Policy Paper/Report

Wild Animal Welfare in Local Policies on Land Use and the Built Environment: Highlights

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Experts increasingly agree that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interlinked. As cities consider how to make their infrastructure more resilient and sustainable, policymakers and other local actors have an opportunity to adopt new policies that can benefit wild animals, humans, and the environment. This document summarizes key highlights from Wild Animal […]

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Wild Animal Welfare in Local Policies on Land Use and the Built Environment

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Experts increasingly agree that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interlinked. As cities consider how to make their infrastructure more resilient and sustainable, policymakers and other local actors have an opportunity to adopt new policies that can benefit wild animals, humans, and the environment. This first-of-its-kind policy brief describes how local governments

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Toward a Global Plastics Treaty: A Survey of State Submissions ahead of INC-2

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As the international community approaches the second session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC), tasked with developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, member states were invited to make submissions on the potential elements of the instrument. This policy brief summarizes the ideas and views expressed by states ahead of INC-2, and outlines

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Plastic Production in SIDS: Case Studies of Five Small Island Developing States

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Recognizing the need to address the growing global plastics crisis, the international community has begun the process of developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, which has the potential to impact domestic activities surrounding plastic production. Up until now, however, there has been a notable lack of information on the role that Small

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Plastic Production in SIDS: Preliminary Data on the Role of Small Island Developing States in Global Plastic Production

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Recognizing the need to address the growing global plastics crisis, the international community has begun the process of developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, which has the potential to impact domestic activities surrounding plastic production. Up until now, however, there has been a notable lack of information on the role that Small

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Equitable Electrification: Could City and State Policies Aggravate Energy Insecurity?

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Progressive cities and states have begun enacting policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, one of the leading sources of such emissions in the United States. The same jurisdictions have also generally committed to pursuing decarbonization equitably, without exacerbating the disadvantages faced by historically marginalized communities. Electrification is currently a favored policy for decarbonizing

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Beyond Gas Bans: Alternative Pathways to Reduce Building Emissions in Light of State Preemption Laws

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At the federal level, opportunities to advance emissions reductions from buildings have expanded due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to speed the nation’s transition to carbon-free energy sources. However, many municipalities have seen their powers to steer building decarbonization curtailed in recent years. Notably, between 2020 and 2021, 20 states

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Impact Fees in NYC? A Summary of Potential Sources of Legal Authority, Constraints, and Options

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New development offers a variety of potential social and economic benefits for New York City. At the same time, new development puts additional pressure on the local environment, including on critical physical and social infrastructure, much of which is already overburdened and in need of upgrades. In this context, some have called upon the City

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SIDS & Marine Plastic Pollution: A Look at How Small Island Developing States are Impacted by Plastic Pollution

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Plastic—one of the world’s most ubiquitous materials—currently poses one of the greatest threats to the environment, human health, and livelihoods. However, the impacts of plastic pollution are neither distributed nor experienced equally by all countries; while plastic pollution affects many countries across the globe, small island developing states (SIDS) have been disproportionately affected by this

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Valuing Density: An Evaluation of the Extent to which American, Australian, and Canadian Cities Account for the Climate Benefits of Density through Environmental Review

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This study looks at the extent to which major cities in the United States, Australia, and Canada assess the climate impacts of densification through the environmental review process. Research indicates that greater urban density is associated with lower household greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in high GDP countries. Yet there is reason to believe that cities

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