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This executive summary examines the impact of disruptive technologies on large-scale mining and proposes policy options to mitigate negative social and fiscal effects while leveraging technology for local economic diversification.

The Northern Entrepreneurship Workshop Proceedings and Report details a two-day workshop held in March 2009 at the University of Saskatchewan. The event brought together Northern entrepreneurs, leaders, and academics to identify the unique challenges and opportunities of operating businesses in the North and to develop a specialized educational curriculum for Northern entrepreneurs.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development evaluates the feasibility of tree planting in the Canadian prairie ecozone as a method to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It reviews international policies from the European Union, the United States, and Canada, while analyzing the environmental, economic, and social benefits of afforestation alongside the direct and opportunity costs involved.

This report, produced by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) for a workshop on May 15, 2014, outlines the key design questions and parameters for the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) review mechanism. It identifies the need for a constructive, learning-based process to assess progress toward sustainable development goals and the means of their implementation.

This report assesses Panama's mining policy framework against the IGF's standards, finding that while there is awareness of environmental and social needs, the country suffers from an outdated legal framework, a lack of a clear national mining vision, and significant gaps in mine closure regulations and oversight of artisanal mining.

This guide describes the process of participatory scenario development (PSD) for climate change adaptation, emphasizing the integration of stakeholder knowledge with scientific data. It outlines a five-step methodology and provides a detailed case study from the Lake Balaton region in Hungary to demonstrate how PSD can influence local and national adaptation policies.

This briefing by the Prairie Climate Centre examines strategies to enhance the climate resilience of urban electricity and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, with a particular focus on Alberta, Canada. It advocates for the adoption of robustness, redundancy, and resourcefulness to mitigate risks from extreme weather and long-term climate trends.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the 2026 review of the Low-Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework (LIC-DSF) conducted by the IMF and World Bank. While the authors welcome improvements regarding domestic debt and country heterogeneity, they argue that the framework fails to distinguish between public debt sustainability and external sustainability. The brief recommends that policy-makers use the revised LIC-DSF primarily as a public debt sustainability analysis (DSA) tool and pair it with a separate, dedicated external sustainability framework to avoid ambiguous policy signals.

This briefing note from the International Institute for Sustainable Development discusses the role of regulations and standards as policy tools to facilitate the transition to a green economy, using a case study from Vancouver to illustrate the effectiveness of removing regulatory barriers, known as 'green tape'.

This fact sheet describes a four-year project led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The project aims to integrate climate change vulnerability and adaptation into sustainable development planning through pilot projects in Kenya, Mozambique, and Rwanda, focusing on agriculture, forestry, and energy production.

This 2011 report assesses Vietnam's capacity to integrate sustainability criteria into public infrastructure procurement. It finds that while Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are compulsory, they are poorly enforced due to limited resources. Sustainability standards are largely absent from bidding laws, appearing only in technical specifications with low weighting (10-20%) compared to cost. The report highlights a significant information gap regarding international standards like ISO 26000 and notes that SMEs are driven by market pressures rather than government guidance. As ODA funding declines, the report warns that the shift toward Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) could potentially compromise environmental and social standards to attract investors. Key recommendations include developing a formal SPP roadmap, integrating sustainability into the pre-selection of suppliers, and utilizing accredited external auditors for EIA compliance.

This case study describes the 'Increasing Community Resilience to Drought in Makueni District' project in Kenya, part of the broader ACCESA regional initiative. The project implements strategies to reduce smallholder farmers' vulnerability to climate variability through improved water access, agronomic training, and income diversification, while working to integrate these lessons into national policy.

This 1999 report analyzes the emergence of markets for global environmental services in Central America, focusing on the contrasting experiences of Costa Rica and El Salvador. It examines how these countries leverage international agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol and biodiversity conventions, to mobilize financial resources for conservation and sustainable development through mechanisms like carbon credits and biodiversity-friendly coffee certification.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that sustainable public procurement (SPP) is a powerful tool for governments to rebuild economies and infrastructure following disasters and conflicts. It posits that by integrating economic, social, and environmental risks into procurement, governments can signal long-term demand for green goods, stimulate innovation in the private sector, and increase national resilience to future disasters.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the state of negotiations regarding Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) leading up to the 2009 COP 15 in Copenhagen. It examines the technical and political challenges surrounding the scope of REDD, financing mechanisms, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, and institutional governance, providing guidance for developing countries to navigate these negotiations.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins analyzes the role of the private sector within the REDD+ supply chain. It identifies key private sector actors—including investors, producers, brokers, advisors, auditors, and end-buyers—and examines the motivations and challenges associated with their engagement. The document argues that while private sector involvement is critical for scaling up investment, it is currently hindered by policy uncertainty and unresolved land tenure and carbon ownership issues. It proposes strategies to stimulate investment, such as leveraging compliance carbon markets and implementing nested crediting frameworks.

This briefing note by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) discusses the application of resilience measurement in the agricultural sector, specifically focusing on a study conducted in eastern Ontario, Canada. It outlines a system-based approach to developing resilience indicators that move beyond traditional risk-reduction to assess the capacity of socioeconomic and natural systems to absorb shocks and transform.

This IISD report analyzes the inclusion of Good Regulatory Practice (GRP) and International Regulatory Cooperation (IRC) provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs), with a primary focus on the USMCA and a comparison with CETA. It examines how these provisions aim to reduce non-tariff trade costs and improve regulatory transparency and stakeholder engagement, while highlighting the administrative and political challenges these obligations may pose for developing countries.

This report by the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) provides preliminary estimates of global energy subsidies by source for 2007, detailing the assumptions and calculations used for nuclear energy, renewable energy, biofuels, fossil fuels, and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

This report provides a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions baseline projection for Rwanda up to 2030. It establishes a 'business-as-usual' reference scenario across seven sectors—agriculture, land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), energy supply, energy demand, transportation, industrial processes, and waste—to help the country identify potential nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs).