True Cost of Coal Report

Traditionally considered the cheapest fuel around, the market price for coal ignores its most significant impacts. These so-called "external costs" manifests themselves as damages such as respiratory diseases, mining accidents, acid rain, smog pollution, reduced agricultural yields and climate change. The harm caused by mining and burning coal is not reflected in its price per tonne or its costs for a kWh of electricity, but the world at large is nevertheless paying for it. This report by Greenpeace seeks to answer the question: Just how much are we paying?

Energy [R]evolution

This report by Greenpeace provides a blueprint showing how to apply existing technologies to halve global CO2 emissions by 2050, whilst allowing for an increase in energy consumption. The report is divided into 10 regional reports, with a global summary. It demonstrates how a 'business as usual' scenario is not an option if we are to attain a secure and stable energy supply.

Harmoni eller konflikt?

I rapporten analyserar och sammanfattar lärarutbildare och forskare från olika lärarutbildningsenheter i Finland de faktorer och pedagogiska tillämpningar som bidrar till miljömedvetenhet och inlärning. En av de viktigaste faktorerna är människans förhållande till naturen och naturkontakten. Andra faktorer och teman som behandlas i rapporten är alternativa natursyner, klimatförändring som ett aktuellt miljötema, miljöfostran och hållbar utveckling som begrepp och innehåll från olika personers och gruppers perspektiv samt lokala och globala samarbetsprojekt inom hållbar utveckling. De sammanfattande analyserna baserar sig huvudsakligen på tidigare forskningsresultat, men även nya, kvantitativa och kvalitativa undersökningar ingår.

Rapporten riktar sig till forskare, lärarutbildare, lärare och lärarstuderande samt övriga som är intresserade av hållbar utveckling i utbildning och samhället.

Rapporten är utgiven av: Pedagogiska fakulteten, Åbo Akademi, Vasa.

Globala energitrender
by Marian Radetzki

A report on the current global energy situation and trends for the future (pdf-file in Swedish).

International Energy Outlook 2008 Highlights

The International Energy Outlook 2008 (IEO2008) presents an assessment by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the outlook for international energy markets through 2030. U.S. projections appearing in IEO2008 are consistent with those published in EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2008 (AEO2008), which was prepared using the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS).

BP Statistical review of World Energy

For 57 years, the BP Statistical Review of World Energy has provided high-quality, objective and globally consistent data on world energy markets. The Review is one of the most widely respected and authoritative publications in the field of energy economics, used for reference by the media, academia, world governments and energy companies. A new edition is published every June.

Report of the Scientific and Technological Community to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (pdf-file)

The transition to sustainable development is inconceivable without science, engineering and technology. The Scientific and Technological Community (S&TC) is committed to devising new strategies to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Focusing on Chapter 31 of Agenda 21, this United Nations Report reviews progress achieved by the S&TC since the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, and identifies future S&T priorities and commitments for sustainable development. The Report examines past successes and failures and future challenges relating to science and sustainable development by highlighting six key themes: poverty and inequity; integrated assessments; changing patterns of consumption and production; capacity building and education; information and communications technology; and ethics and society. The Report focuses on the two priority objectives in Chapter 31: improving communication and cooperation among the S&TC, decision makers and the public, as well as promoting codes of practice and guidelines.

REN21 - Renewables 2007 Global Status Report

This report provides an integrated perspective on the global renewable energy situation. It gives testimony of the undeterred growth of electricity, heat, and fuel production capacities from renewable energy sources, including solar PV, wind power, solar hot water/heating, biofuels, hydropower, and geothermal.

The report is 51 pages long and contains 24 illustrative figures and tables as well as extensive endnote documentation. By design, the report does not provide analysis, discuss current issues, or forecast the future.

Download Renewables 2007 Global Status Report (pdf-file)

Breathless Coastal Sea

WWF Briefing paper:
Dead ocean zones - a global problem of the 21st century.

Global Environment Outlook 4

The fourth Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4) assessment is a comprehensive and authoritative UN report on environment, development and human well-being, providing incisive analysis and information for decision making.

Raising Our Game: Can We Sustain Globalization?
This is a report that looks out to 2027 to examine future scenarios for the world’s sustainable development, and to propose a new set of rules for business to rise to the unprecedented challenges ahead.

