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1,869 documents from World Resources Institute
From the Ground Up: How Community-Based Organizations Can Build an Equitable and Clean Energy Future
The guide examines how community-based organizations (CBOs) can bridge the gap between solar energy programs and low- to moderate-income (LMI) households in the United States. It identifies systemic barriers to solar adoption—such as high upfront costs, complex applications, and distrust of developers—and proposes seven strategies for CBOs to overcome these obstacles. Through case studies from Georgia, Washington, D.C., and Michigan, the document demonstrates that CBOs' local trust and cultural understanding are critical for ensuring clean energy transitions are equitable and accessible.
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Document type: Guide
Now is the Time to Enforce, not Delay, the EU Deforestation Regulation
The World Resources Institute opposes the European Commission's proposal to postpone the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) until late December 2026, arguing that such a delay undermines the law's credibility and global climate goals. The statement emphasizes that necessary implementation tools are already available and that delaying enforcement penalizes businesses and countries that have already invested in compliance. It further warns against weakening the regulation by introducing 'no-risk' country categories, which could create loopholes for laundering deforestation-linked products into the EU market.
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Document type: Statement
Scaling Direct Air Capture in the US: From Public Investment to Market Integration
As federal support for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) faces rollbacks, U.S. states are positioned to advance direct air capture (DAC) by aligning specific technology types with local assets. The report identifies a diverse range of DAC technologies—from fully electric systems to those requiring high-temperature heat—and maps them to state-level opportunities. For example, California's geothermal resources and Texas's renewable curtailment and CO2 infrastructure offer distinct advantages. While some states like Washington and Texas are suited for large-scale sequestration, others like Massachusetts can serve as innovation hubs for waste-heat recovery and CO2 utilization. The document emphasizes that maximizing climate benefit requires pairing DAC with low-carbon energy to avoid eroding net removals.
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Document type: Report
9 Key Findings on Global Progress Toward a Circular Economy
The global economy consumes approximately 100 billion metric tons of resources annually, with 75% coming from non-renewable sources. While the European Union leads in circular economy policy, global resource productivity has stalled since 2000, and the world must reduce per capita material consumption from 12.6 metric tons in 2022 to below 5 metric tons by 2050 to ensure sustainability. Significant disparities exist in consumption, with the top 25% of the population using 52% of the world's resources. Despite some progress in municipal waste recycling—averaging 35% across OECD countries—and the regulation of single-use products in 75 countries, systemic changes in product design and corporate monitoring are required to decouple economic growth from resource extraction.
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Document type: Fact sheet
'Energy Communities' Bring Electricity, Livelihoods to Colombia's Remotest Regions
Colombia's Energy Communities program, launched in 2023 under the National Development Plan 2022-2026, aims to provide reliable electricity to off-grid rural areas, particularly Indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations. By shifting from diesel generators to hybrid and solar mini-grids, the program supports local economies—such as electric motorcycle retrofitting in Mingueo and solar-powered fish farming in Natagaima—while contributing to Colombia's goal of 51% emissions reduction by 2030. However, the program faces challenges regarding the duration of technical training, long-term financing for maintenance, and institutional coordination in protected areas.
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Document type: Report
What Are Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Why Do They Matter?
The document defines Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience, required every five years under the Paris Agreement. It highlights a significant 'implementation gap,' noting that current policies could lead to 3.1 degrees C of warming by 2100. The guide outlines five essential components for the 2025 NDCs—ambitious targets, sector-specific measures, adaptation strategies, investment policies, and just transition principles—and discusses the financial and technical support needed by developing countries to meet their conditional pledges.
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Document type: Guide
Analysis of US manure management and recommendations to mitigate associated greenhouse gas emissions
The report argues that US manure management emissions, particularly from dairy and swine farms, are likely 40% higher than EPA estimates due to the consolidation of livestock into larger farms using wet storage systems. While anaerobic digesters are the most common mitigation tool, the authors find them expensive and less effective than often claimed. Instead, the paper identifies solid-liquid separation, acidification, aeration, and cover-and-flare systems as more cost-effective alternatives, though these require further large-scale piloting and financial support to achieve widespread adoption.
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Document type: Research paper
U.S. EPA Proposes to Reverse its Authority to Limit Climate Pollution
The World Resources Institute (WRI) has condemned a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reverse its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions by overturning the 'endangerment' finding. WRI argues that this move ignores decades of science and will negatively impact public health, household energy costs, and economic stability.
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Document type: Statement
What We Know About Deep-Sea Mining — and What We Don’t
Deep-sea mining targets critical minerals like cobalt and nickel from polymetallic nodules, sulfides, and crusts, primarily in international waters such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. While proponents argue it can meet surging demand for the energy transition and avoid some terrestrial mining harms, the practice faces significant opposition due to risks of species extinction, disruption of the ocean's carbon sink, and threats to food security in small island states. Commercial exploitation remains stalled as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has failed to reach a consensus on regulations as of July 2025, though some companies may attempt to bypass this via U.S. domestic law. Alternatives such as scaling up recycling and shifting to LFP or sodium-ion batteries could reduce the necessity of seabed extraction.
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Document type: Guide
Grounding Global Water Risk Assessments in Local Data
The document describes a methodology for bridging the gap between high-level global water risk assessments and local ground truths. Using Unilever as a case study, it illustrates how global tools like Aqueduct provide a necessary starting point for screening hundreds of sites, but require validation through facility manager feedback and expert consultants to correct for limitations in global modeling, such as the inability to account for human-made water transfers or local water quality issues.
