India is entering an important decade for its energy transition. As electricity demand rises and delivering on climate commitments becomes increasingly urgent, how can India ensure round-the-clock, reliable power?
This question matters not only for meeting climate goals, but also for securing affordable electricity, reducing import dependence, and building a resilient power system for a fast-growing economy.
In this context, firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) is emerging as a promising solution. FDRE combines solar, wind, and battery installations to supply electricity on demand, similar to how coal plants operate. FDRE can deliver reliable, 24/7 power, making it a key contender to replace future coal capacity additions.
A new report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, and KnowlEdge Srl analyzes India’s evolving power market to assess:
how the cost of FDRE compares with a benchmark coal price,
public financial support, tender design challenges, or policy reforms needed to accelerate FDRE deployment, and
policy reforms and market implications needed to accelerate FDRE deployment through 2050.
To unpack these findings, this webinar will explore what kinds of future government support measures may be required for India to meet its clean energy and energy security goals.
The discussion aims to bring together diverse voices to understand the trade-offs, look at what the power system really needs, and identify what India should prioritize, both now and in the future, as it scales up clean energy.
The conversation will also explore whether early experiences from FDRE tenders reflect real market conditions—and whether India may benefit from alternative approaches as its energy markets continue to grow and evolve.
Digital Trade and the World Trade Organization: State of play ahead of MC14
In today's digital world, e-commerce plays a vital role in the global economy, and countries are actively negotiating new rules to guide it. This webinar provided a clear, accessible overview of the current state of the WTO's multilateral work on e-commerce, as well as recent progress in plurilateral negotiations.
December 12, 2025 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm CET
(Open to public)
About the Event
E-commerce is a driving force in the global economy, and its importance is only set to grow in the years to come. As such, countries are working together and negotiating new rules to guide cross-border online commerce. While much of this work takes place at bilateral and regional levels, significant discussions are also taking place on the global stage, particularly within the WTO.
This webinar provided a clear, accessible overview of the WTO’s work on e-commerce. It outlined the current state of the organization’s multilateral work, including ongoing debates on the e-commerce moratorium, and examine recent progress in plurilateral negotiations, such as the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-Commerce. Participants gained an overview of the main elements of the newly completed legal text and development considerations shaping the prospective agreement.
Designed for trade policy-makers, this webinar offered a concise, forward-looking update on e-commerce policy and WTO processes ahead of the Fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026.
Panel
Moderator:
Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Speakers:
Rashid S. Kaukab, Senior Specialist, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD
Understanding the Value of Nature in the Hudson Bay Lowlands
Manitoba’s Hudson Bay Lowlands is one of the world’s most intact ecosystems—and one of the province’s greatest natural assets.
In this webinar, our panelists explore new research that quantifies the immense ecological, cultural, and economic value of this region. Learn how conserving the area can help advance Manitoba’s climate and biodiversity goals while supporting Indigenous-led stewardship and sustainable futures.
The Hudson Bay Lowlands, one of the largest intact wetlands on Earth, play a vital role in our climate, our economy, and our shared future. From storing vast amounts of carbon to filtering water, supporting biodiversity, and sustaining communities, this region provides essential ecological goods and services that benefit us all.
By quantifying these benefits in both physical and monetary terms, this report helps make the hidden value of nature visible to decision-makers, communities, and the public. These insights can inform conservation planning, guide sustainable land use, and strengthen the case for protecting places of global significance.
Key Takeaways from the Webinar:
The Hudson Bay Lowlands in Manitoba provide an estimated minimum of CAD 250 million annually through services associated with biodiversity conservation, hunting, tourism, and mental health.
The EGS valuation studies like this can support communication and advocacy for protected area initiatives and other conservation efforts, identify data gaps, and guide strategies to collect more information on people’s preferences for a stronger economic case. They can also serve as inputs in cost-benefit analysis to make more informed decisions on projects and their impacts on ecosystem services and inform outcome measurement for securing financing from diverse sources by connecting services to beneficiaries.
