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Toward Paris Alignment: How the Multilateral Development Banks Can Better Support the Paris Agreement
The report advocates for Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to move from a "Climate Finance Paradigm" to a "Paris Alignment Paradigm," ensuring all investments—not just designated climate finance—align with the Paris Agreement. Key recommendations include achieving net zero CO2 emissions by mid-century by stopping support for CO2-emitting energy sources, mainstreaming climate risks for a world 3-4°C warmer, and increasing transparency and support for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
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Document type: Report
From the GHG Measurement Frontline
This research paper by the World Resources Institute examines the development of sustainable national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory systems in non-Annex I countries, identifying seven emerging good practices based on case studies from Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, and South Africa.
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Document type: Research paper
Growing in the Greenhouse
This report by the World Resources Institute examines the concept of sustainable development policies and measures (SD-PAMs) as a way to align economic development in developing countries with the goal of limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
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Document type: Report
Sustainability Dashboard Methodology
This guide details the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory methodology used by the World Resources Institute (WRI), covering the reporting period from Fiscal Year 2010 to 2021. It outlines the organizational boundaries, operational scopes, and specific calculation methods for direct and indirect emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards.
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Document type: Guide
The Economic Costs and Benefits of Securing Community Forest Tenure
This working paper analyzes the economic costs and benefits of securing community forestland rights in Brazil and Guatemala, concluding that such investments are low-cost and high-benefit for local communities, nations, and the global society.
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Document type: Research paper
Green and Mean
This testimony by Rob Bradley, Director of the International Climate Policy Initiative at the World Resources Institute, argues that the United States has a critical opportunity to resume international leadership on climate change. Bradley asserts that the global landscape has shifted since the Kyoto Protocol, with major developing nations now proposing their own mitigation plans and the Bali Action Plan providing a framework for inclusive, verifiable commitments from both developed and developing countries. He emphasizes the synergy between climate action and economic growth, highlighting 'green' stimulus packages as a means to create jobs and stimulate recovery following the financial crisis.
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Document type: Statement
Assessing The Post-2020 Clean Energy Landscape
A World Resources Institute (WRI) technical note analyzing the clean energy trajectories of major greenhouse gas emitters and the contents of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) submitted to the United Nations.
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Document type: Briefing
The Role of Assisted Natural Regeneration in Accelerating Forest and Landscape Restoration: Practical Experiences from the Field
This study examines 24 case studies of assisted natural regeneration (ANR) projects to identify success factors for accelerating global ecosystem restoration, biodiversity, climate action, and rural economic development.
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Document type: Case study
Stories from the Living Lab, 2017–2018: A Look at Sustainability in Waste Management, Bike Commuting, and Investments
This report documents three sustainability projects undertaken by the World Resources Institute (WRI) between 2017 and 2018, focusing on waste reduction, bike commuting, and endowment investments, while detailing WRI's broader efforts to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Document type: Report
Faith-Based Participation in Natural-Resource Governance: Communities Defending Life and Territories in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico
This report by the World Resources Institute and the Laudato Si' Research Institute examines the role of faith communities in socio-environmental disputes across Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. It highlights how these actors use spiritual and symbolic dimensions to defend human rights and territories, often viewing their work as a 'defense of life' rather than formal natural-resource governance. The report emphasizes the critical but under-recognized leadership of women and calls for international organizations and governments to recognize faith communities as essential environmental defenders.
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Document type: Report
Extreme Wildfires: A Growing Threat—and a Call to Support Indigenous and Community Leadership
This research paper analyzes tree cover loss from 2001 to 2024 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States, finding that while Indigenous- and community-held lands have lower overall deforestation rates, they are increasingly vulnerable to extreme wildfires. The study highlights a fifteenfold increase in fire-driven loss in Brazil and significant losses in Australia during the 2019–20 season, attributing these trends to climate change and land-clearing fires. It recommends securing land rights, reviving cultural burning traditions, and supporting Indigenous-led fire management to protect biodiversity and climate stability.
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Document type: Research paper
Safeguarding Forests and People
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.
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Document type: Report
Methodology & Data: Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity
This guide details the methodology and data sources used by the World Resources Institute (WRI) to create the Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity. The atlas identifies global areas of forest loss and evaluates the feasibility of restoration by contrasting potential forest coverage with current coverage and human pressure.
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Document type: Guide
GHG Mitigation in Brazil's Land Use Sector
This research paper by the World Resources Institute provides an overview of Brazil's greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation plans within the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector, which is the country's largest source of GHG emissions. It evaluates the status of key initiatives—including the PPCDAm, PPCerrado, and the ABC Plan—and identifies systemic barriers to their effective implementation.
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Document type: Research paper
Using Accountability
This briefing examines the role of accountability tools in land-use planning and permitting through case studies in Brazil and Indonesia to provide recommendations for the design of national REDD+ programs.
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Document type: Briefing
Statistical Land Use Change Emissions From Deforestation and Land Occupation for Crops
The World Resources Institute and collaborators developed a geospatial dataset providing benchmark land use change (LUC) and land occupation (LO) emission factors for 42 major crops for the period 2020–24. The dataset aims to harmonize corporate GHG reporting by providing standardized, jurisdiction-level metrics. 2024 national averages reveal high variability in emissions per tonne of crop, such as soy in Brazil (1.67 tCO₂e) versus the US (0.40 tCO₂e), and highlight that subnational data is necessary to identify emission hotspots.
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Document type: Research paper
Avoiding Bioenergy Competition for Food Crops and Land
The report argues that dedicated land use for bioenergy is unsustainable and unrealistic because it competes directly with food production, animal feed, and carbon storage. It recommends phasing out crop-based biofuels and those requiring dedicated land, suggesting that solar photovoltaics offer a far more land-efficient alternative for energy generation.
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Document type: Report
Turning Points: Trends in Countries’ Reaching Peak Greenhouse Gas Emissions over Time
This research paper by the World Resources Institute analyzes global trends in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions peaking, tracking the number of countries that have peaked or committed to peaking between 1990 and 2030.
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Document type: Research paper
Interpreting INDCs: Assessing Transparency of Post-2020 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets for 8 Top-Emitting Economies
This research paper by the World Resources Institute evaluates the transparency of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) of eight major emitting economies. Using the 'Open Book' framework, the paper identifies transparency gaps that hinder the assessment of national and global ambition, particularly regarding land-sector accounting and market mechanisms. It provides estimated emissions trajectories through 2030 to quantify uncertainties resulting from these gaps and offers recommendations for governments and UNFCCC negotiators to improve reporting clarity.
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Document type: Research paper
The Future Electricity Grid
This report by the World Resources Institute examines the growth of renewable energy and the resulting technical, institutional, and economic challenges facing decision-makers in developing countries as they transition to a future electricity grid.
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Document type: Report