WRI is committed to producing high-quality research, including reports, issue briefs, guidebooks, working papers, technical notes, and practice notes. Our research 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 research 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 our research or have concerns about quality, please contact the authors and copy Vice President for Research, Data and Innovation 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 report shares 2015-16 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for WRI’s operations, compares the data to WRI’s historic results (link to historical reports), and specific cases, called stories, from the Sustainability Initiative’s efforts to reduce these emissions. Additional analysis and data of...
Long-term low greenhouse gas development strategies offer an opportunity for the G20 to set the leadership direction that will help steer the world toward a viable climate future. These strategies were a focus area of the G20 Climate Sustainability Working Group in 2018.
This paper was...
As extreme weather events become more frequent and stronger, it is critical that policymakers and development practitioners incorporate climate change adaptation objectives into their sectoral policies and plans. This process, called mainstreaming, has the potential to improve the resilience of...
Transformative approaches to adaptation in agriculture will be needed to maintain and enhance global food security, avoid maladaptation and reduce growing risks of crisis and conflict. Today, the agriculture sector practices adaptation with relatively limited incremental adjustments to existing...
Early and ambitious action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) is essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. SLCPs include methane, hydrofluorocarbons, black carbon, and tropospheric ozone. Actions to reduce these highly potent...
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) – with a mandate to accelerate climate action in developing countries – has great potential to support transformational investments in developing countries to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. It is therefore crucial that the GCF succeed in...
Healthy forests act as natural infrastructure by filtering water and buffering against the impacts of floods and droughts. Although these benefits are widely known, they have rarely been presented in a way that is actionable for decision-makers – such as utilities, water agencies, and companies...
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...
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...
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...
Protecting forests from degradation, deforestation and fragmentation, and tree-based landscape restoration are globally recognized as cost-effective solutions for combatting climate change. As part of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris climate agreement, India committed...
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 evidence...
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...