The interplay of sustainable development and globalisation is defining the future and the stakes for the planet are rising. Raising Our Game: Can We Sustain Globalization? looks at the trade-offs involved in future choices over environmental and social value, and at the role still to be played by innovation, entrepreneurship and the emerging economies of the South.

Baltic Sea Score Card
The Baltic Sea is one of the most studied seas in the world. We have excellent scientific knowledge at our disposal, and the world’s oldest regional seas convention to guide us. Yet, despite innumerable international and regional agreements and conventions aimed at improving the management and conservation of the Baltic Sea, the situation continues to get worse.

Slow Trade - Sound Farming The reform of agricultural trade rules is at the center of negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding a multilateral framework for the global economy. However, the reforms envisaged do not bode well for the future of agriculture across the globe. They will deepen the desperation of farmers across the world and undermine local and global ecosystems. In contrast, this report explores new directions for trade rules beyond the free trade paradigm. Placing the challenges posed to agriculture and rural communities at the center of attention, it proposes political perspectives and policy instruments for a trading system that offers genuine opportunities for the poor, preserves the environment, and helps agriculture leap into the post-fossil age. This report is the result of the EcoFair Trade Dialogue, a two-years extensive consultation and exchange process that took place across all continents.

The European Mammal Assessment (EMA) is the first comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of mammals at a European level. It was initiated in late 2005, and is coordinated by The World Conservation Union (IUCN). This website presents results of the European Mammal Assessment in the form of online factsheets for each species, including IUCN Red List threat category, range map, ecology information, and other data.

Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis

The report that changed the world: Now it is beyond doubts that climate change is here and that it is manmade.

2006 Norwegian Red List (pdf-file)
The Red List published by the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre contain an updated status for a total of 3886 species in Norway. Of these 84 have gone extinct since the year 1800, among them 2 species of mammals, 4 bird species, 17 vascular plants species and 41 beetle species.

Migratory species and climate change
Impacts of a Changing Environment on Wild Animals (pdf-file)

Climate change is a highly complex problem, closely interlinked with many environmental challenges. The impacts of Climate Change pose additional pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity, in particular on highly vulnerable migratory species.

 The Living Planet Report 2006

The report is WWF's periodic update on the state of the world's ecosystems. It describes the changing state of global biodiversity and the pressure on the biosphere arising from human consumption of natural resources.

It is built around two indicators:

• the Living Planet Index, which reflects the health of the planet’s ecosystems; and
  
  
• the Ecological Footprint, which shows the extent of human demand on these ecosystems.
  

These measures are tracked over several decades to reveal past trends, then three scenarios explore what might lie ahead..

STERN REVIEW: The Economics of Climate Change

The Chancellor announced on 19 July 2005 that he had asked Sir Nick Stern to lead a major review of the economics of climate change, to understand more comprehensively the nature of the economic challenges and how they can be met, in the UK and globally.

The review is now published and may be downloaded for free

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (pdf-file)

The report has been developed in response to an invitation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at its seventh Conference of Parties (COP7) in 2001.

Realizing a Common Vision for a Baltic Sea Eco-region (pdf-file)

Report from a Research Symposium on Sustainable Development Patterns
28-29 October 2005,
Immanuel Kant State University of Russia, Kaliningrad.
Editor: Lars Rydén

Energy Issues for Scotland (pdf-file)

This report by the Royal Socity of Edinburgh discuss a number of critical issues about the supply of and demand for energy in Scotland over the next two decades. Many of the same issuses faces other countries in western Europe.

Overview of Advanced Technology Transportation, 2005 Update (pdf-file).
This overview of the 2005 transportation market includes hybrid, fuel cell, hydrogen, and alternative fuel vehicles. It covers vehicle sales, emissions, potential partners, advanced technology vehicle availability, and other factors. It also offers a "snapshot" of current vehicle technologies and trends.

The State of the Region Report 2005 – Competitiveness and Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region

"Essentially, when you look at the economic performance in the Baltic Sea Region, the news are good. But in certain areas we are not doing so well, and if not adressed those areas will create serious problems for the future prosperity of the Baltic Sea Region."
This is one of the major conclusions of Dr. Christian Ketels author of this report.
The report is a yearly publication issued at the Baltic Development Forum Summit and provides an operative bench-marking tool for the region.

