Water Risk Maps | Reducing U.S. Emissions | Transportation & Road Safety
New Aqueduct Mapping Tool Provides Unprecedented Ability to Assess Water Risk.Water is very complicated. It’s affected by large-scale issues like climate change and globalization. But water is also inherently local, impacted by site-specific weather, geography, and other environmental and land use conditions. Managing and using water requires understanding it in its full geographic context. Here are 5 sobering realities about global water security that the new WRI Aqueduct water risk mapping tool helps track. Full story >>>
New Report Identifies Pathways for U.S. Administration to Reduce Emissions.A new WRI report looks at whether the U.S. Administration – without congressional action – can meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. According to our research, the United States is not yet on track to meet the 17 percent target. However, the country can get there using existing federal laws, provided that the Administration takes ambitious action. Full story >>>
Water Risk to Business Is No Small Drip.By 2025, two-thirds of the world population will experience water stress. That’s largely due to population increase and climate change, but also behavior patterns: Water use grew twice as fast as population in the 20th century. Water risks are increasingly compromising businesses. In the context of this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrew Steer highlights how companies are realizing they need to work with governments and local communities to improve water management. Full story >>>
4 Grand Challenges to Energy, Food, and Water.The world is on track to become a very different place in the next two decades. Per capita income levels are rising, the global middle class is expanding, and the population is set to hit 8.3 billion people by 2030. At the same time, urbanization is happening at an accelerated pace. While these projections would bring benefits like reduced poverty and individual empowerment, they have serious implications for the world’s natural resources. Full story >>>
How Climate Change Impacts America’s Energy Infrastructure. Global warming’s effects extend beyond people, wildlife, and ecosystems: They’re threatening America’s energy infrastructure.Jennifer Morgan highlights the energy risks and opportunities climate change presents, the role that clean energy should play, and actions Congress can take to mitigate global warming’s threats. Full story >>>
A Time for Leadership on Climate Justice. Climate change undermines the realization of human rights, including the right to food, health, an adequate standard of living, and even the right to life. Developing countries who are home to the poorest and most vulnerable members of our global community – and who are now compelled to act on reducing emissions – will be hit first and hardest by climate change’s impacts. Full Story >>>
Unlocking Sustainable Transport Starts with Cities.City leaders face incredible pressure to deliver sustainable transportation. Cities now account for more than half of the world’s population – by 2050, they will hold 75 percent of us. These people – increasingly from the middle class – will need ways to commute to work, travel, and carry out their livelihoods. Cities, then, are tasked with a huge challenge: provide reliable, safe, and affordable transportation systems that can benefit both people and planet. Full story >>>
How Can We Pay for Green Growth? New Report Provides Answers. In a little more than one generation our planet will be home to 9 billion people. This will create an unprecedented demand for water, food, and energy-and stress the supporting infrastructure required for life in the 21st century. How are we to meet this demand while respecting planetary boundaries? And importantly, how will we pay for it? Full story >>>
Civil Society Groups Help Make Electricity Affordable And SustainableAccess to electricity poses major challenges in India. In some regions, fewer than 40 percent of people have access to electricity, while half of all rural households lack access to power. With energy demand expected to double by 2020, the country will need to figure out how to provide affordable, reliable power in ways that benefit both people and the planet. India has a powerful ally in overcoming these electricity challenges: civil society organizations (CSOs). Full story >>>
Climate Change Adaptation in Rural India: A Green Infrastructure Approach. Water is a scarce resource in India, especially in the state of Maharashtra, where most rainfall is limited to the monsoon season from June through September. The Government of India has long promoted a Participatory Watershed Development (PWD) approach to deal with this scarcity. But the PWD approach is now facing a major challenge: climate change. Full story >>>
Asia Pulp & Paper’s Anti-Deforestation Pledge: Sign of a Changing Industry?Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), one of the world’s largest paper companies, announced earlier this month that it will no longer cut down natural forests in Indonesia and will demand similar commitments from its suppliers. The question is whether APP will follow this positive announcement with action – the company doesn’t have a strong track record thus far. But a rapidly evolving world of improving corporate practices and powerful technology could provide the right enabling environment for APP’s commitment to succeed. Full story >>>
Find out more about WRI’s ongoing work – visit WRI in the News.
UPCOMING EVENTS
5-6 March 2013 (Stockholm, Sweden) – World Forests Summit: Achieving Sustainable Forest Management on a Global Scale. Join WRI and others at the World Forests Summit, organized by The Economist. The World Forests Summit will assemble a leading group of experts from around the world to identify common ground and discuss mechanisms for forest stakeholders to work together differently. Use discount codeWRI/DC to receive 20% off when you register online. Twitter hashtag: #forestsummit Read more >>>
Today’s environmental challenges are complex and global in nature. They call for visionary and ambitious action grounded in sound science and objective analysis – the kind of action that has distinguished WRI’s record of effectiveness for 30 years. Your gift to WRI will support this work.
WRI is unique in its ability to create solutions that protect the Earth, and in doing so, improve people’s lives. Thank you for supporting this critical work.
