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Research Fellow Mónica Trujillo argues that forests and biodiversity must become a cornerstone of global climate action, noting that current international climate finance—at only 4% for forests—does not reflect their importance. The author calls for a shift toward measurable goals, binding actions, and a transformation of consumption patterns in high-income countries to support a sustainable bioeconomy.

This document contains the independent auditors' reports and consolidated financial statements for the World Resources Institute (WRI) and its subsidiaries for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2022, and 2021. The reports, prepared by Grant Thornton LLP, provide an unmodified opinion on the financial statements and compliance with federal award requirements under the Uniform Guidance.

This executive summary of the 2021 NYDF Progress Assessment report evaluates government efforts to utilize forests for climate mitigation, focusing on the ambition of climate pledges, investment levels, and implementation strategies. While it notes that the Paris Agreement has confirmed the pivotal role of forests, the report finds that current national targets and financial investments are significantly insufficient to meet the global mitigation potential of forests.

The October 2021 Goal 7 Progress Report on the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) assesses government actions to enhance climate change mitigation through forests. While it concludes that Goal 7—confirming the role of forests in the international climate agenda via the Paris Agreement—has been achieved, it warns that overall progress toward ending forest loss and GHG emissions by 2030 is insufficient. The report outlines six strategic areas for government action: strengthening governance, securing Indigenous and local community rights, aligning economic incentives, promoting multistakeholder collaboration, improving monitoring, and expanding demand-side measures for forest-risk commodities.

This October 2021 report evaluates progress toward Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), focusing on national climate actions for forests. While it acknowledges that the Paris Agreement confirmed the role of forests in the international climate agenda, the report concludes that current efforts are insufficient to end forest loss and associated greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for governments to improve forest climate mitigation through six key strategies: strengthening land-use governance, securing Indigenous peoples and local communities' rights, aligning financial incentives, promoting multi-stakeholder collaboration, ensuring robust monitoring, and expanding demand-side measures for forest-risk commodities.

This report by the Forest Declaration Assessment evaluates progress toward Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), focusing on national climate actions for forests. It argues that while the Paris Agreement has recognized the role of forests, current government actions are insufficient to stop forest loss and GHG emissions by 2030. The document provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for governments to increase mitigation ambition, align financial flows with climate goals, and implement six specific strategies ranging from governance reform to demand-side measures in importing countries.

This annex to the 2021 NYDF Goal 7 Progress Report provides technical and economic mitigation potential estimates for forest-related activities, analyzes the ambition of forest targets in National Determined Contributions (NDCs), and estimates the global finance needs and public finance flows for forest mitigation.

This document presents the consolidated financial statements and independent auditor's reports for the World Resources Institute (WRI) and its subsidiaries for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2016, and 2015. It includes statements of financial position, activities, and cash flows, alongside detailed notes on accounting policies, investments, and significant grant contracts.

This policy brief discusses the development of Safeguard Information Systems (SIS) for REDD+, emphasizing that these systems can be built upon existing national and international architectures rather than requiring entirely new mechanisms.

This research paper details the development and evaluation of a soil moisture module for the DO3SE (Deposition of O3 for Stomatal Exchange) model to better estimate how soil water deficits influence stomatal conductance and ozone flux in European forest trees.

The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) is a multi-stakeholder framework adopted in 2014 and refreshed in 2021 to protect and restore global forests. Its key targets include halting natural forest loss by 2030 and restoring 350 million hectares of degraded land, which could mitigate over 7 billion tons of CO2e annually. The document identifies agricultural commodities (soy, palm oil, beef, and paper) as the cause of roughly half of global deforestation and emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in forest protection.

This case study describes how the University of Alberta's Centre for Earth Observation Sciences (CEOS) uses IBM InfoSphere Streams software and a network of sensors to monitor climate change impacts on boreal and tropical dry forests in Canada and Latin America in real time.

This report provides a framework for REDD+ countries to establish national systems for implementing the seven UNFCCC REDD+ safeguards. It details a structure based on goals, functions, rules, and institutions, and advises governments to assess existing institutional gaps before implementing new laws or agencies to protect biodiversity and local people's rights.

This case study by the World Resources Institute examines how Chile can integrate the non-carbon biophysical effects of forests—such as albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—into its national climate policies. The document argues that while Chile has ambitious climate goals, its current frameworks primarily focus on carbon, overlooking the significant local cooling and rainfall regulation provided by forests. It suggests specific improvements for Chile's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Long-Term Climate Strategy, and REDD+ programs to better account for these biophysical benefits.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute (WRI) argues that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must account for the non-carbon biophysical effects of forests to effectively address climate stability. The authors explain how forests influence temperature and rainfall through albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols, noting that tropical deforestation contributes significantly more to global warming than carbon-only metrics suggest. The document proposes six specific pathways for UNFCCC Parties to integrate these biophysical impacts into national reporting, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD+ finance, adaptation planning, the Global Stocktake, and the IPCC's 7th Assessment Report cycle.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute explains how forests influence the climate through non-carbon biophysical processes and argues that the UNFCCC should integrate these effects into its policies, reporting, and financing to better support climate mitigation and adaptation.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute (WRI) explains how forests influence climate stability through non-carbon biophysical processes and argues that the UNFCCC should integrate these effects into its policies. The document details four primary biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—and proposes six specific pathways for UNFCCC parties to account for these effects in national reports, NDCs, REDD+ financing, adaptation planning, the Global Stocktake, and IPCC assessment reports.

This document is an independent auditors' report and consolidated financial statement for the World Resources Institute (WRI) and its subsidiaries for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2024, and 2023. It provides a detailed accounting of the organization's financial position, activities, cash flows, and compliance with U.S. federal award requirements (Uniform Guidance).

This document is a management response from the World Resources Institute (WRI) to an external review conducted by Philanthropy Support Services (PSS) Inc. between January and March 2012. The response evaluates WRI's progress regarding its 2008-2012 Strategic Plan and outlines management's agreement with recommendations for the subsequent 2013-2017 planning period, focusing on global expansion, institutional innovation, and the balance between research and practical implementation.