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The document argues that multi-stakeholder NBS initiatives, which have already achieved mitigation and sustainability outcomes, are well-positioned to expand their impact by integrating climate adaptation. It highlights that NBS can be more effective and cost-efficient than business-as-usual interventions, particularly for vulnerable and marginalized groups. The paper identifies opportunities for scaling adaptation through better coordination, sharing tools from adaptation-focused organizations, investing in pilots, and leveraging political momentum. However, it notes that these initiatives are hindered by barriers such as limited technical expertise on adaptation and insufficient funding.

The paper examines climate change as an issue of injustice, specifically how environmental challenges interact with socio-ecological and economic systems to undermine the rights of poor, marginalized, and vulnerable populations. It analyzes the historical treatment of equity in climate negotiations to identify key issues for a new agreement and explores how climate justice narratives can mobilize domestic demand for climate action.

The paper examines the history of international climate cooperation since the early 1990s to identify ways to enhance the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It specifically analyzes the roles of science, equity, and leadership, while drawing lessons from the Kyoto Protocol's compliance committee, the Talanoa Dialogue, and the existing transparency framework to inform the application of the Paris Agreement's Rulebook.

The report argues that businesses in Southeast Asia must adapt to inevitable climate impacts, such as sea level rise and extreme weather, to maintain a competitive edge. It highlights that while the private sector lags behind governments and non-profits in adaptation efforts, there are 'win-win' opportunities to align business profit with the needs of the region's most vulnerable populations.

The document examines the necessity of transitioning from unmanaged electric vehicle (EV) charging to smart charging (VGI) to prevent grid overloads and better align with solar generation. Based on a survey of Honda EV owners in the US, it finds high interest in VGI programs driven by environmental and financial motives, though significant concerns persist regarding data privacy and battery life, particularly among BIPOC, lower-income, and female respondents.

The report investigates the relationship between school bus fleet age, fuel type, and the socioeconomic characteristics of the communities they serve in the United States. It finds that the oldest and most polluting buses are concentrated in districts with higher proportions of low-income households and residents of color. However, as of December 2022, electric school bus commitments have largely targeted districts with lower incomes, more residents of color, and poorer air quality, driven by federal and state programs prioritizing disadvantaged areas.

The paper advocates for transforming traditional monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) into a locally led process to better support climate adaptation. It emphasizes the need to balance power asymmetries, prioritize local knowledge, and ensure that MEL creates value for local actors rather than serving only upward accountability to donors. The author provides a framework of considerations—such as addressing structural inequalities and prioritizing learning—and recommends specific operational steps for funders and practitioners to increase local agency and effectiveness in adaptation interventions.

The document identifies seven key principles for water adaptation: gender, equity, and social justice; inclusion of Indigenous and local knowledge; participative and bottom-up engagement; access to appropriate technologies; adequate finance; effective water governance; and strong political support. It emphasizes that climate change impacts are primarily experienced through the water cycle, manifesting as more frequent and intense droughts, storms, and flooding, which threaten health, food security, and political stability.

The report contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions, failing to account for biophysical processes—such as evapotranspiration and albedo—that make tropical forests critical for cooling the planet. This omission leads to overly conservative credit valuations for tropical nations and indigenous communities, while potentially overvaluing credits from higher latitudes. The authors suggest integrating these biophysical benefits as premium attributes or CO2 equivalents to ensure a just transition and better incentivize large-scale forest conservation.

The document argues that climate change disproportionately affects the world's poorest populations, particularly regarding food security and economic growth. It asserts that to limit warming to 2°C, a significant majority of known fossil fuel reserves must remain unused. Furthermore, it highlights that transitioning to renewable energy and energy efficiency can drive job creation and economic growth, citing examples from China and Germany's policy frameworks.