Vulnerability Assessment of the North East Atlantic Shelf Marine Ecoregion to Climate Change

The North-East Atlantic Shelf has been identified as a priority ecoregion by WWF for its diverse range of coastal and offshore marine habitats including tidal mud flats, fjords and steep cliffs - from the shallow North Sea to the continental shelf break and deep sea. Millions of migratory waterfowl and waders depend on feeding and breeding grounds along the East Atlantic Flyway. The sea is rich in marine wildlife - sharks, seals, cetaceans and seabirds as well as commercially important fish stocks. There are highly productive plankton and bottom-dwelling communities, kelp forests, sea grass beds and even cold water coral reefs. However, this fragile marine environment is at risk from a number of threats not least climate change.

UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund State of the World Population 2004
The Cairo Consensus at Ten: Population, Reproductive Health and The Global Effort to End Poverty

The 2004 report examines the progress countries have made and the obstacles they have encountered at the halfway point in implementing the ICPD plan.

This year's report: "State of the World 2005. The promise of equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health & the MDGs" will be published the 12th October.

The reports are produced in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian

State of the Environment in the Baltic Sea Proper 2005.
(pdf-file)

Östersjörapporten is a recurrent report, in Swedish only, on the state of the environment in the Baltic Sea. In this issue the decreasing stocks of pike and perch is discussed. It is also noted that the populations of eagles, grey seals and bladder wrack are increasing.

The report is published by Stockholm Marine Research Centre (SMF).

Lessons Not Learned
The Other Shell Report 2004 (pdf-file)

This report is based largely on evidence from people
around the world who live in the shadows of Shell’s various operations.

This report is written on behalf of Friends of the Earth (FOE).

Environmental policy integration in Europe - Administrative Culture and Practices
(Technical report No 5/2005)

The report presents an overview of administrative culture and practices for EPI in Europe and investigates some of the main management styles used. It reviews institutional structures and practices in the EU-25, the candidate and applicant countries, the countries of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) and the countries of eastern Europe, Caucasus and central Asia (EECCA).

The report is available online at EEA

Annual European Community greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2003 and inventory report 2005. (Technical report No 4/2005)

This report is the annual submission of the greenhouse gas inventory of the European Community to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It presents greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2003 by individual Member State and by economic sector. The report shows that, between 2002 and 2003, emissions in the 15 old member states increased by 53 million tonnes, or 1.3% and total EU emissions increased by 1.5%.

EUROPE 2005: The Ecological Footprint

WWF and Global Footprint Network just launched "EUROPE 2005: The Ecological Footprint", a report showing that Europe uses 20 percent of the biosphere's services to serve seven percent of the world's population - a resource demand that has risen nearly 70 percent since 1961. The report is endorsed by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and will be used by EU to craft a sustainable development strategy for the region. In the foreword of the report, Barroso also acknowledges the need to understand planetary limits.

Kustmiljöns framtid

This is a report, in Swedish, from MISTRA the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research. The report deals with how to use natural resources in environmental friendly and sustainable way in the Swedish coastal areas.

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The 2005 Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy: Initial Stocktaking and Future Orientations

The document contains an overview of current and future European efforts towards sustainable development. the document contains an overview of current and future European efforts towards sustainable development.

STATE OF THE REGION REPORT 2004
An Assessment of Competitiveness in the Baltic Sea Region

The Baltic Sea region has in recent years outperformed European peer regions (British Isles, Iberian Peninsula, and Central Europe) on key performance measures such as prosperity growth, labor productivity growth, and scientific innovation

GDP growth has, however, not been exceptional, prosperity is only at or below the level of peer regions, higher labor input - not higher labor productivity as often assumed - is the region's key advantage, and the strong innovation performance is strongly dependent on a core group of mainly Swedish multinationals. The differences across the sub-regions of the Baltic Sea region are high, and higher than in peer regions. The sub-regions differ not only in overall performance but also in the pattern of underlying performance drivers

EEA Technical report No 1/2005
EEA core set of indicators
Guide

The European Environment Agency has released a guide to the "core set" of 37 environmental indicators that will underpin other EU indicator-based assessments of green progress. The agency adopted the set last year; first measurements will be published for most of them in the final quarter of this year. The indicators will be used to compile other reports such as the headline EU sustainability indicators and specialised transport and environment indicators.

Global International Waters Assessment:
Baltic Sea

This report presents the GIWA assessment of the Baltic Sea region, one of the largest brackish water areas in the world. It is a semi-enclosed sea, which together with other physical as well as socio-economic characteristics makes it very sensitive to anthropogenic pressures. Eutrophication remains the most pressing problem in the region, as nitrogen and phosphorus inputs are still too high, despite considerable efforts to reduce discharges. The issue of overexploitation of fish is also considered as a severe problem, mainly due to the overutilisation of fishing quotas, high exploitation rate and oversized fleet capacity. The past and present status and future prospects of these issues are discussed, and they are traced back to their root causes. Policy options to mitigate these problems are proposed, which are closely connected to the basic principles of the Helsinki Convention and EU Water Framework Directive to cater for a harmonised implementation of water protection measures in the Baltic Sea States.

The Little Green Data Book, 2003

From the Foreword:

Under the headings of agriculture, forests, biodiversity, energy, emissions and pollution, water and sanitation, and 'greener' national accounts, the Little Green Data Book presents key indicators of the environment and its relationship to people for more than 200 countries. While there are gaps and shortcomings in the data, we hope it will inspire decision-makers at all levels to use this information and to seek to fill the gaps for their own countries.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

The main conclusions of the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment report are that:

- Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems faster and more extensively than in any period in human history.

- The changes made to ecosystems have contributed to substantial gains in human well-being and economic development, but these gains have been achieved at growing costs.

- This degradation of ecosystem services could get significantly worse during the next 50 years.

- Reversing the degradation of ecosystems while meeting increasing demands for their services is a challenge.

A popularized version of the MEA report is also available at Greenfacts.org

The 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index, produced by the Yale and Columbia universities in the United States, combines 21 indicators of environmental performance, such as greenhouse-gas emissions and water quality. A country's rank reflects its average score.
   The 146-nation list runs from Finland, at the top, to North Korea, in last place. Finland's supreme position is a product of its wealth, sound environmental policies and low population density.
 

World Watch Institute
State of the World 2003
The Worldwatch Institute has made many of its publications that are older than 18 months freely available on their website. These documents are available in an easily downloadable PDF format and include earlier editions of State of the World, Vital Signs, and the Worldwatch Papers, as well as many individual World Watch magazine articles. Please note that the publications are available for individual use only.

United Nations Environment Programme
The GEO Year Book
Is a series that keeps abreast of environmental issues as they unfold. GEO Year Book 2003 highlights the most significant environmental developments in the year in a visually appealing and reliable volume.
 

CORDIO AND IUCN REPORT ON TSUNAMI DAMAGE TO INDIAN OCEAN CORAL REEFS
First preliminary report of the damage to coral reefs and related ecosystems of the western and central Indian Ocean caused by the tsunami of December 26, 2004.

A Framework for Action on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Managemet. The WEHAB initiative was proposed by UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan as a contribution to the preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). It seeks to provide focus and impetus to action in the five key thematic areas of Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and Biodiversity and sustainable ecosystem management that are integral to a coherent international approach to the implementation of sustainable development and that are among the issues contained in the Summit's Draft Plan of Implementation.
 

Global Species Assessment More than 15,000 species around the world are at risk of extinction, according to a report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The organization, whose annual list of endangered species is commonly known as the "Red List," found that one in eight birds, almost half of turtles and tortoises, one in four mammals studied, and one in three amphibians is threatened.

Living Planet Report 2004 (pdf-file)

The size of humanity's "ecological footprint" has increased 2.5 times over the past 40 years. People are consuming the Earth's natural resources 20 % faster than nature can renew them - a dangerous imbalance that is driving the loss of species and may lead to critical resource shortages in the years ahead, according to this new report by World Wildlife Fund.

"Education for Sustainable Development ­ Baltic 21" presents examples of how the Baltic Sea Project (BSP) schools have worked with the sectors in the Baltic 21 agreement: sustainable agriculture, education, energy, fisheries, forestry, industry, tourism and transport.

The Baltic 21 Learners' Guide 5 contains a broad set of suggestions for activities that integrate the environmental, economic and the socio-cultural dimensions.

The report is published by the Danish Ministry of Education

Reporting on Climate Change: Understanding the Science, 3rd Edition

Reporting on Climate Change: Understanding the Science is a guide for reporters, educators, and other communicators on the current understanding about the science of global climate change. This guide is the third in a series initially intended to help journalists ­ both reporters and editors ­ understand and report on the most authoritative scientific findings involving the far-ranging issues related to global climate change. Initially conceived to be exclusively for journalists and editors, it has evolved over time as a resource also for formal and informal climate science educators and for other communicators needing a "plain English" grasp of climate science....