The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an award-winning independent think tank working to create a world where people and the planet thrive.
About IISDWhat We Do
Our research and policy work focuses on areas we deem ripe for transformation, where shifts in policy have the potential to change the game and where we have a proven record of making significant gains.
Flagship Initiatives
IISD Experimental Lakes Area
IISD Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) is an exceptional natural laboratory comprised of 58 small lakes and their watersheds set aside for scientific research.
NAP Global Network
The NAP Global Network works with partners in the world’s most vulnerable countries to develop and implement climate adaptation plans for a more secure future.
Global Subsidies Initiative
The IISD Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) supports international processes, national governments, and civil society organizations to align subsidies with sustainable development.
The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development
The IGF supports nations committed to leveraging mining for sustainable development to ensure negative impacts are limited and financial benefits are shared.
SDG Knowledge Hub
The SDG Knowledge Hub provides daily information on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Earth Negotiations Bulletin
Earth Negotiations Bulletin provides balanced, timely, and independent reporting on United Nations environment and development negotiations.
Nature-Based Infrastructure Global Resource Centre
The NBI Global Resource Centre aims to establish the business case for nature-based infrastructure, providing data, training, and customized project valuations.
State of Sustainability Initiatives
The State of Sustainability Initiatives examines how voluntary sustainability standards can support environmental and social goals.
New Research
IISD publishes objective, independent, high-quality research on sustainable development issues, including reports, policy briefs, and toolkits.
Identifying Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Canada
This policy brief aims to provide decision makers with criteria to better define fossil fuel subsidies in the context of Canada's commitment to phase out these subsidies by 2023.
Greening Aid for Trade: Pathways for a just transition to sustainable trade
This policy brief is a summary of ideas on how Aid for Trade can be shaped to better respond to developing countries' interests in more environmentally sustainable production and trade patterns.
New Perspectives
Realizing Responsible Investment in Agriculture: What can policy-makers in Africa learn from Southeast Asia?
Large-scale land-based agricultural investments in Africa still entail many human rights and environmental risks that could be avoided or mitigated. Why is this still happening, and how can policy-makers reverse this trend?
Maintaining Peace While Building Climate Resilience: Lessons from the Central African Republic
Our NAP Global Network team interviews Mariam Amoudou Sidi for insights into how peacebuilding, conflict, and fragility can be integrated into National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes, from planning to implementation.
Governments Must Live Up to Promises to Stop Funding Oil and Gas Internationally
At COP 26, 39 countries and public finance institutions signed the Glasgow Statement on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition. How can signatories get back on track to meet their commitments by the statement's 2022 deadline?
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Our Impact
Measuring Nature for Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery
In the face of multiple health and environmental crises, the inefficiencies of GDP as the main measure of economic health and government policy are strikingly apparent.
Speaking Each Other’s Language
When it comes to communicating the research findings of the world's freshwater laboratory, we need to speak to communities in their own languages. Literally.
Sink, Swim … or Fight Back
After a devastating cyclone struck, the NAP Global Network—hosted by IISD—helped Fiji make a plan to build resilience.