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 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.
Sustainably feeding nearly 10 billion people by 2050 is possible – but it will require significant innovation and investment by the public and private sector.
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.
This paper compares the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) costs of dairy production across 13 countries and pork production across 10 countries to obtain insights about what causes higher or lower emissions. It counts the GHG gas costs of land use by using carbon opportunity costs, a method that...
The benefits and costs of power plants, including their environmental impacts, depend on their technology and on how much electricity each plant actually generates. However, plant-level generation data are not reported in most countries. This technical note documents methods to estimate the...
Congress could immediately create millions of good jobs and support state and local governments nationwide by dramatically increasing investment in public transit systems and transportation infrastructure.
Congress could immediately create hundreds of thousands of jobs while advancing a cleaner economy by investing in restoring trees. Jobs on tree planting crews, in nurseries, and as foresters are literally “shovel-ready,” and support the single largest near-term opportunity for carbon dioxide...
Modernizing America’s electric grid infrastructure presents a unique opportunity to not only upgrade decades old infrastructure systems, but also to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the near term and generate sustained, economy-wide benefits over the long term.
Congress could immediately create good jobs while simultaneously advancing a cleaner economy by expanding Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing capacity and accelerating the replacement of diesel buses with electric buses.
Congress could immediately create millions of good jobs and provide relief to families struggling to pay energy bills, while simultaneously advancing a cleaner economy by dramatically increasing funding to state energy efficiency and assistance programs. Expanding these programs can support the...
According to new data from WRI's Aqueduct Floods Tool, by 2030 the number of people impacted by floods will double worldwide — from 65 million to 132 million due to riverine flooding and from 7 million to 15 million due to coastal flooding. The amount of urban property damaged by riverine floods...
Financial analyses, which consider financial costs and income, have typically informed energy-related decision-making and investment planning. Economic analyses, however, take societal impacts as a whole, and include social, economic and environmental costs and benefits, which are especially...
What cannot be measured cannot be managed. Poor water management poses major risks to agriculture, industry and local communities. However, there is a critical lack of information available about local water conditions — making better management difficult. WRI’s Water Program studies local water...
On April 7, WRI Distinguished Senior Fellow Andrew Light and Research Analyst Tyler Clevenger submitted testimony in virtual hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The topic was on Senate Resolution 2754, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM), a...
How countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are implemented and improved upon over time will determine whether the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement is achieved.
Each country will prepare for and implement its NDC in different ways, based on the nature of...
Indonesia is growing rapidly in terms of the economy and demography. At the same time, Indonesia is emitting greenhouse gas emission and is among the top global emitter. Indonesia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent to up to 41 percent against a business-as-usual...
The Universal Mill List methodology provides a replicable and standardized method for identifying and tracking mills throughout global supply chains.
We present a methodology to forecast conflict (defined as organized violence resulting in at least 10 fatalities over a 12-month period) up to a year in advance using a random forest model. When applied to test data, the model captures 86 percent of future conflicts. The model’s conflict signal...
This working paper provides the first comprehensive approach published that guides organizations on how to calculate upstream water withdrawals and consumption associated with purchased electricity. In addition to a structured methodology, the guidance document provides international country-...
Restoration is more complex than just planting trees. It requires that farmers, rural communities, businesses, and government agencies—all with different interests—unite behind a shared vision. Establishing common goals and measuring progress facilitates deeper collaboration among diverse actors...
Demand-responsive bus services provided by technology-led companies are a recent entry into the transportation ecosystem in cities across the world. Known as bus aggregators in India, these companies are capitalizing on limited mobility options in India’s expanding cities. Bus aggregators...
Avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will require not only steep reductions in emissions but also the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere at a massive scale (aka, carbon removal). The United States needs to make large-scale investments in carbon removal in the...
India has 63.3 million Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). 31% of these are manufacturing units, which account for 25 percent of the industrial sector’s energy consumption. Advancing the implementation of clean energy measures in the MSME sector can play a key role in India’s...
