In this best practices series on legal tools for responsible investment in agriculture, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes key legal and policy issues arising from the legal instruments that states use to govern responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.

Ideally, investments in the agricultural sector should be governed by a robust and comprehensive framework of domestic laws; however, in many developing countries, existing laws fail to address all relevant issues in sufficient detail. In such contexts, governments can and do use agricultural investor–state contracts to address gaps, overlaps, and inconsistencies in existing legislation. However, the use of investor–state contracts as a key form of investment governance can also present certain risks when these instruments are poorly drafted or favour one party over the other.

As governments increasingly look to strengthen the legal frameworks regulating investment in the agricultural sector, using a model contract can help them negotiate and design investment contracts that are more comprehensive and balanced than they might otherwise have been. This practice can also help ensure consistency in rights and obligations included in investor–state contracts and that these contracts are fully consistent with domestic law.

This bulletin provides an overview of model contracts and how they can help agricultural investment negotiators, state lawyers, and policy-makers address certain investment-related risks and advance sustainable development objectives in the agricultural sector. It highlights how such instruments have been used to meet these objectives in the agriculture and extractives sectors. It presents some important considerations for policy-makers contemplating developing a nationally tailored model contract that reflects and integrates international best practices, national development priorities, and investment processes.

Growing international understanding that fossil fuel subsidies tend to cause over-production and over-consumption of fossil fuels is, in turn, increasing interest in disciplining the use of such subsidies through international agreements between governments willing to engage in a deeper and more ambitious fossil fuel subsidy reform. While such agreements might take different forms and shape depending on their parties, ranging from some provisions in free trade agreements to agreements more specifically focused on this topic, any international agreement on fossil fuel subsidies would require the consideration of a number of building blocks.

In this report, we discuss six potential building blocks for any such agreement. For each building block, we identify a series of options and choices for negotiators to consider and also identify potential advantages and limitations of the options.

The report does not aim to prescribe any specific options for governments to take. Rather, it explores the alternatives available for governments that may be considering various options and their suitability for specific disciplines.

Cities in Transition is an International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) research initiative that explores the intersection of urban planning, energy use, and emissions reduction. Focused on the city of Winnipeg in Canada, the project examines how land-use development patterns influence emissions outcomes. Like many North American cities, the city of Winnipeg is shaped by low-density, car-oriented urban development that requires enormous amounts of energy. Compact, walkable communities not only produce significantly lower emissions but also offer additional benefits, including increased municipal revenue and improved well-being for residents.

This project breaks new ground in energy policy by exploring how urban planning can be meaningfully integrated into climate strategies. While climate change is frequently considered within urban planning circles, urban planning itself has received little attention in climate and energy policy. This disconnect has limited the effectiveness of energy policy. Meeting ambitious emissions reduction targets will not be possible by focusing solely on transitioning fossil fuel-based energy systems to renewables—there is an urgent need to reflect on the shortcomings of current energy policy and to explore more effective, integrated approaches to achieving climate goals.

A key component of the project involved applying IISD's Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology to model the long-term financial and environmental impacts of different development pathways such as compact, mixed-use infill versus continued urban sprawl. The results demonstrated that sustainable urban forms can lower infrastructure and service costs while significantly reducing emissions. This evidence supports a shift away from car-dependent growth toward more walkable, connected communities.

Cities in Transition research identified three major barriers to advancing complete communities in Winnipeg:

• entrenched "Not In My Backyard" (NIMBY) opposition to infill development
• outdated municipal governance structures
• the high financial costs of car-centric sprawl

The report highlights case studies of cities that have successfully overcome these barriers, demonstrating practical pathways toward building more sustainable, inclusive, and complete communities.

In March 2025, eight former African heads of state called for urgent debt relief for vulnerable nations. This comes as over half of low-income countries are either in debt distress or at high risk. Current proposals focus mainly on providing liquidity relief, which, in light of the systemic risk current debt vulnerabilities cause, is insufficient to put countries back on a sustainable debt and development trajectory.

This research shows that many debt-vulnerable countries are not merely facing a sovereign debt problem. In the mid-1990s—on the eve of the adoption of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative, one of the largest debt relief initiatives in history—most participating low-income countries owed less than 10% of their external debt to private creditors, whether directly by the state (public and publicly guaranteed debt) or by their private sector (non-guaranteed private debt). Today, the share is much larger.

Non-guaranteed private debt, in particular, has short maturities and higher interest rates than public and publicly guaranteed debt, which creates acute balance of payment pressures in a context that is already characterized by high global interest rates, and capital outflows from developing countries. This is pushing economies into a dangerous cycle where vital public investments are neglected.

The D4R initiative offers a new approach, addressing this structural issue directly, through

• substantial official debt reduction
• preventing leakages to private creditors, through built-in measures to ensure that debt relief benefits governments directly
• growth-focused policies over austerity through national development plans, ensuring countries can invest in critical sectors like climate resilience and social development

Belize is at high risk of experiencing the negative impacts of climate change. Its flat, low-lying terrain, extensive coastline, and over 1,060 small islands exacerbate its vulnerability to a range of climate hazards, including sea level rise and hurricanes. These hazards pose significant threats to Belize's population, environmental integrity, and socio-economic development. As communities and ecosystems continue to face the impacts of climate change, implementing effective climate adaptation strategies is critical to build resilience.

