Publications
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.
All of our publications are available to download.
The World Resources Report is the flagship publication of World Resources Institute. The inaugural edition, An Assessment of the Resource Base that Supports the Global Economy, was published in 1986. Subsequent editions have been published at regular intervals and have provided in-depth analyses of issues ranging from human health and the environment to climate change, ecosystem services and environmental governance. Every World Resources Report builds on a strong evidence base to develop fresh insights that can help decision-makers evaluate and implement the most effective solutions.
Creating a Sustainable Food Future
Sustainably feeding nearly 10 billion people by 2050 is possible – but it will require significant innovation and investment by the public and private sector.
Towards a More Equal City
The World Resources Report: Towards a More Equal City focuses on helping cities in rapidly urbanizing regions alter their development trajectories as demand for infrastructure and services grow.
-
Financial Implications of Parched Power: Insights from an Analysis of Indian Thermal Power Companies
by , , , and -Climate-related risks pose inevitable threats to investors and the assets in which they invest. Institutional investors have become increasingly concerned about-climate-related risks, but physical risks, which represent the direct physical impacts from climate change, are not well understood....
-
Use of Near-Real-Time Deforestation Alerts
A Case Study from Peru
by , , and -Though satellite-based forest monitoring has improved substantially over the last decade, to the point where deforestation can now be detected on a weekly basis across the tropics, there has been little research into how this information is used for on-the-ground decision making. This paper...
-
Unpacking Green Targets: A Framework for Interpreting Private Sector Banks’ Sustainable Finance Commitments
by , , and -Private sector banks are facing political, market, and societal pressure to direct finance towards low carbon, sustainable development. One way they’re signaling their response is through sustainable finance commitments: publicly-made, time-bound commitments to provide or facilitate capital for...
-
Financing Electric and Hybrid-Electric Buses
10 Questions City Decision-Makers Should Ask
by , , and -As electric and hybrid-electric buses gradually become a reality worldwide, achieving a better understanding of the mechanisms supporting investments in these new technologies as well as their assets is more important than ever. The global electric bus fleet grew about 32 percent in 2018, and it...
-
The Road to Restoration
A Guide to Identifying Priorities and Indicators for Monitoring Forest and Landscape Restoration
by , , , , , , , , , , and -The purpose of this guide is to provide anyone actively restoring land — governments, companies, communities, technicians — with a comprehensive system to measure their progress based on choices and goals tailored to their needs. It is focused on choices and understanding the potential trade-...
-
Setting Site Water Targets Informed By Catchment Context
A Guide For Companies
by , , , , , , , , , , and -The purpose of this guide is to support companies in setting effective site water targets that are informed by catchment context. This guide introduces three critical elements for setting effective site water targets that:
- Align with the priority water challenges within the ...
-
Key Policy Issues in the Green Climate Fund: A Guide for the Perplexed
by , and -The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s biggest multilateral climate fund. The Fund seeks to mobilize both public and private finance to support a paradigm shift toward low-emissions and climate-resilient development, balance funding between mitigation and adaptation, achieve a broad array...
-
Tracking Progress Toward the Cool Food Pledge: Setting Climate Targets, Tracking Metrics, Using the Cool Food Calculator, and Related Guidance for Pledge Signatories
by , and -The Cool Food Pledge is a global initiative that helps food providers sell delicious dishes with smaller climate footprints. This technical note, and the accompanying Cool Food Calculator, help Cool Food Pledge signatories and other food providers set targets and track climate impacts over time...
-
Putting a Price on Carbon: Evaluating A Carbon Price and Complementary Policies for a 1.5° World
by -To achieve the Paris Agreement goals and limit global temperature rise this century to 1.5°C, the global economy must be rapidly transformed. A carbon price is needed to incorporate climate change costs into economic decision-making to significantly reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,...
-
Uncertainty, Scenario Analysis, and Long-Term Strategies: State of Play and a Way Forward
by and -Uncertainty is a common challenge to any long-term planning. This working paper takes stock of how long-term low-emission development strategies submitted to UNFCCC perceive and handle uncertainties, and how scenarios are used to illustrate different pathways that countries may take under...
-
Enhancing NDCs: A Guide to Strengthening National Climate Plans
by , , , , , and -Published by WRI and UNDP, Enhancing NDCs: A Guide to Strengthening National Climate Plans is designed to help practitioners think through how to structure their country’s enhanced NDCs across three dimensions: strengthening targets to reduce emissions (mitigation), enhancing climate resilience...
-
Accelerating Building Decarbonization: Eight Attainable Policy Pathways to Net Zero Carbon Buildings For All
by , , , , and -Buildings that emit no greenhouse gas emissions during their operation are vital to meeting the SDGs and Paris Agreement targets. But in the past, zero carbon buildings have been assumed to be only attainable by technologically advanced or wealthy countries. New WRI research finds there are...
-
Utilizing City-Utility Partnership Agreements to Achieve Climate and Energy Goals
by , , and -U.S. local governments, such as cities and counties, as well as many investor-owned electric utilities, are increasingly setting ambitious climate and energy targets. To achieve these targets, customer-utility innovation and collaboration is essential.
Although customers and utilities...
-
Opportunities to Advance Mitigation Ambition in China: Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by -Non–carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a substantial driver of climate change and have significant negative impacts on air quality, human health, and food production. In 2014, the last year with official data, non-GHG emissions in China were greater than total GHG...
-
The Future of Disaster Risk Pooling for Developing Countries: Where Do We Go from Here?
by , and -Climate-related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity and both economic and human losses are climbing. Unfortunately, developing countries, which are the least equipped to deal with disasters, are often impacted the most. Over the past two decades, new financial tools have emerged...
-
Energy Access Explorer: Data and Methods
by , , , , , and -Today, about 840 million people lack access to electricity. To effectively expand energy access, government planners need to understand and have access to data and analytical tools that capture key attributes of the unserved and under-served populations they are trying to reach. This paper...
-
Data and Ambition Loops for Enhanced Climate Action: Potential Drivers and Opportunities in Asia
by , , , and -For the public to have confidence that progress is being made towards national climate goals, countries need to be up front and transparent about reporting on their greenhouse gas emissions. But governments cannot transparently report their emissions on their own: they often need to turn to the...
-
Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Setting a Global Action Agenda
by , and -The world is at a critical moment in the fight against food loss and waste, with momentum building to address the 1.3 billion tons of food that is lost or wasted each year. But action is not yet at a pace needed to achieve SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.
The report Reducing Food Loss and...
-
Green-Gray Assessment: How to Assess the Costs and Benefits of Green Infrastructure for Water Supply Systems
by , , , and -A growing body of research shows that healthy watersheds are a vital component of a well-functioning water supply infrastructure system. WRI’s Green-Gray Assessment (GGA) method allows stakeholders to value the costs and benefits of integrating green or natural infrastructure into water supply...
-
Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA): A Method For Implementing and Valuing Water Stewardship Activities
by , , and -WRI and partners at Quantis, LimnoTech and Valuing Nature have developed a new approach for implementing and valuing water stewardship activities. The Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) meets a critical need in corporate water stewardship: a common method for assessing the benefits of...
