Guides: Global Studies: Organizations

IGO vs NGO

International governmental organizations (IGO), should not be confused with non-governmental organizations (NGO). IGOs are nation-state level organizations created by treaty or convention. A prominent example of an IGO is the United Nations. Other larger IGOs include the African Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are civil society organizations formed by individuals to advance shared goals or interests.

Organizations

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
The Center is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and is widely recognized as an influential and pragmatic voice on climate issues. Its mission is to bring together government and business leaders to advance strong policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean energy, and strengthen resilience to climate impacts.
Climate Action Summit
This UN Summit will showcase a leap in collective national political ambition and it will demonstrate massive movements in the real economy in support of the agenda.
Climate Institute
The Institute has been instrumental in moving climate change onto the international agenda, fostering collaboration between developing countries and richer nations, and in launching and implementing pioneering studies and initiatives.
Environmental and Society Portal
The Environment & Society Portal is a gateway to open access resources about human participation in, and understandings of, the environment. It contains several, exclusive peer-reviewed journals, and less formal journal articles. The Portal’s map, timeline, and keyword explorer are great ways to explore environmentally significant Places & Events.
Environmental Defense Fund
One of the world's largest environmental organizations linking science, economics, and law.
Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS)
Studies environmental changes within the larger socioeconomic and political contexts that cause them. Their research focuses on the way diverse social processes such as globalization, poverty, disease, and conflict, combine with global environmental change to affect human security.
National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Formerly NOAC's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the NCEI is responsible for preserving, monitoring, assessing, and providing public access to the U.S. climate and historical weather data and information.
NOAC - State of the Climate
The State of the Climate is a collection of monthly summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale.
OECD - Climate Change Portal
OECD climate change work is focused on how to move countries to a low-carbon and climate resilient pathway, and how to improve the effectiveness of the global climate regime. Information by country, news releases, policy briefs, and case studies.
The Royal Society (England) - Climate Change: A Summary of the Science
The Royal Society is an organization of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. This link provides the Society’s current scientific evidence on climate change.
Sunrise Movement
A group of youth who work together to fight climate change and create new jobs at the same time
United Nations - Climate Action
United Nations Environment Program
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC supports multiple UN bodies that serve to advance the implementation of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Information, news, documents and reports on the Convention's activities.

Anthropocene Alliance
The nation’s largest coalition of frontline communities fighting for climate and environmental justice
Climate Central
Climate Central is an independent organization of leading scientists and journalists researching and reporting the facts about our changing climate and its impact on the public. They survey and conduct scientific research on climate change and inform the public of key findings. Research is focused on the United States.
ClimateNexus - USA
Climate Nexus is a strategic communications group dedicated to highlighting the wide-ranging impacts of climate change and clean energy solutions in the United States. It draws upon established and emerging science to personalize and localize the climate and energy story through work with the media, relevant NGOs and other thought leaders.
Climate Resources at the National Academies
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine - America's Climate Choices
EPA Climate Change Indicators
The Environmental Protection Agency partners with more than 40 data contributors from various government agencies, academic institutions, and other organizations to compile a key set of indicators related to the causes and effects of climate change, primarily in the U.S.
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to "conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends." The Nature Conservancy takes a scientific approach to conservation. It pursues non-confrontational, pragmatic solutions to conservation's challenges working with partners including indigenous communities, businesses, governments, and other non-profits.
Sierra Club
A public interest organization promoting conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy decisions.
The Sunrise Movement
The Sunrise Movement is a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
USGCRP coordinates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society; this site brings together the work of 13 departments and agencies representing diverse perspectives, including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, and State, to name just a few, as well as the National Science Foundation, U.S. AID, among other agencies.

Climate Change Institute - University of Maine
Contains Maine's Climate Future: An Initial Assessment (2009)
Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Coalition
A coalition of government agencies, business leaders, environmental organizations and other stakeholders advocating for passage of legislation preparing Massachusetts for climate change impacts.
Mass Climate Action Network
Network of approximately 50 Massachusetts communities engaged in climate change issues on a local basis.
Nature Groupie
Empowering generations of outdoor enthusiasts to work together to change the world
The Union of Concerned Scientists -Northeast
From transportation policy to offshore wind farms, to use rigorous, independent science to solve our planet's most pressing problems.