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1,869 documents from World Resources Institute
Stories Behind the Adaptation Commitments in the Nationally Determined Contributions of Cambodia, Rwanda, Colombia, and Fiji
The document examines the development processes of adaptation components within the updated NDCs of Cambodia, Rwanda, Colombia, and Fiji. Using a framework of seven qualitative factors, stakeholder interviews, and document reviews, the research aims to identify good practices to help countries strengthen their adaptation commitments in subsequent update cycles, noting that the lack of standard templates and indicators currently makes assessing the quality and ambition of these voluntary components challenging.
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Document type: Research paper
Next Generation of US Policies To Remove Carbon Pollution From the Atmosphere
The document argues that carbon dioxide removal is a necessary complement to emissions reductions and outlines a strategy for the U.S. to lead the sector. It recommends focusing on research, development, and demonstration (RD&D), building market demand, and establishing governance frameworks to ensure safety, climate impact, and local economic benefits.
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Document type: Briefing
Designing a Cap-and-Trade Program For the Midwest
The document outlines the framework for a potential cap-and-trade program in the Midwest, following the 2007 Greenhouse Gas Accord. It details the essential design components the region must consider, including the scope of coverage, the setting of emissions caps and reduction trajectories, the distribution of emission allowances, and the implementation of cost-containment measures such as early reduction and project-based offset credits. Additionally, it addresses the possibility of linking the regional program with other similar initiatives.
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Document type: Research paper
Tracking Adaptation Finance
The document outlines a structured approach for civil society organizations (CSOs) to monitor adaptation finance, moving from national context analysis to the design of local tracking tools, in order to hold governments and donors accountable.
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Document type: Guide
Jonathan Lash's Testimony Before the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
Jonathan Lash testifies that the United States Climate Action Partnership's premise—that immediate action on climate change is required to prevent rising costs—is supported by recent IPCC findings, which he describes as presenting a stark picture of the scale and immediacy of the environmental challenge.
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Document type: Statement
Elements and Ideas for the 2015 Paris Agreement
The ACT 2015 consortium argues that economic growth and climate action are now mutually reinforcing goals rather than conflicting choices. The document emphasizes that international cooperation via the UNFCCC negotiations for the Paris Agreement is essential to avoid devastating climate impacts that disproportionately affect poor and vulnerable populations.
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Document type: Report
Navigating the Paris Rulebook
The document details the operational framework of the global stocktake, including the roles of the UNFCCC Secretariat and subsidiary bodies, the three-phase process, and how the stocktake integrates data from NDCs, adaptation communications, and the enhanced transparency framework to assess collective progress.
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Document type: Guide
Summary of UNFCCC Submissions
The document provides a summary of Party submissions to the AWG-LCA from April 2010 through November 2010, focusing on transparency, review of actions, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), governance, and finance sources. It notes that the summaries represent WRI's interpretation of a selection of submissions and exclude those related to the Copenhagen Accord.
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Document type: Research paper
Climate Policy Implementation Tracking Framework
The Climate Policy Implementation Tracking Framework provides a structured five-step process for monitoring the progress of climate mitigation policies. It guides users through characterizing policies, identifying adoption milestones, developing implementation indicators (covering inputs, activities, and effects), establishing a tracking plan, and reporting findings. The tool includes in-depth questions to analyze the reasons behind policy success or failure and provides worksheets for practical application.
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Document type: Research paper
High Wire Act
The report examines how electricity transmission acts as either a roadblock or an enabler for renewable energy (RE) deployment in the EU, China, and the US. It identifies common challenges across these regions, including the tension between national and local interests and the difficulty of allocating costs for new infrastructure. In the EU, fragmented planning and member-state resistance hinder grid integration. China faces technical barriers and a lack of connection standards despite aggressive central government spending on ultra high voltage (UHV) transmission. The US is characterized by highly fragmented local management and significant regulatory uncertainty regarding siting and cost allocation. The report concludes that while the EU may have easier approval processes, the US and China possess greater untapped RE potential if transmission constraints are resolved.
