Campaigning organisation looking at environmental security through a human rights lens. Focus on five key areas: the ocean, wildlife and biodiversity, climate, forests and cotton

Compiled by Yale & Columbia universities to compare the environmental performance of countries around the world since 2000- (originally called the Environmental Sustainability Index).

Nonprofit network of organisations, formed in 2003, focusing on data relating to human impact on the environment. It's National Footprint Accounts data (1961-) is freely available.

Covers scholarly and general interest publications, government documents and reports. Abstracts with some full text.

Including the IISD digital library.

Student led organisation that publishes an annual league table of UK university sustainability efforts

Project from the WRI and partners to collate datasets covering cities, climate, energy, food, forests, ocean, society, water

US based independent policy research organisation (2008-) with a focus on climate & energy. Publications freely available

Uses data from the excellent Our World in Data website to measure progress on each of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Continuously updated repository of syntheses of research evidence about the policy programs in a broad range of areas (e.g., climate action, community and social services, economic development and growth, education, environmental conservation, education, housing and transportation), including the Sustainable Development Goals. Funded by McMaster and Monash universities

NASA funded centre at Columbia offering a wide range of data sets covering human-environment issues

Collective of scholars and activists seeking emancipatory social and ecological transformation. Aims to research and act with and for those whose voice is marginalised, side-lined or quashed by the dominant order

Its Knowledge Repository offers a huge range of resources, including its flagship publication Global environmental outlook and associated data.

CDP is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system (self-reporting) for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. It is regarded as the gold standard of environmental reporting. As well as freely available research reports, CDP offers the most comprehensive dataset on corporate and city action. Open data sets available for cities, states & regions. Corporate level data is by subscription only. The Library does not subscribe, but CDP company data is available through Bloomberg, available in EBS (Lab S).

See if you can save the planet from the worst effects of climate change. Created by The Financial Times, the game is based on published scientific research by the IEA. The objective is limit global warming to 1.5C by cutting energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050

Greenhouse gas emissions monitoring project founded in 2020. Uses AI, machine learning & other technologies to analyse data from satellites, sensors, and additional sources of emissions information from around the world. Data downloads from 2015 by sector and country

New (2024) tool from the UNs Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, uses satellite data to provide decades of climate data to UN staff (and other authorised researchers) working on climate & security issues

EU backed project to quantify the impact of climate change on the future risk of humanitarian crises and disasters. It looks at environmental and socio-economic vulnerabilities. The projections are applied at different timeframes (2022, 2050, 2080) to calculate change in risk and vulnerability gaps

The UN body tasked with investigating the science of climate change & producing a sequence of highly influential reports since 1990

Non-profit organisation based in Germany, focusing on Climate Policy and Global Sustainability, to generate ideas on climate change and drive their implementation

The world’s largest public opinion survey on climate change, conducted by UNDP & University of Oxford. Surveys in 2021 & 2024 so far. Citizens are asked about attitudes towards & impact of climate change. The 2024 survey covers 77 countries & 15 questions

UN programme working with countries around the world to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change effects. The UNDP also has an excellent Climate Dictionary, which is a good starting point for defining terminology & concepts - https://www.undp.org/publications/climate-dictionary

Published annually since 2010 to document the difference between where greenhouse emissions are predicted to be in 2030 and where they should be to avert the worst impacts of climate change. Other regular UNEP publications, such as the Adaptation Gap, can be found on the UNEP publications webpage
https://www.unep.org/resources?f%5B0%5D=category%3A452&f%5B1%5D=topic%3A20
UNEP experts also contribute to the Production Gap reports - https://productiongap.org/

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the body tasked with tackling the global challenge of climate change. Includes news & documentation from COP26 and other climate summits

Includes the periodic WHO Health & Climate Change Survey reports, published periodically

The WMO has produced an annual statement monitoring the global climate each year since 1993

AQUASTAT is the FAO global information system on water resources and agricultural water management. It collects, analyses and provides free access to over 180 variables and indicators by country from 1960.

Pioneered by the WRI in 1997, and now a major tool for the visualisation & monitoring of the state of global forest resources

Created in 1948, membership drawn from governments & civil society organisations. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.

Reports, news & data

A flagship publication from the FAO since 1995-

Flagship publication is the World Water Development Report (2003-)
https://www.unwater.org/publication_categories/world-water-development-report/

Great visualisations from National Geographic & Utrecht University, indicating the "water gap" (i.e. shortages due to difference between water supply and demand) around the world from 1980 to 2019

UN database, global annual coverage 1950-

Global coalition from across the energy landscape committed to achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century. Many useful publications available

The first open-source database of oil, gas and coal production and reserves globally, expressed in CO2-equivalent. By increasing transparency and accountability around fossil fuel production, the Registry aims to improve understanding of extraction impacts on the remaining carbon budget and ultimately to inform its management by decision makers

Most IEA data is only available by subscription, but UK students & academics can access the datasets through the UK Data Service

Data from 1997-

World pollution map, updated daily, from Plume Labs.

Millions of pages of digitised documents from the vaults of the world's largest multinational chemical firms, specifically covering industrial poisons: benzene, PCBs, polyvinyl chloride, silica, asbestos, lead

Free online journal edited from the Sociology Dept., University of Warwick, looking at all things toxic

UN agency website to assist in measuring & combating food loss and food waste

Johns Hopkins University project, combines data from multiple sources to give users an overview of food systems across countries & regions.

New publication from UNEP that attempts to estimate & compare food waste across countries

Useful database from the LSEs Grantham Institute.

UN portal offering full text of multilateral environmental treaties & associated documentation.

University of Oregon project aims to be a repository for information related to IEAs - texts, memberships, evaluation of their influence/performance.

UK government ministry responsible for environmental matters.

Independent UK charity. Free access to some online reports.

National Biodiversity Network mapping of UK species and habitats

Annual publication of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) 2007-

Investigative journalists expose water pollution in the UK. Includes handy Watershed Pollution Map

Charity promoting recycling & waste reduction in the UK.

Filter US datasets by keyword (sustainability, environment, climate, etc.)

US Government agency that makes available a huge range of publications & data

Forum bringing together researchers & others with an interest in Canadian environmental issues

Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme, looking at our planet and its environment to benefit all European citizens

EU agency with publications & datasets relating to all aspects of the environment, including emissions

IPE is a non-profit environmental research organization registered and based in Beijing, China. Since its establishment in June 2006, IPE has dedicated itself to collecting, collating and analyzing government and corporate environmental information to build a database of environmental information. IPE's two platforms – the Blue Map website and the Blue Map app – integrate environmental data to serve green procurement, green finance and government environmental policymaking in China