden, Poland, and Finland using a bottom-up cost-benefit analysis.

This final synthesis report by the Centre for Environmental Rights provides strategic and technical guidance on managing sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from old solid fuel combustion plants in South Africa, specifically focusing on Eskom and Sasol facilities. The report utilizes a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to recommend minimum emission standards (MES) based on plant lifetime and economic viability, concluding that reducing SO2 emissions is technologically feasible and provides significant net societal benefits through improved public health and macroeconomic growth.

RMI's research paper 'Clean Power by the Hour' evaluates the costs and emissions impacts of hourly carbon-free energy procurement strategies across seven global electricity markets to determine how matching electricity demand with supply on an hourly basis affects grid decarbonization.

This technical report describes the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology and its application to various infrastructure types to calculate the costs of environmental, social, governance, and climate risks, as well as externalities. It specifically explores how SAVi can be integrated into Indonesia's Vision 2045 (IV2045) system dynamics model to better inform low-carbon development and investment strategies by bridging top-down national planning with bottom-up asset-specific analysis.

This executive summary, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute in May 2021, analyzes the potential for hydrogen resource usage in Estonia between 2020 and 2050. It evaluates the hydrogen value chain—production, storage, distribution, and consumption—across the transport, industrial, building, and power sectors. The report identifies the transport and chemical industries as the primary areas for decarbonization and outlines the necessary investments, infrastructure, and policy measures required to transition to a hydrogen economy.

This report presents a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of three stormwater infrastructure options in the Paterson Park Precinct of Johannesburg, South Africa: a grey concrete culvert, a nature-based stream renaturalization, and a hybrid solution. Using data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the study compares these options through an integrated cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and climate change scenario analysis over 20- and 40-year horizons. The findings demonstrate that nature-based infrastructure is the most cost-efficient and climate-resilient choice, providing significant co-benefits in flood mitigation and water supply.

This policy brief argues for increased investment in resilience in Malawi to mitigate the rising economic costs of extreme weather events. It introduces the 'triple dividend' of resilience—avoided losses, unlocked development potential, and co-benefits—and provides evidence from various sectors and regions showing that such investments are highly cost-effective compared to humanitarian aid.

This policy brief by RMI argues that New York State should prioritize energy efficiency and electrification over new gas infrastructure following the rejection of the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline. It contends that expanding gas capacity is incompatible with the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and that demand-side investments are the most cost-effective way to ensure energy reliability and meet decarbonization targets.

This report presents a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of the Poçem and Kalivaç hydropower projects on the Vjosa River in Albania, concluding that these assets generate higher costs to the state, environment, and communities than they provide in benefits.

This report provides a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of the Kalivaç and Poçem hydropower projects (HPPs) on the Vjosa River in Albania. It compares these projects against hypothetical solar PV and onshore wind alternatives, integrating environmental, social, and economic externalities into cost-benefit analyses (CBA), levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and financial performance models. The assessment finds that the HPPs are uneconomic and socially costly compared to solar PV, primarily due to high dredging costs and significant losses in agriculture and tourism.

This report applies the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology to a planned Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) system in Dwarka, New Delhi. It argues that while conventional cost-benefit analyses show the system is financially deficient, an integrated analysis including environmental, social, and economic co-benefits demonstrates a positive net value across all demand scenarios.

This case study examines the adoption of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) by District Watch Group, a Cape Town-based security company, to improve operational resilience and reduce costs. The company has integrated 8 BMW i3 EVs into a 60-vehicle fleet, demonstrating a significant reduction in maintenance and fuel expenses compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

This report provides a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of selected eco-technologies for wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery across three catchment areas in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). By combining CBA with multi-criteria analysis (MCA), the study evaluates the economic efficiency of various technologies compared to baseline scenarios, focusing on the recovery of phosphorus and nitrogen and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

This report by the NewClimate Institute examines the potential of renewable energy mini-grids to help Kenya achieve universal electrification by 2022. It argues that mini-grids are often more cost-effective than national grid extension for rural and remote areas and can provide significant socio-economic and climate benefits, though they remain under-represented in national planning documents like the 2018 Kenya National Electrification Strategy (KNES) and the 2017-2037 Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP).