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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The purpose of this working paper is to explore the potential for carbon removal in forests and farms in the United States, to identify needs likely to arise on the pathway to large-scale deployment, and to consider ways to begin addressing those needs. This working paper is part of a World...
This working paper is part of a World Resources Institute (WRI) publication series CarbonShot: Creating Options for Carbon Removal at Scale in the United States. The series presents...
The purpose of this working paper is to explore the potential for technological carbon removal in the United States, identify needs likely to arise on the pathway to large-scale deployment, and consider ways to begin addressing those needs. This working paper is part of a World Resources...
This paper discusses the development of the accounting guidance under the Paris Agreement. The recommendations in this paper draw from the approaches contained in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Mitigation Goal Standard, developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) through a multistakeholder...
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines transformative urban change in Ahmedabad, India, by analyzing the land pooling and readjustment mechanism called Town Planning Scheme (TPS). This paper reviews the...
This paper summarizes our current understanding of water and security threats and their links to conflict, migration, and food insecurity. It is intended for professionals in the defense, diplomacy, and development fields. We review the key drivers behind growing water risk, describe and...
This publication updates the 2014 version of Sourcing Legally Produced Wood, which provided information on illegal logging and associated trade, public and private procurement policies, export country logging and...
The guidebook takes a new approach to environmental governance by focusing on identifying the social capital of actors within the landscapes. It centers on two main approaches: 1) mapping actors’ resource flows and 2) mapping actors’ priorities and values. Co-written by WRI international offices...
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines the processes of transformative change and the conditions both enabling and inhibiting it in Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra state, India. Many initiatives...
Parties to the Paris Agreement are under pressure to meet the December 2018 deadline to operationalize the climate accord. Building on prior analysis and the firsthand experience of negotiators and other key stakeholders, this working paper by the Project for Advancing Climate...
More than half the villages of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are affected by a peculiar issue of tenurial ambiguity called “orange areas.” This issue impacts nearly 1.2 million hectares and 1.5 million, largely poor, landless and tribal families, that depend on these lands for food, fuel,...
National-level implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change proceed on different tracks, despite growing recognition of the ample opportunities they present for synergies. In most countries, climate actions under the Nationally...
Increasing global demand for natural resources is intensifying competition for land across the developing world, pushing companies onto territories that many Indigenous Peoples and rural communities have...
On June 26, Kevin Kennedy testified before the Subcommittee on Energy (under the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce) during a hearing entitled “The Shifting Geopolitics of Oil and Gas.” Kevin described how states, cities and businesses are stepping up their efforts...
Illegal logging causes forest degradation and serves as a catalyst for deforestation. Tackling illegal logging is therefore a foundation for conserving forests and biodiversity, reducing emissions from the forest sector, and sustainably managing production forestry. The extent of corrupt and...
The climate and forest community has not yet harnessed the full power of the information age to create transparency in the global commodities markets. There exists a wealth of global financial data that can reveal the financial drivers of deforestation. Using the power of big data, forest...
This working paper aims to bring greater clarity to nontechnical audiences such as climate policymakers by offering a systematic comparison among methods used and forest monitoring results generated by REDD+ countries and global forest monitoring initiatives. First, we review deforestation...
Hundreds of companies with exposure to deforestation driven by palm oil, beef, soy, or wood production have committed to addressing deforestation. Many of these commitments have been made in the context of the Consumer Goods Forum Zero Net Deforestation Commitment, the Tropical Forest Alliance...
REDD+—which stands for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries—debuted on the global stage more than a decade ago. The idea prompted high...
Conserving and expanding global forest cover is widely accepted as necessary for climate change mitigation and other environmental goals, but the importance of forest quality is less widely recognized. Most tropical forests are affected by industrial logging, road construction, overhunting, and...