This climate risk profile has been developed as part of the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas Initiative to illustrate the impacts of climate change in Belize, specifically within and around the Maya Forest Corridor, Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, and South Water Caye Marine Reserve. It is based on a comprehensive climate risk assessment that was undertaken in Belize and relies on information collected from desk-based or secondary research and participatory engagement processes with communities. The outcomes and data collected through the climate risk assessment helped to underpin the choices of NbS for adaptation and inform the recommended measures for gender-responsive and socially inclusive adaptation.

NbS are an innovative approach to addressing societal challenges by leveraging natural processes and ecosystems. They encompass interventions that protect, restore, and sustainably manage ecosystems to deliver multiple benefits. NbS offer a holistic alternative to traditional—often grey—infrastructure by blending infrastructure needs with ecological sustainability. This guideline emphasizes the critical role of NbS in addressing environmental challenges by harnessing the inherent functions of ecosystems to provide multiple societal benefits, such as flood control, water purification, and climate regulation.

Integrating NbS into project development requires a structured approach, starting with identifying societal challenges and evaluating if NbS can address them sustainably and cost-effectively. The guideline explains how to conduct a CBA for NbS through a five-step process:

1. identifying costs and benefits,
2. analyzing the climate context,
3. quantifying and monetizing costs and benefits,
4. identifying financing structures, and
5. communicating findings.

The guideline provides insights into systems thinking and system mapping for understanding the context of NbS. It also details how to collect and analyze climate data to inform NbS planning and implementation. Furthermore, it explores various methods for quantifying and monetizing the diverse benefits of NbS, including the use of tools like Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST). The guideline also discusses different financing structures for NbS projects, including public and private investments, grants and subsidies, and innovative financial instruments like carbon credits and resilience bonds. Finally, it highlights the importance of effectively communicating the value of NbS to various stakeholders through clear key indicators and tailored messaging.

The case studies throughout the guideline serve as real-world examples of NbS implementation and assessment, illustrating the practical application of the discussed methodologies. They showcase diverse NbS types in locations like the Netherlands (coastal protection), Burkina Faso (land restoration), and Colombia (urban green spaces). These examples highlight how to identify, analyze, quantify, finance, and communicate the value of NbS.

In the global stocktake at COP 28, governments agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly, and equitable manner. Several governments are taking action with plans to phase out oil and gas production. A managed phase-out is vital to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and smooth the transition for oil- and gas-producing economies.

One barrier is the threat of investors suing governments through investor–state arbitration. Some governments have stated that this threat has led them to adopt less ambitious fossil fuel phase-out policies.

As more governments commit to phasing out oil and gas exploration and production, mitigation of the risks of investor–state arbitration becomes a key priority. These risks differ over time and depend on the targeted stage of the production cycle. The sooner governments act, the higher the chances of achieving 1.5°C and, crucially, the lower their legal risks. Conversely, governments that postpone phase-out measures make it harder to align fossil fuel production with the Paris goals and expose themselves to additional legal risks.

This report supports governments committed to the phase-out, particularly in developed countries. It provides policy-makers with tools to mitigate the legal risks of investor–state arbitration when designing and implementing policies to phase out oil and gas production.

TEK exists in all parts of the world in some way, shape or form, either in written format or passed orally through stories or teachings. It is a fundamental part of the iTaukei people—the Indigenous People of Fiji—and their culture and traditions.

With limited resources and technology access, Fiji faces multiple challenges when it comes to its ability to adapt to climate change. TEK presents an opportunity and could play a significant role in adaptation and DRR strategies by leveraging its accumulated knowledge, unique insight, and sustainable practices.

As part of the CAPA Initiative, this report examines the relationship between TEK and the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities in Fiji, as well as how TEK assists in climate change adaptation and DRR. It is based on the ongoing work of the Fiji Government and hopes to contribute toward its efforts to preserve iTaukei customs and traditions, with a focus on highlighting how TEK can act as a useful indicator of natural disasters for DRR and climate change adaptation in a warming world.

This report seeks to assess the current state of play by examining the body of trade and investment agreements and asking: To what extent do current and emerging trade and investment agreements reflect a changing balance between the interests of exporting and consuming countries in the supply chains of critical minerals, including economic development and environmental and social objectives? And what are short-term priorities for improving practice?

Our analysis is based on a review of more than 100 trade and investment agreements and MOUs, including a focus on the agreements signed by governments of three case study states: Indonesia, Chile, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To complement this review, we conducted interviews with experts, policy-makers, and industry officials. The analysis examined the extent to which these agreements align with three key objectives:

1. supporting the economic development of mineral-rich countries,
2. securing a stable supply of raw materials for importing nations, and
3. enhancing the environmental and social outcomes of mining activities.

This report discusses the development of integrated cost-benefit analysis to estimate the direct and indirect benefits of nature-based solutions (NbS) for road resilience in Indonesia. It presents a model developed to assess the contribution of nature in improving road resilience, and the results of two model applications in Indonesia. It describes the method used for quantifying the impacts of road disruption, particularly flooding, in both physical and economic terms, along with a mathematical model for conducting a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of resilience investments. The model considers the impact of floods and landslides on road-related services, using climate forecasts and a spatially explicit assessment of relevant ecosystem services provided by nature in the proximity of roads.

The model was tested for two locations, but it can be applied to a variety of other road segments (existing or planned) in the future.

The report should be read in conjunction with the use of the Excel-based models applied to two pilot locations in Indonesia. It has been used for training of technical staff in the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS).