Search Climate Insights Directory

This consultation draft policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines climate hazards affecting the agriculture and water sectors in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It analyzes the status of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), identifies critical climate risks such as heatwaves and flooding, and outlines priority adaptation strategies and financing gaps across the region's member states.

The 'Kliimamuutustega kohanemise arengukava aastani 2030' is a national strategic framework designed to reduce Estonia's vulnerability to climate change. It identifies key risks—including rising temperatures, increased winter precipitation, and sea-level rise—and establishes eight priority areas for adaptation: health and rescue capacity, land use and planning, the natural environment, bioeconomy, economy, society/awareness, infrastructure, and energy security. The plan outlines specific goals, metrics, and a budget of 43.745 million euros for the period 2017–2030 to increase the resilience of the state, regional, and local levels.

This executive summary previews a forthcoming book on the economic valuation of ocean services and the consequences of global environmental change. It identifies six primary threats to the ocean—acidification, warming, hypoxia, sea level rise, pollution, and overuse of resources—and argues that these stressors often interact synergistically, accelerating ecosystem degradation. The document advocates for a shift from traditional cost-benefit analysis to insurance-based risk models to account for catastrophic tipping points and recommends the appointment of a UN High Commissioner for Oceans to coordinate global governance.

This report documents a scoping workshop held in Stockholm, Sweden, from September 26-28, 2011, to plan the Arctic Resilience Report (ARR). The workshop aimed to establish a science-based framework for assessing the risks of abrupt, potentially irreversible changes in Arctic social-ecological systems caused by interacting drivers such as climate change and social development. The resulting proposal, approved by the Arctic Council in November 2011, outlines a project to identify tipping points, evaluate resilience, and develop strategies for adaptation and transformation to inform decision-makers.

This technical note by the World Resources Institute describes the development of a baseline water risk model for Ethiopia, using 2015 as a baseline. The model provides subbasin-level estimates of water withdrawal and consumption across irrigation, livestock, domestic, and industrial sectors, combined with 36 years of remotely-sensed renewable water resources data to identify water stress and variability.

This report provides a framework for assessing financial risks related to energy security, water scarcity, and climate change within the commercial real estate sector of South and Southeast Asia, while highlighting the potential for net positive returns from green building investments.

This report by the World Resources Institute provides an overview of the forests in the southern United States, detailing their ecological value, historical decline, and the projected drivers of change affecting their future. It emphasizes the role of private landowners, who own approximately 87 percent of the forest acreage, and explores various market-based and fiscal incentives to encourage sustainable management and conservation.

The World Resources Institute report 'Over Heating' provides a framework for investors and analysts to evaluate how water scarcity and declining water quality impact thermal and hydroelectric power plants in South and Southeast Asia, specifically focusing on publicly listed companies in India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This research paper examines the role of nature-based solutions (NBS) as offsets within corporate climate mitigation strategies, highlighting the balance between the urgent need for NBS financing and the risks regarding environmental and social integrity.

This research paper by the World Resources Institute examines the relationship between water security and global security threats, including conflict, migration, and food insecurity. It identifies the drivers of water risk, classifies the pathways through which these risks manifest, and proposes a variety of multifaceted strategies to mitigate these threats.

This working paper by the World Resources Institute assesses potential future risks to the global climate by analyzing proposed new coal-fired power plants and global coal market trends.

This research paper describes the methodology behind two data products developed by the World Resources Institute, the World Cocoa Foundation, and Climate Focus to address deforestation in the cocoa sectors of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana: the West Africa Cocoa Dataset and the Cocoa Deforestation Risk Assessment.

This report from the World Resources Institute introduces a multidimensional framework designed to help investors identify and evaluate the impact of climate change risk on their portfolios, specifically focusing on the competitive dynamics created by greenhouse gas regulation policies.

The World Resources Institute report examines the reciprocal relationship between water and energy supplies, highlighting how water scarcity threatens energy production and how energy-intensive water treatment is required to meet growing water demands.

This technical note introduces Aqueduct 4.0, a water risk framework by the World Resources Institute (WRI) that translates complex hydrological data into 13 indicators of global water risk. The framework utilizes the PCR-GLOBWB 2 model to analyze current conditions and project future water supply and demand across various climate scenarios for 2030, 2050, and 2080.

This report by the World Resources Institute provides guidance for businesses in Southeast Asia on adapting to climate change, identifying risks and opportunities, and understanding the role of the private sector in supporting vulnerable populations.

This research paper examines how global climate actions may undermine women's land tenure security in three Indigenous matrilineal communities in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. It highlights that failing to account for gender dynamics and traditional tenure systems during the implementation of climate initiatives can lead to the loss of land entitlements and the erosion of matrilineal culture.

This executive summary, authored by Alice Gerow and Frances Seymour for the World Resources Institute, outlines the material risks that non-carbon biophysical effects of tropical deforestation pose to the private sector. It argues that while many companies focus on carbon emissions and reputational risks, the loss of forests directly threatens agricultural productivity and worker health through changes in local temperature and regional precipitation, thereby destabilizing global supply chains.

This executive summary from the World Resources Institute details the threats facing global coral reefs, emphasizing the combined impact of local human activities and global climate change. It highlights the critical socio-economic value of reefs for millions of people and the inadequacy of current marine protected areas (MPAs) in ensuring reef resilience.

This fact sheet from the World Resources Institute describes the threats facing global coral reefs, the socio-economic vulnerability of countries to reef loss, and the projected increase in threatened reefs if local and global pressures are not mitigated.