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The document examines the relationship between environmental justice and the success of conservation strategies, specifically Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). It argues that ignoring social dimensions—such as distributive equity, recognition of rights, and inclusive decision-making—increases the risk of project failure through social conflict and sabotage, whereas integrating these criteria improves ecological outcomes and long-term efficiency.

The SEI Initiative on Transforming Development and Disaster Risk (TDDR) addresses the paradox where development often acts as a root cause of disaster risk rather than a means to reduce it. Using a social-ecological systems (SES) framework, the initiative focuses on three research areas: understanding the interaction between development and risk, exploring equitable social-ecological resilience, and investigating adaptive governance processes. The goal is to generate knowledge and a synthesis framework to transform development into a tool for risk reduction, while monitoring the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The report finds that India's LPG subsidy system is highly regressive, primarily benefiting wealthy urban households while the poorest fifth of the population receives less than 1% of the total direct subsidy. While an initial household cylinder cap of six in September 2012 temporarily limited subsidy growth and improved distribution, subsequent increases of the cap to nine and then 12 cylinders effectively reversed these gains. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) program is criticized for failing to decouple subsidy receipt from fuel consumption and for introducing administrative inefficiencies without improving equity or fiscal responsibility.

The Green Economy Coalition outlines a vision for a global economic transition that prioritizes ecological limits and social equity over traditional GDP growth. It emphasizes that economics is the 'language of power' and must be used to influence treasuries and boardrooms. The briefing identifies five critical action areas—natural systems, people, economic sectors, financial flows, and governance/measurement—and discusses the role of Rio+20 as a stepping stone toward this transition. It also addresses the tension between the need for economic growth in developing nations and the imperative for resource contraction in developed nations, proposing concepts like the circular economy and 'beyond GDP' metrics to resolve the impasse.

The document argues that Caribbean states are highly vulnerable to ecological limits, climate change, and economic instability, necessitating a shift toward a 'green economy'. It identifies systemic barriers such as political disincentives, brain drain, and outdated regulations, while proposing a foundation based on human security, good governance, and pan-Caribbean cooperation. The proposed green economy model emphasizes reducing dependency on high-carbon energy imports, optimizing domestic supply chains, and implementing 'triple bottom line' business principles to ensure long-term prosperity and social equity.

The MMSD North America project, facilitated by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the University of Nevada, Reno, produced a final report titled 'Towards Change' which proposes ten recommendations to shift the North American mining industry toward sustainable development. These recommendations focus on addressing legacy issues, improving operational practices through a 'Seven Questions to sustainability' framework, enhancing capacity for research and equity, and adjusting economic models to include social and environmental considerations.

The report presents a taxonomy of future global scenarios divided into three classes: Conventional Worlds, Barbarization, and Great Transitions. It argues that while current trends in population growth, economic expansion, and technological change drive the system, human agency and policy choices can steer the world away from collapse and toward a sustainable paradigm. The authors contrast 'business-as-usual' trajectories with visionary transitions that prioritize equity and ecological health over material growth.

The report documents the environmental and social history of the Betolaza, Circunvalación, and Uretamendi neighborhoods in Bilbao. It highlights how residents historically organized to combat recurrent forest fires through the creation of vegetable gardens, managed their own water distribution systems over 12 years, and supported each other during major floods in 1977-78 and 1983. The text describes the deep connection between the community and the surrounding Arraiz and Pagasarri mountains, as well as the loss of urban gardens in Uretamendi due to municipal landscaping. This work is part of the IntegrateNbS project (2024-2026), which aims to implement inclusive nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and social equity.

The document examines the concept of 'just resilience,' which seeks to ensure that climate adaptation does not create new winners and losers or reinforce existing marginalisation. It identifies three core dimensions of justice—distributive, procedural, and recognition—and argues that adaptation must address structural drivers of vulnerability such as wealth, gender, and ethnicity. The paper highlights maladaptation risks, where technical solutions can inadvertently increase long-term risks or displace vulnerable groups. It reviews policy examples from Australia, South Africa, the EU, and Canada, and discusses emerging trends like the rights of nature and locally led adaptation. Finally, it addresses barriers to implementation, including resource constraints and the need for equitable international climate finance mechanisms.

The document outlines nine core principles of resilience science, defining resilience as the capacity to cope, adapt, and transform amidst uncertainty. It emphasizes that resilience is a cyclical process of learning and innovation that requires diversity, strong social and ecological relationships, and the active management of trade-offs. The text argues that investing in resilience reduces future costs and requires addressing power imbalances and historical injustices to ensure equitable outcomes.

The IISD argues that trade liberalization and sustainable development are not inherently incompatible, but that the current 'monothematic' approach of the WTO excludes critical environmental and development concerns. The document calls for a shift in the international trade system to place development at the center, rebuild trust with developing nations, and integrate environmental and social equity into trade policy to avoid 'green protectionism' and ensure sustainable growth.

Thailand is promoting a bioeconomy to escape the middle-income trap and reduce social inequality, focusing heavily on the industrial processing of sugarcane and cassava into high-value products and biofuels. While integrated into national strategies like Thailand 4.0 and the 20-year National Strategy, the transition faces significant hurdles, including land and water scarcity, low wages for sugarcane workers, and environmental pollution from field burning.

The SEI Environmental Strategy for Myanmar (2019-2028) establishes a ten-year framework to support Myanmar in meeting its commitments to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Paris Agreement. The strategy is organized around four primary themes: water resources management and agriculture, gender, environment and development (GED), sustainable energy, and climate change, disasters and development. SEI aims to bridge science and policy through collaborative research, capacity building for state and non-state actors, and the deployment of decision-support tools. Key priorities include improving water security in the Central Dry Zone, promoting a just transition to low-carbon energy systems, and addressing gender-based inequalities in resource access and decision-making. The strategy emphasizes a partnership-led approach to foster institutional transformation and enhance community resilience against climate-induced disasters.

The document identifies critical gaps in current disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts, specifically the neglect of cultural and contextual factors in vulnerability assessments. It argues that DRR, climate change adaptation, and development are currently 'siloed' and must be integrated to avoid unsustainable patterns of exploitation and loss. The authors call for a shift from top-down, expert-driven governance to transformative, bottom-up approaches that incorporate local knowledge and non-economic assets. To achieve this, they propose using holistic, mixed-method research tools, such as Knowledge Elicitation Tools (KnETs), to better understand the tacit drivers of decision-making and organisational culture.

The Water Beyond Boundaries (WBB) initiative by the Stockholm Environment Institute proposes a new approach to sustainable water planning based on three pillars: early ecosystem consideration, multi-interest/scale participatory approaches, and water (tele)connections. This framework is designed to address the increasing difficulty of water management caused by growing demand and a changing climate, emphasizing the need to move beyond watershed-based planning to include impacts across countries, regions, and generations, while centering poverty alleviation and social equity.

The report highlights the potential for the climate transition to create a net increase of 375 million jobs over the next decade, particularly in energy, construction, and the nature-based economy. It identifies three primary barriers: the lack of workforce integration in transition strategies, outdated skills systems, and insufficient short-term financing for human capital. To address these, the report introduces a 10-point Action Agenda centered on intentionality, innovation, and investment, calling for a global initiative to provide technical assistance and shared knowledge to help countries and industries implement these strategies.

The document argues that while climate action has the potential to reduce social inequalities, these opportunities are currently untapped. It emphasizes that lower-income and disadvantaged populations face the highest barriers to accessing clean solutions and are disproportionately burdened by the costs of climate policies. To achieve a just transition, the paper suggests moving beyond social co-benefits toward the proactive empowerment of underserved groups.

The paper examines 21 examples of locally led adaptation (LLA) across Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Caribbean and Latin America to provide strategies for financing and implementing resilience efforts. It argues that LLA redresses power imbalances by prioritizing the agency of local organizations and Indigenous peoples, who are often best positioned to identify adaptation solutions. The document recommends that funders and governments increase the volume and flexibility of climate finance, integrate social equity into standard processes, and shift governance to center local priorities.

The Joint Benefits Authority (JBA) is a framework for municipal governments to move away from siloed agency funding toward integrated capital planning. By creating an independent entity for collaboration, the JBA allows multiple city departments to pool resources, issue bonds, and leverage new investments to scale natural infrastructure. This approach aims to quantify undervalued co-benefits, such as reduced heat island effects and improved mental wellbeing, while advancing social equity by integrating community leadership directly into the project team for decision-making and long-term stewardship.