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3,753 documents from International Institute for Sustainable Development
Progressing the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels: Lessons from case studies
The report examines a diverse array of transition mechanisms, including Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), national sectoral processes in countries like Germany and Chile, and first-mover alliances such as the Powering Past Coal Alliance. It highlights the necessity of national ownership, structured social dialogue, and blended finance to overcome political gridlock and ensure a just transition. The analysis reveals significant gaps in international support, particularly a shortfall in grants and concessional finance for Global South countries and a lack of coordinated global guidance for designing transition roadmaps.
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Document type: Report
Progressing the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels
The document outlines a structured approach to the global transition away from fossil fuels (TAFF), emphasizing that current production and consumption plans are misaligned with 1.5°C pathways. It proposes that effective TAFF roadmaps must be anchored in science, justice, and national ownership, while integrating elements such as subsidy reform, economic diversification, and decommissioning. The guide highlights the necessity of international coordination between producer and consumer countries to manage systemic risks, reform global finance, and ensure a just and orderly transition.
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Document type: Guide
Reforming Investment Contracts
The document highlights a critical gap in investment governance: while international investment treaties have undergone significant reform, investor-state contracts remain largely marginalized and outdated. These contracts often contain stabilization clauses and tax incentives that restrict a state's regulatory space and can neutralize treaty-level safeguards. The brief also notes a rise in contract-based investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), which is often more opaque than treaty-based arbitration. To address these risks, the authors recommend strengthening national institutional coordination, centralizing and assessing existing contracts, and developing national model contracts. Globally, they advocate for integrating contract reform into broader investment governance discussions and developing regional guidance to reduce negotiation asymmetries.
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Document type: Policy brief
Reforma de los Contratos de Inversión
The policy brief highlights how investment contracts—often overlooked in favor of treaty reforms—can create regulatory restrictions and financial losses for states. It identifies risks from outdated stabilization clauses and tax incentives, and notes a rise in contract-based investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases. The authors propose a three-pronged national strategy: strengthening inter-ministerial coordination, creating centralized contract inventories, and developing national model contracts aligned with international sustainability standards.
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Document type: Policy brief
Réforme des contrats d’investissement pourquoi les décideurs politiques doivent agir maintenant, et comment
The document highlights the risks posed by outdated and opaque investment contracts, such as stabilization clauses and tax incentives, which can limit a state's regulatory space and lead to costly international arbitration. It proposes a three-step national reform strategy: improving inter-ministerial coordination, centralizing and evaluating existing contracts, and developing standardized model contracts. It also calls for greater alignment between contract reform and broader regional and global efforts to modernize investment governance.
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Document type: Policy brief
Engaging Communities in Climate Vulnerability Assessment
The report outlines six key takeaways from participatory climate vulnerability assessments conducted in nearly 100 communities across Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe between 2024 and 2025. It emphasizes the need to integrate community knowledge with scientific data, involve local governments to institutionalize adaptation, and manage expectations during overlapping crises. The document argues that these assessments are foundational for locally led adaptation by linking local insights with climate projections to understand risks across diverse social groups and ecosystems.
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Document type: Report
Tracking Progress on Sustainable Jobs in Canada
The document outlines a framework for monitoring sustainable jobs in Canada to ensure accountability and support the Sustainable Jobs Action Plan. It recommends the use of 19 proposed indicators and draws on international experiences from Scotland, South Africa, and Ireland to emphasize the importance of data collection, transparency, and public communication in managing the transition away from fossil fuels.
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Document type: Guide
How to Measure Mindset Shifts on Gender and Social Inclusion
The SUNCASA project utilizes a monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) framework to track changes in gender and social inclusion norms among participants in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Africa. Using pre- and post-training surveys with Likert-style questions, the project recorded an 82% increase in participants' knowledge of GESI issues, exceeding its 50% target. The project emphasizes an intersectional approach to identify how learning outcomes vary by gender, age, and marginalized status, specifically noting significant gains in household power dynamic awareness among women in Kigali and social equity understanding among youth in Johannesburg.
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Document type: Guide
International Conversations on Trade and Climate: From the World Trade Organization to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The research paper examines the transition of trade-related climate measures from abstract policy debates to concrete implementation between 2025 and early 2026. It highlights the role of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the EU Deforestation Regulation as primary drivers of international tension. The authors analyze discussions within the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), as well as new initiatives established at COP 30 in Brazil, including the 'Mutirão' technical dialogues and the Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade (IFCCT). The paper argues that MC14 serves as a critical moment for consolidating these debates around transparency, interoperability, and development support.
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Document type: Research paper
Leveraging Trade to Support Climate Adaptation in Developing Countries
The paper examines the disconnect between trade and climate policies, which hinders the distribution of adaptation technologies to the Global South. It defines adaptation technology through three pillars—hardware, software, and orgware—and emphasizes that these tools are highly site-specific. The author identifies three primary challenges: a shallow understanding of adaptation among trade policy-makers, trade barriers such as high tariffs, and siloed discussions between the WTO and UNFCCC. To resolve this, the document recommends involving trade experts in National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) processes, reducing trade barriers, leveraging regional agreements, and supporting South-South cooperation.
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Document type: Research paper
Fisheries Subsidies at a Crossroads
The policy brief examines the critical juncture facing the World Trade Organization (WTO) ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon. While the 2022 Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (Fish 1) established a historic first step by prohibiting subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, it does not address the structural causes of overcapacity. The author argues that the upcoming MC14 must restore momentum for 'Fish 2'—additional disciplines targeting broader overfishing—to avoid the risk of the entire 2022 agreement terminating under its sunset clause by September 2029.
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Document type: Policy brief
Electronic Commerce at the World Trade Organization
The document analyzes the tension between the multilateral Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (WPEC) and the plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-Commerce. It highlights the conflict over the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, where developing countries fear revenue loss and policy constraints, while other members push for a permanent ban on such duties. The author outlines the stakes for MC14, including the potential incorporation of the JSI Agreement into the WTO framework and the future of the WPEC.
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Document type: Research paper
The World Trade Organization Investment Facilitation Agreement in the Run-Up to the 14th Ministerial Conference
The Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) agreement seeks to improve the investment climate by streamlining foreign direct investment (FDI) procedures and enhancing transparency, without expanding investor rights or addressing market access. While 128 WTO members participated in the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) to finalize the text by November 2023, its legal incorporation into the WTO framework requires full membership consensus. India and Turkey continue to object, citing a lack of multilateral mandate and concerns that plurilateral agreements undermine the multilateral agenda. The outcome at MC14 will determine if the IFD becomes a WTO plurilateral agreement or if co-sponsors must seek alternative administration outside the WTO treaty framework.
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Document type: Research paper
India's Clean Cooking Shift
The report advocates for a "twin-track" diversification of India's clean cooking energy to address the affordability, delivery, and price volatility issues associated with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and piped natural gas (PNG). It proposes scaling electric cooking (e-cooking) in urban and peri-urban areas and biogas in rural areas. The analysis suggests that e-cooking could halve LPG demand by 2050 and save over INR 2 trillion in subsidies, while rural biogas adoption depends on reducing high upfront costs and improving local maintenance ecosystems.
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Document type: Report
World Trade Organization Agriculture Negotiations at the 14th Ministerial Conference
The document analyzes the deadlock in WTO agriculture negotiations regarding domestic support, public stockholding, and market access. It argues that while comprehensive breakthroughs are unlikely at MC14, meaningful progress for LDCs is possible through reducing trade-distorting cotton subsidies, improving market access for cotton products, and establishing LDC exemptions from export restrictions. It also notes the emergence of the WTO Dialogue on Sustainable Agriculture as an informal space to explore the intersection of trade and sustainability.
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Document type: Research paper
A pilot of secondary use of solar irrigation power for clean cooking
A pilot in rural Kenya demonstrated that solar irrigation systems with batteries can power electric pressure cookers (EPCs), leading to promising reductions in traditional fuel use. While EPCs were well-received, particularly by educated households, the impact was limited by battery constraints, competing energy needs, and gendered dynamics regarding energy control. The report suggests that scaling such secondary energy uses requires improved technology design, adequate battery storage, targeted financing, and behavioral support to ensure an equitable transition to clean energy.
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Document type: Executive summary
Beyond Irrigation: Harnessing the untapped potential of solar pumps
The report examines a pilot project in Uttar Pradesh, India, where solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) were used to power grain mills. The study found that this 'secondary use' of solar power reduced milling costs and travel time for rural communities and empowered women and elders. However, the pilot faced operational challenges including poor siting and limited operator availability. The authors argue that integrating secondary uses into government policy and pairing them with battery storage and female operators could maximize the economic returns of solar assets.
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Document type: Report
Indonesia’s Energy Support Measures
Indonesia's energy subsidies peaked at IDR 886.1 trillion in 2022 and remained high in 2024 at IDR 713.5 trillion, with fossil fuel support accounting for 88.9% of the total. The report highlights three dominant costs: electricity compensation for the state utility PLN, 3-kg LPG subsidies, and fuel compensation payments to Pertamina. These measures often benefit higher-income households and create a 'net negative carbon price' that offsets the national carbon pricing scheme. While electric vehicle (EV) incentives have surged since 2020, they remain negligible compared to fossil fuel support. The document recommends a phased reform plan to redirect spending toward renewable energy, targeted social protection, and induction cooking to reduce import dependency and emissions.
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Document type: Report
How an Intersectional Approach Can Help Us Address Vulnerability to Climate Change
The guide explains that climate vulnerability is driven by intersecting systems of inequity—such as racism, ableism, and patriarchy—which create structural barriers and conditions like poverty or social isolation. It advocates for moving beyond single-issue analyses to identify and challenge the root causes of vulnerability, ensuring adaptation efforts reach the most marginalized populations.
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Document type: Guide
Working With Indigenous Knowledge Holders to Advance Equitable and Inclusive Nature and Climate Initiatives
The document argues that while governments and civil society commit to Indigenous rights, these are not always reflected in practice. It advocates for a collaborative approach based on reciprocity, transparency, and the recognition of Indigenous science to address climate change and biodiversity loss.
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Document type: Briefing