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Document type: Case study
The Republican Budget Bill Will Hurt the U.S. Economy
The World Resources Institute states that H.R.1. will hinder U.S. clean energy leadership by phasing out wind and solar tax credits and introducing Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) restrictions. These measures are expected to increase electricity costs, eliminate jobs, and reduce the power system's ability to meet rising demand from AI, manufacturing, and extreme weather.
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Document type: Statement
Istanbul Tackles Tourist Crowds and Climate Issues Together
The Livable Caferağa project, part of WRI's Deep Dive Cities Initiative, uses a community-led approach to transform a high-traffic district in Istanbul into a more sustainable urban environment. Following a successful pilot at Mehmet Ayvalıtaş Square in September 2023, the project is implementing five core strategies: prioritizing pedestrian space with wider sidewalks and greenery, expanding bike lane networks from 18 km to 58 km by 2050, launching the 'ModaBüs' local shuttle service in late 2025, implementing sustainable parking management, and transitioning delivery services toward cargo bikes. These efforts align with Kadıköy's goals of a 40% GHG emission reduction by 2030 and full climate neutrality by 2050.
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Document type: Case study
What Can the G20 Learn from NDCs of Climate-Vulnerable Nations?
The report analyzes the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of climate-vulnerable countries—specifically the Maldives, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Saint Lucia—to provide a blueprint for G20 nations. It highlights best practices such as integrating mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage into single strategies, and prioritizing climate-resilient development over short-term fossil fuel gains. The document urges G20 members to submit updated NDCs by September 2025 that target at least a 43% emissions reduction by 2030 and 60% by 2035, while scaling up financial support to close a $5.8–5.9 trillion financing gap for developing countries.
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Document type: Report
Financial Sector Guidebook on Nature-Based Solutions Investment: Aligning Investment With Impacts and Showcasing Examples
The document outlines how financial institutions can integrate nature-based solutions (NBS) into their strategies to address systemic risks from nature loss, which affects over half of global economic sectors. It identifies three strategic domains for NBS opportunities: risk mitigation and portfolio resilience, sustainable financial growth, and emerging market innovations. To overcome barriers such as lack of standardized metrics and high transaction costs, the guide recommends using innovative instruments like sustainability-linked loans and green bonds, while emphasizing the need for science-based impact measurement and reformed incentive structures.
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Document type: Guide
4 Issues to Watch at the UN Ocean Conference
The briefing outlines key objectives for the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France, emphasizing the need to scale up funding for SDG 14, integrate ocean-based solutions into national climate plans (NDCs), accelerate the ratification of the High Seas Treaty, and implement 100% sustainable ocean management through Sustainable Ocean Plans.
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Document type: Briefing
Credibility of nationally determined contributions
The document argues that NDC credibility depends on target clarity, institutional capacity, policy adoption, and policy outcomes. It explains how Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) provide the necessary data to assess these components and help countries refine future NDCs. For example, Andorra improved its 2035 NDC credibility by switching from a business-as-usual scenario to an absolute emission reduction goal to increase transparency.
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Document type: Briefing
Financing country platforms
The document outlines a framework for 'country platforms'—mechanisms to align public and private finance behind country-led plans. It identifies six elements of effective platforms, including strong political leadership and integrated planning, and details the specific contributions of domestic institutions, international public institutions, and private finance providers.
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Document type: Briefing
Strengthening the investment case for climate adaptation: A triple dividend approach
The study analyzes 320 adaptation investments totaling $133 billion across 12 countries, finding an average economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of 26.7%. Using the Triple Dividend of Resilience (TDR) framework, the authors demonstrate that benefits from induced economic development and social/environmental gains often double the value of avoided losses, meaning many investments are viable regardless of whether a climate disaster occurs. The paper highlights significant synergies between adaptation and mitigation, noting that nearly half of the evaluated projects yield GHG emission reductions. It recommends that multilateral development banks and governments adopt common reporting frameworks and disaggregate benefits to attract private capital.
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Document type: Research paper
Adaptation Finance: 10 Key Questions, Answered
The document defines adaptation finance as funding intended to enhance resilience to climate risks, such as strengthening infrastructure and developing drought-tolerant crops. It highlights a significant funding gap, noting that developing countries may need between $215 and $387 billion annually by 2030, while current levels are far lower. The text identifies barriers to accessing these funds, including high costs of capital and limited institutional capacity in least developed countries. It also contrasts adaptation finance with mitigation finance, which receives more funding due to more immediate financial returns. Finally, it discusses international commitments under the UNFCCC and the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to scale up climate finance by 2035.
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Document type: Fact sheet
What Is 'Loss and Damage' from Climate Change?
The document defines 'loss and damage' as climate change consequences that exceed human adaptation limits, categorizing them into economic losses (e.g., infrastructure damage) and non-economic losses (e.g., cultural loss). It details the evolution of UN negotiations, from the 1991 proposal by Vanuatu to the 2023 operationalization of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), which had pledges totaling $768.4 million as of April 2025. The text emphasizes that this funding is far below the estimated $580 billion needed by vulnerable countries by 2030 and argues for a 'mosaic of solutions' combining public, private, and innovative funding sources to support activities such as humanitarian aid, relocation, and livelihood restoration.
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Document type: Guide