The transport sector accounts for 24% of global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, with road transport comprising nearly three-quarters of that total. To limit global warming to 1.5 °C, the IPCC projects the transport sector must be zero-emission by 2050. WRI employs a systems-thinking approach to decarbonization, focusing on eight key areas: clean energy integration, roadmapping and policy, fleet electrification, sustainable e-mobility, integrated climate planning, equitable transition, consumer behavior, and sustainable materials. WRI's global team of over 100 experts provides research, implementation support, and stakeholder coordination to ensure the transition enhances social equity and minimizes ecological damage.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) offers a comprehensive technical assistance menu for school districts transitioning to electric school buses, covering five stages: foundation setting, planning and procurement, charging infrastructure, testing and training, and deployment and scaling. The initiative aims for an equitable transition of the U.S. school bus fleet to electric by 2030, prioritizing districts in underserved communities.

The research paper contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, failing to account for the biophysical processes of tropical forests—such as evapotranspiration and albedo—that contribute significantly to global cooling. This omission leads to overly conservative crediting for tropical regions and an underestimation of their mitigation potential, which the authors estimate could provide an additional 1.4 to 1.8 gigatons of CO2-equivalent annual mitigation. The paper also highlights the concept of 'positive biophysical leakage,' where protecting forests enhances the resilience of surrounding landscapes against wildfire and drought. To address these inequities, the authors recommend that norm-setting bodies balance risk assessments, allow for premium pricing based on non-carbon attributes, and work toward quantifying biophysical effects as CO2 equivalents.

The report contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions, ignoring four key biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—that allow tropical forests to cool the planet. This omission leads to a significant underestimation of the climate mitigation potential of tropical forests, which the authors claim contribute 50% more to global warming prevention than carbon alone. The document highlights that conservative risk-management standards (such as additionality and leakage tests) further penalize tropical forest credits, particularly in High Forest Low Deforestation (HFLD) countries. It proposes that these non-carbon benefits be treated as additional attributes for pricing or eventually quantified as CO2 equivalents to ensure a more equitable transition for indigenous peoples and local communities.

The report contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, failing to account for four key biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—that allow tropical forests to cool the planet. This omission leads to an underestimation of the mitigation potential of tropical forests, which could provide an additional 1.4 to 1.8 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent mitigation per year. The authors argue that this creates an inequitable system that penalizes tropical nations and indigenous communities while overvaluing forests in higher latitudes. To correct this, the document recommends incorporating biophysical effects as additional credit attributes, recognizing 'positive biophysical leakage' that enhances landscape resilience, and developing long-term methods to quantify these benefits as CO2 equivalents.

The document outlines how forests influence climate stability through four non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols. It argues that ignoring these effects leads to an undervaluation of tropical forests, as tropical deforestation contributes 50 percent more to global warming than carbon-only metrics suggest. The authors propose six specific mechanisms for UNFCCC Parties to integrate these effects into official processes, including GHG inventories, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD+ reporting, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), the Global Stocktake, and the IPCC's 7th Assessment Report cycle.

The briefing explains how forests influence climate through non-carbon biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—and proposes six specific mechanisms for the UNFCCC to integrate these effects into national reporting, NDCs, REDD+, adaptation planning, the Global Stocktake, and IPCC assessments.

The Joint Benefits Authority (JBA) is a proposed governance and finance model based on the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) structure. It aims to overcome the challenges of siloed city departments and tight budgets by pooling resources and using advanced capital planning to deliver multi-purpose, nature-based infrastructure. The JBA focuses on capturing co-benefits, pioneering creative municipal financing, and advancing social equity by prioritizing underserved neighborhoods. The concept is currently being piloted in San Francisco through a partnership between the World Resources Institute, Encourage Capital, the Liquid Assets Project, and the San Francisco Public Utility Commission, with funding from the Kresge Foundation, Spring Point Partners, and the Moore Foundation.

The report outlines seven key transformations—infrastructure design, service provision, data collection, urban employment, financing, land management, and governance—to close the urban services divide. It assigns specific roles to city governments, national governments, civil society, the private sector, and the international community to ensure that urban growth is inclusive, climate-resilient, and sustainable.

WRI is implementing a climate change investment strategy to transition its portfolio to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, aiming for alignment with a 1.5°C future. The strategy is based on five objectives: identifying material climate issues, reducing climate-related risk, increasing investments in a low-carbon transition, conducting climate-focused engagement, and disclosing progress. Key actions include maintaining 0% exposure to fossil fuel companies and increasing private equity commitments to sustainable investments to 15% of the portfolio by 2022.