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2,369 documents from International Institute for Sustainable Development
Responsible Agricultural Investment for Building Robust Legal and Policy Frameworks
This fact sheet describes the advisory and capacity development services provided by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to help low- and middle-income governments and regional bodies establish legal and policy frameworks for responsible private sector investment in agriculture.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Agriculture: Future Scenarios for Southern Africa – A Case Study of Zimbabwe’s Food Security
This report analyzes the Zambian livestock sector, identifying that rising food prices are driven by high fuel and feed costs, disease outbreaks, and poor infrastructure. It highlights a significant gap between agricultural potential and actual land/water utilization, and critiques the implementation of the National Agriculture Policy and the Fertilizer Support Programme.
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Document type: Report
Alignment: A key element of successful financing strategies for climate change adaptation
This briefing note by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that financing strategies for climate change adaptation in developing countries must be aligned with broader national development plans and other international financing frameworks to avoid fragmentation and maximize resource mobilization.
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Document type: Briefing
Understanding the American market for eco-certified fish
A fact sheet detailing the demand for eco-certified fish in the United States, specifically focusing on the market for fish from Manitoba and the preferences of younger American consumers.
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Document type: Fact sheet
In Pursuit of a Binding Climate Agreement: Negotiators expand the mitigation tent but reinforce the ambition gap
This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the outcomes of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC held in Durban, South Africa, in 2011. It evaluates the progress made toward a binding global climate agreement, the operationalization of financing and adaptation mechanisms, and the remaining gaps in mitigation ambition.
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Document type: Report
Background paper on Vattenfall v. Germany arbitration
This background paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the international arbitration case of Vattenfall v. Germany. It analyzes how the Swedish energy utility Vattenfall used the Energy Charter Treaty to challenge German environmental restrictions on a coal-fired power plant, highlighting the tension between international investment protections and a state's ability to regulate for the environment.
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Document type: Report
Balancing Trade Growth and Environmental Protection in the ASEAN: Case studies from the Mekong subregion
This report examines the tension between trade liberalization and environmental conservation in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It highlights how rapid economic growth and infrastructure development have exacerbated illegal wildlife and timber trade and increased vulnerability to climate change, while regional governance remains hampered by non-binding agreements and limited administrative capacity.
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Document type: Report
Opportunities and Domestic Barriers to Clean Energy Investment in Chile
This report analyzes the clean energy market for electricity generation in Chile, examining the current state of the electricity grid, investment trends, and the regulatory framework. It identifies significant potential for non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) but highlights substantial economic, regulatory, and financial barriers that hinder large-scale adoption.
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Document type: Report
Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) in Developing Countries
This report examines the potential, status, and barriers facing Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) in developing countries. It analyzes how ESCOs use energy performance contracting (EPC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, highlighting China as a major success story while identifying systemic financing, administrative, and policy hurdles in other regions.
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Document type: Report
Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations: Basic Concepts
This guide provides a glossary of basic concepts related to fisheries subsidies negotiations, defining maritime zones, the roles of different states, and technical terms regarding fish stock sustainability and capacity.
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Document type: Guide
The Benefits of Green Public Procurement (GPP) - Evidence from the IISD GPP model
This fact sheet outlines the economic and environmental benefits of Green Public Procurement (GPP) based on the IISD GPP model, highlighting that GPP can offset its own costs through energy, health, and environmental savings.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Performance Requirements in Investment Treaties IISD Best Practices Series
This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines how performance requirements (PRs)—stipulations imposed on foreign investors to achieve specific development goals—are treated in international investment treaties. It analyzes the tension between the use of PRs to foster sustainable development and the prohibitions on such measures found in WTO agreements and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), highlighting the risks to the policy space of developing countries.
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Document type: Report
Definition of Investor
This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes how the definition of 'investor' in Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) can be exploited through 'treaty shopping' and recommends stricter nationality criteria to protect host States from unintended international arbitration claims.
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Document type: Report
best_practices_registration_requirements_fr-7bcc062472ef0eb8.pdf
This guide by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the use of registration and approval requirements in investment treaties to limit their scope of application. It examines how these criteria are used by states to control the quality of investments and limit exposure to international arbitration, providing a comparative analysis of regional agreements (ASEAN, COMESA) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), alongside an analysis of arbitral awards that have interpreted these provisions.
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Document type: Guide
Beyond Fossil Fuels: Fiscal transition in BRICS
This report analyzes the fiscal implications of the clean energy transition for the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), focusing on the reliance of government budgets on fossil fuel revenues and the impact of existing subsidies.
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Document type: Report
Beyond Fossil Fuels: Fiscal Transition in BRICS | Case study: South Africa
This case study examines South Africa's heavy reliance on coal and the resulting fiscal implications for its energy transition. It details the role of state-owned enterprises, the structure of fossil fuel revenues and subsidies, and the government's climate commitments via its Nationally Determined Contribution.
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Document type: Case study
Guidance on Border Carbon Adjustment: Results of the Global Stakeholder Dialogues
This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) provides a set of guidelines for the design and implementation of Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) regimes. Based on two years of national stakeholder consultations and Global Stakeholder Dialogues, the document offers recommendations to help policy-makers balance climate ambition with the need to avoid trade frictions and regulatory fragmentation.
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Document type: Report
Border Carbon Adjustments: Priorities for international cooperation
This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the need for international cooperation on the design and implementation of Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs). It identifies key technical and political friction points—such as emissions calculation standards, geographical exemptions, and revenue use—and evaluates various multilateral, regional, and bilateral forums that could facilitate a coordinated approach to avoid trade tensions and administrative burdens.
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Document type: Policy brief
The Bottom Line: Why the cost of carbon capture and storage remains persistently high
This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines why the costs of carbon capture and storage (CCS) remain high, particularly within Canada's oil and gas sector. It argues that high design complexity and the need for customization prevent the cost reductions seen in renewable energy technologies, making CCS an inefficient use of public funds for oil and gas, though potentially useful for hard-to-abate industrial sectors like cement.
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Document type: Policy brief
Bottom-up Accountability for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Are subnational indicator systems aligned?
This briefing note evaluates the alignment of subnational indicator systems with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using the Province of Manitoba as a test case. While thematic alignment is found in over 20% of provincial indicators, there is a significant structural gap: provincial systems rely almost exclusively on 'state' indicators, lacking the 'finance' and 'policy' indicators present in the SDG framework. The authors argue that aligning these systems is critical for aggregating subnational data into national progress reports.
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Document type: Briefing