Monetary valuation of ecosystem services provided by nature is important to identify projects and initiatives that deliver greater benefits to society. At the same time, cultural and non-material values are hard to translate into economic terms. This is especially true for remote areas like the Hudson Bay Lowlands, where non-use values dominate. For example, a large share of economic value might come from communities far from the Lowlands that appreciate its pristine nature, rich biodiversity, and legacy for future generations. Contingent valuation studies that estimate willingness-to-pay beyond local jurisdictions can help shine light on their global significance.
Balancing development with conservation is critical—land-use planning and traditional knowledge help identify areas for protection.
Five nations — York Factory First Nation, Fox Lake Cree Nation, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, War Lake First Nation, and Shamattawa First Nation - are coming together to protect shared ancestral lands in the Hudson Bay Lowlands in Manitoba. This land has sustained generations of Indigenous peoples, and it is their hope that it continues to do so.
The journey of the Kitaskeenan Kanatenihtakwuk Indigenous Protected Area initiative demonstrates the importance of taking time to build trust: five nations worked for six years to create a shared vision and foundation for collaboration. People can support the initiative and learn more at kitaskeenan.ca.
Ron Thiessen is the Executive Director of the Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Manitoba. He has been instrumental in establishing 23 parks and protected areas in Manitoba with CPAWS, which is nearly three million hectares of healthy lands and waters conserved for future generations. Ron played a significant role in supporting the Indigenous Nations on the Pimachiowin Aki initiative, which resulted in large protected areas and eventually, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ron helped raise public support for the project to help soften a backlash aimed at the provincial government for its support of Pimachiowin Aki. Ron has spent many years on individual campaigns working with Indigenous Nations and all involved to secure new protected areas such as Fisher Bay and Little Limestone Lake provincial parks. His leadership together with the CPAWS team has resulted in tens of thousands of letters to the provincial government from citizens in support of protecting wild spaces for nature in Manitoba.
Marina Puzyreva is a senior policy advisor with IISD’s Water team. With an extensive background in economics and public policy, she is investigating a business case for nature-based solutions for improved water outcomes and their co-benefits. Marina has led studies examining the economic value of climate-smart agricultural practices and several large-scale conservation initiatives, including the Seal River Watershed Indigenous Protected Area. She also works with Indigenous partners in Canada to expand understanding of value in policymaking and develop collaborative approaches to managing and protecting our waters. Marina holds master's degrees in economics from the University of Manitoba in Canada and the Higher School of Economics in Russia.
Flora Beardy is a Knowledge Keeper and York Factory First Nation Community Coordinator for Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynitamuk. Flora is an Ininew iskwew (Cree woman) born and raised in York Factory First Nation traditional territory between Kaskatamagan and Churchill, Manitoba. Flora is an Elder, mother, community champion and historian. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Manitoba for her work documenting the oral history of the York Factory people. She has published a book of Ininew Oral history titled Voices from Hudson Bay and has received Awards of Excellence from Canada Heritage and the National Treasury Board. Flora has worked as an Interpreter and Board Member with Parks Canada; and as a researcher, translator, committee member, and elder advisor for her own community. Flora has recently come out of retirement to lead five Ininew Nations in protecting their shared homeland through the Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynitamuk / “Protecting Our Shared Lands” IPCA project.
Our Moderator:
Claire Woodbury is a Conservation Campaign Manager with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's Manitoba Chapter. Claire has over twelve years of experience in science communication and public engagement, engaging communities through public events, innovative programs and one-on-one knowledge sharing. Claire brings her passion for environmental protection within a decolonial framework to advocate for the protection of public lands and waters in Manitoba, especially in the north.
Conflict-Sensitive Conservation in a Changing Climate
On December 9, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) hosted a webinar to explore the links between climate change, biodiversity loss, and conflict, and the role that protected areas can play in addressing these challenges. The session unpacked what conflict-sensitive conservation is, why it matters, and how to design and implement effective interventions. Drawing on the panel’s expertise and real-world examples, the webinar also highlighted how conflict-sensitive approaches can help people and ecosystems thrive together in times of dramatic change.
December 9, 2025 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm GMT/UTC
(Open to public)
About the Event
Protected areas are increasingly seen as an essential tool in tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. In addition to being critical refuges for flora and fauna, the health of these ecosystems and the services they provide underpins the resilience of local populations and economies.
