WRI is committed to producing high-quality research, including reports, issue briefs, working papers, and technical notes. Our publications are subject to peer review, and are held to traditional "academic" standards of excellence, such as objectivity and rigor. We also ensure that all of our publications are timely, fit for audience, and rooted in a strategic plan for achieving positive change in the world. If you notice an error in one of our publications or have concerns about the quality of our research, please contact the authors and copy Vice President for Science and Research Janet Ranganathan.
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This report develops a future scenario---named "Ecoflation"---in which policies and natural resource constraints force firms to add environmental costs to the costs of doing business. It estimates a 13-31 percent reduction in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) by 2013 and 19-47...
This policy brief provides natural resource policy makers and practitioners with an approach for evaluating how their policies and projects can support the emergence and consolidation of local democracy.
Energy savings certificates (ESCs) are used in some states as a mechanism through which third parties, such as commercial and industrial companies, can help utilities comply with energy efficiency targets. This issue explains ESCs and discusses their role in compliance markets.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) convened a diverse group of over 80 stakeholders to develop Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) Guidelines to ensure CCS projects are conducted safely and effectively.
This paper describes how social and environmental objectives have been undermined when past U.S. administrations have failed to respect the basic principles of participatory democracy and informed decision-making.
This policy brief presents the competing arguments for state-led and federal-led climate legislation, and argues for a third—“hybrid”—approach that maximizes the strengths of each level of government.
This report presents the findings of research on critical incentives and disincentives to legislative representation in Africa and provides a number of policy and program recommendations.
This periodic working paper series presents new research on democratic decentralization and legislative representation concerning the management, control, and use of natural resources. The objective is to provide researches working at the intersection fo governance and natural resource...
By encouraging clean technology deployment and imposing new costs on commonly traded commodities, climate policy would have significant impacts on international trade flows. This document answers basic questions about climate policy and its implications for the international trade of goods.
As different statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policies continue to emerge in the United States, more and more businesses are calling on the federal government to enact a single, uniform policy. The prospect of complementary policies between different levels of government—as well as the...
This article summarizes and updates the conclusions of the [Plants at the Pump](node/9241) report, released in December 2007.
Climate policy debates often feature discussions about the role of a carbon tax, either as an alternative or a supplement to a cap-and-trade program. This fact sheet describes the similarities and differences between the two policy approaches and answers other common questions about a tax on...
Cap-and-trade programs are the foundation of many climate policy proposals and have been a focus of debate in state, regional, and national legislatures. This fact sheet provides answers to some of the basic questions about cap-and-trade programs and reviews how such a system might work in the...
While there are risks for the forest products industry, it largely stands to gain from efforts to address global warming due to new opportunities for sustainable forestry.
The economic benefits derived from coral reefs are vital to the economies of small island states in the Caribbean. Economic valuation of these benefits helps to guide the wise, sustainable use of these resources.