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Document type: Report
Tracking Adaptation Success for Community Level Watershed Development in India
The document outlines a collaboration between the World Resources Institute and the Watershed Organisation Trust to create an adaptation monitoring and evaluation system for watershed development in India. It argues for a shift from output-focused reporting to a long-term model incorporating qualitative and quantitative indicators of ecosystem, social, and behavioral change. The paper emphasizes the need for funders to align reporting requirements with these long-term goals and stresses that community participation, representative of diverse demographics, is essential for defining and tracking adaptation success.
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Document type: Research paper
Material Flows in the United States
The report examines material flow trends in the United States across the metal and minerals, nonrenewable organic materials (including fossil fuels), agriculture, and forestry sectors. It argues that while the U.S. possesses high-quality economic data on productivity and employment, conventional economic accounts fail to provide sufficient information regarding the long-term societal costs of environmental degradation. Consequently, the document proposes policy alternatives for the U.S. government to better integrate material flow accounts into decision-making.
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Document type: Report
Heavy Precipitation in the U.S. and the Climate Change Connection
Since the late 1950s, the United States has experienced an increase in heavy precipitation driven by human-caused climate change, which allows the atmosphere to hold more moisture. These events, exacerbated by aging infrastructure and non-permeable land surfaces, increase the risk of urban and flash floods, damage agriculture through soil erosion and crop loss, and disrupt transportation systems.
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Document type: Fact sheet
CCS Demonstration in Developing Countries
The document argues that carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is a critical interim technology for developing countries to decouple fossil fuel use from CO2 emissions without disrupting national development goals. However, it notes that deployment in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is hindered by high costs and insufficient financing mechanisms. The paper advocates for accelerated CCS demonstration in non-OECD contexts to reduce technology risks and costs, aligning with the IEA CCS Roadmap's goal of 50 projects over 10 to 20 years.
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Document type: Research paper
A Community Action Toolkit: A Roadmap for Using Environmental Rights to Fight Pollution
The toolkit is designed to empower marginalized communities, particularly in middle- and low-income countries, to fight pollution by leveraging environmental rights. It provides eight modules containing research indicators, worksheets, and templates to help users conduct policy research, collect pollution data, and build advocacy campaigns. Developed through the STRIPE project, the toolkit's methodology is based on five years of experience in Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, Jamaica, Morocco, and Tunisia. The document argues that strengthening these rights is essential for pollution accountability and the realization of the right to a healthy environment.
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Document type: Guide
Local Government Voices in Wholesale Market Issues: Engagement Approaches for Decarbonization
The document argues that U.S. cities and counties are underrepresented in wholesale energy markets despite being large energy purchasers with a stake in market structure. It outlines three primary engagement pathways: public statements, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs)/Independent System Operators (ISOs). To overcome barriers such as limited staff capacity and high education needs, the paper suggests collaborative efforts and learning from similar stakeholders, citing a coalition of local governments within the PJM territory as an example.
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Document type: Research paper
Power Sector Opportunities Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions Minnesota
WRI analysis indicates that Minnesota can reduce CO2 emissions by 31 percent below 2011 levels by 2020 through a combination of renewable energy standards, energy efficiency targets, and the optimization of existing natural gas and coal infrastructure.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Advancing ocean-climate action through the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue
The document argues that ocean-based climate actions are high-impact, underutilized solutions essential for meeting the 1.5C warming limit. It positions the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue, established at COP25, as a critical venue for integrating ocean priorities into the international climate regime and UNFCCC workstreams to inform the development of new and updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for 2025 and COP30.
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Document type: Briefing
What might a developing country climate commitment look like?
The document argues that the stalemate in international climate negotiations stems from the assumption that developing country commitments must mirror the absolute emission limits of industrialized nations. It proposes using greenhouse gas intensity indicators—measuring emissions per unit of economic output—to decouple economic growth from emissions growth, thereby respecting the differentiated circumstances of developing nations while ensuring their participation in climate solutions.
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Document type: Briefing
Bus Rapid Transit in China: A Comparison of Design Features with International Systems
The document compares BRT systems in 18 Chinese cities against international counterparts across 30 indicators. It finds that Chinese systems score significantly lower in 11 design areas and recommends improvements in infrastructure, network planning, and vehicle technology to help China reach its goal of 5,000 kilometers of BRT by 2020.
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Document type: Research paper