Unfortunately, the impacts of both climate change and ecosystem degradation are rapidly changing protected areas and the context in which decisions on their management and conservation are made. Conservation planning and interventions have always been linked to conflict management, given that they are typically concerned with competing visions of natural resource control, access, and use. This is not necessarily a bad thing; such conflicts, if handled peacefully, can often lead to positive change. Climate change and ecosystem degradation are, however, complicating this context and can often be contributing factors in the rise of local resource-, water-, and land-based conflicts, tensions, and grievances.
As such, it is imperative that conservation interventions consider the broader social, economic, and environmental context in which they are designed, implemented, and evaluated, so that they do not unintentionally create new conflicts or exacerbate existing ones. This involves applying a conflict-sensitive approach to conservation matters.
Conflict-sensitive conservation encompasses activities designed and implemented to protect and conserve ecosystems and landscapes in a way that considers the causes, actors, dynamics, and impacts of conflict.
This 1-hour webinar:
explored the links between climate change, biodiversity loss, and conflict, and the role of protected areas in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises;
introduced conflict-sensitive conservation, exploring the benefits it offers to both people and nature, and why it is a vital component of both biodiversity protection and climate adaptation;
showcased real-world examples of what this approach looks like in practice, including the conservation efforts in the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) initiative (with a focus on human–wildlife conflicts driven by drought in Zambia);
highlighted a Conflict-Sensitive Conservation e-learning course and some practical tips for designing and implementing conflict-sensitive conservation activities and interventions.
Moderator
Onyinye Oguntoye, Communications Officer, IISD
Speakers
Alec Crawford, Director, Nature for Resilience, IISD
Nalucha Nganga, Country Director, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia
Partners and Policy: Advancing an inclusive and just transition beyond coal in Indonesia
As Indonesia shifts toward a low-carbon future, phasing out coal—while environmentally necessary—carries economic, social, and political challenges. For the transition to be successful, inclusive planning with communities is key.
December 3, 2025 12:00 pm - 4:30 pm Jakarta, Indonesia (GMT+7)
In many parts of the country, coal is more than an energy source; it is an economic driver, deeply embedded in the livelihoods, infrastructure, and fiscal health of local communities. Provinces like East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and South Sumatra rely heavily on coal revenues, with hundreds of thousands of workers directly or indirectly dependent on the industry.
To ensure a just transition, as countries move beyond coal, they must prioritize social, economic, and climate goals with vulnerable groups—especially women, informal workers, youth, and the elderly—as vital partners in this process. By weaving social justice into policy design and implementation, all community members can benefit from energy, employment, and business opportunities.
IISD’s upcoming study, Coal Transition Impacts and the Approach to Inclusive Just Transition Policies in Indonesia, examines the energy transition in five coal-reliant provinces, exploring the best pathways to pursue a just transition, identifying potential sectors, and proposing solutions for including vulnerable communities, such as women and informal workers.
Join us for a first look at key findings from the report and an insightful discussion on how Indonesia can support a just transition.
Sustainable and Resilient Value Chains: Advancing deforestation-free supply chains
December 10, 2025 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm CET
(Open to public)
This webinar launched our Sustainable and Resilient Value Chains report on deforestation and saw our experts and invited panellists translate its findings into actionable steps for standards bodies, companies, and policy-makers. The aim of this session was to showcase how a smart mix of tools can help prevent, respond to, recover from, and adapt to deforestation risk.
Speakers at this event included:
- Catarina Vieira, Member of the European Parliament (via video) - Débora Dias, Senior Sustainability Manager, The Consumer Goods Forum - Dr. Hermogene Nsengimana, Secretary General, African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) - James Lael-Allotey, Senior Manager, Standards and Assurance Design, Rainforest Alliance - Julia Inés Ocampo Duque, VP of Cacao Sourcing & Sustainability, Luker Chocolate - Ricarda Von Meding, Legal and Policy Officer, European Commission
Key Takeaways
Prevention and long-term adaptation have made the most progress, driven by no-deforestation rules, geolocation and satellite monitoring, and emerging landscape- and jurisdictional-level initiatives.
Response and recovery mechanisms exist but need to be strengthened, particularly for indirect suppliers and smallholders, underscoring the need for clearer corrective action, stronger grievance mechanisms, and better support for producers.
Landscape and jurisdictional initiatives are gaining momentum as a pathway to systemic change, with speakers noting that these models help coordinate public and private actors to address deforestation at scale but require long-term funding and strong local institutions.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is already reshaping incentives, even with delays, by accelerating investment in traceability, legal reforms, and better alignment between public policy, corporate practice, and standards. Extended implementation timelines can give actors more time to prepare for compliance.
No single actor or instrument can tackle deforestation alone—combining regulation, standards, private-sector action, and territorial approaches is essential to build resilient, deforestation-free value chains.
Nature-Based Approaches to Water Storage and Flood Mitigation
The Canadian Prairies need natural infrastructure solutions that improve water retention and provide multiple benefits, including better flood protection, restored water storage capacity, and healthier ecosystems.
Interest in water retention is growing—both globally and here at home. This webinar will highlight practical approaches to using water retention to rebuild natural storage in our landscapes and help communities prepare for water extremes.
Across the Canadian Prairies, many watersheds have lost much of their natural ability to store water due to historical and ongoing drainage and changes to the landscape.
Faced with more and more extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change and historical drainage, we need natural infrastructure solutions that offer multiple benefits, such as flood protection and restored water storage capacity.
We look forward to learning how each organization is implementing different approaches to water retention, internationally and across the Canadian Prairies.
Key Takeaways from the Webinar:
Historical and ongoing drainage has similar outcomes in both Denmark and the Canadian prairies – reduced water storage capacity on the landscape, resulting in even more excess flooding and severe drought, exacerbated by climate change. But restoring water storage capacity – or making landscapes “spongy” – is key to reducing vulnerability to these extreme events.
Water retention strategies are critical in both urban and rural communities to build resilience to flood and drought. Proven solutions are already being implemented, with constructed wetlands providing stormwater management in urban landscapes, like Winnipeg, Manitoba, and wetlands providing water management in rural areas.
And while these solutions help with flood and drought, they can be designed to provide broader benefits, like water quality improvements, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, and heat mitigation. Where water retention projects are already implemented, quantitative data can demonstrate their effectiveness. But the qualitative information from landowners, neighbours, and farmers also provides important insights into the effectiveness - like “I’ve not been flooded this year” or ”the only grazing place left”.
Dr. Ellis Penning is an expert on nature-based solutions at Deltares, the Netherlands and coordinator of the EU project SpongeScapes, and co-coordinator of the EU project SpongeWorks. These projects focus on enhancing climate resilience through improved water retention at landscape scale using NbS. An aquatic ecologist by training, Dr. Penning is actively contributing to furthering the holistic evaluation of these solutions for both floods, droughts, biodiversity and socio-economic impacts, using a wide variety of assessment methods.
Pascal Badiou is a Research Scientist with the Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research (IWWR) of Ducks Unlimited Canada, interested in the role wetland restoration and conservation can play in regulating water quality and quantity in agricultural watersheds of the Canadian Prairies. Additionally, Pascal conducts research in the use of constructed wetlands for the management of stormwater and treatment of sewage effluent to improve water quality at the watershed scale within urban environments.
Dr. Richard Grosshans is the Bioremediation Lead in IISD’s Water Program. He received his PhD in Biosystems Engineering and Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba, where he was an NSERC IPGS Research Scholar. His current research crosses multiple disciplinary boundaries focused on integration of water, energy, and nutrient management with sustainable agriculture, bioproducts, and bioenergy. Richard’s expertise is in wetland systems, integrated watershed management, environmental engineering, biogeochemistry, nutrient management, water quality, bioremediation, eutrophication in aquatic systems, alternative energy, and bioproducts and bioenergy.
Our Moderator:
Jessica Vanstone is a Senior Research Officer within the Adaptation and Resilience Analysis Unit, Climate Resilience Branch, Ministry of Environment. She’s earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Biology and Geography and a Master of Science degree in Geography, from the University of Regina, with specializations in climatology, hydrology, dendrochronology, climate extremes and adaptation to a changing climate. For over 18 years Jessica has studied and worked within the fields of tree-ring science, hydrology, water resources and management, environment and climate change; and currently works as a member of a dedicated team to support the preparedness and resilience of Saskatchewan and its people to the climatic, economic and policy effects of a changing climate.
Building a Connected World: The critical role of digital technical standards
This webinar examined the role of technical standards in shaping the future of the digital economy, exploring what they are, how they are developed, and why they matter for digital trade policy.
November 14, 2025 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm CET
(Open to public)
About the Event
As digital trade continues to expand, technical standards have become essential for ensuring interoperability, scalability, and seamless integration among actors across global markets. This webinar explored the critical role of international technical standards in shaping the future of the digital economy.
Participants gained an understanding of what digital technical standards are, how they are developed, and why they matter for digital trade policy. The session covered international governance frameworks, approaches to standard-setting, the impact of trade agreements, and strategies major economies use to lead in defining these standards.
The webinar also examined the unique challenges developing countries face in engaging with digital standardization processes, offering practical recommendations for policy-makers.
Panel
Moderator:
Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD
Speakers:
Craig Atkinson, Founder and Director, International Trade and Development Consulting, Lexmerca International Trade
Dr. Hanane Becha, UN/CEFACT Vice Chair, Transport and Logistics Innovation & Standards Senior International Advisor
Discussant:
Cindy Parokkil, Program Manager, Standards and Public Policy Program, ISO
This event is part of a series of technical webinars designed to deepen understanding of how policy and regulatory frameworks are evolving to support the growth of the digital economy and digital trade. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
At the midpoint of the UN climate change conference in Belém, the Earth Negotiations Bulletin team shares the latest news, expectations for the final week of COP 30, and answers your questions.
November 16, 2025 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Brasilia Time (BRT) UTC-3
After a year of record-breaking temperatures and geopolitical tension, climate change negotiations and national leaders are meeting at the mouth of the Amazon in Belém, Brazil for UNFCCC COP 30. Among many issues, they will try to agree on a roadmap to increase the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance from USD 300 billion a year to USD 1.3 trillion, plus indicators to measure climate change adaptation and a gender action plan.
Listen Earth Negotiations Bulletin team leader for COP 30, Jennifer Bansard, as she shared:
progress on negotiating items in the first week
where the greatest obstacles have arisen—expected and otherwise
what we can expect from the second week of the talks
After a breakdown of the first week of talks, participants in the COP 30 Halfway Point Webinar shared questions to the team behind the world's most authoritative record of climate negotiations. Subscribe to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin newsletter to get daily updates from Belém.
International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Obligations and Its Implications for Investment Policy-making
Join IISD’s webinar on October 29 as we unpack the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) landmark advisory opinion on states’ obligations to tackle climate change—and its implications for climate action, economic governance, and investment reform.
On July 23, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a landmark advisory opinion on the obligations of states with respect to climate change. The opinion confirms that international law imposes binding legal duties on states to take preventive and precautionary measures to avoid climate harm, and that a failure to do so can trigger international legal responsibility.
This historic ruling has major implications for international climate and economic governance, particularly investment law and policy. The Court clarified that a state's failure to take appropriate action—including through the regulation of private actors, fossil fuel production, or subsidies—may constitute an internationally wrongful act. This strengthens the legal basis for states to enact ambitious climate measures and may have significant ramifications for investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), where such regulations are often challenged.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) held a webinar on October 29 with a panel of leading legal experts to unpack the implications of this pivotal opinion. The discussions focused on the implications of the ruling for investment governance. After introducing the process leading to the opinion, the experts explored what the ICJ's findings mean for the future of investment treaty reform, how the opinion might influence ISDS cases, and what concrete steps investment policy-makers should consider to align their international investment agreements with states' climate obligations.
Date and Time:
Wednesday, October 29, 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US) / 14:00 Central European Time.
Moderators:
Elena Kosolapova, Senior Policy Advisor (International Environmental Governance), IISD
Josef Ostřanský, Senior Policy Advisor (Economic Law and Policy), IISD
Speakers:
Catherine Amirfar, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
Jennifer Bansard, Writer, IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
Mamadou Hébié, Associate Professor, Leiden University
