Economics

WRI’s Economics Center and the New Climate Economy project make the economic case for better environmental management and climate action.

The global economy, people’s health, and development and employment opportunities depend on the availability of natural resources and healthy ecosystems.

At the same time, the costs of unsustainable resource use continue to rise. Roughly 7 million people die of air pollution every year. The health impacts of China’s air pollution are valued at more than 10 percent of GDP. And with each decade that the United States delays taking action of climate change, it is estimated that the cost of mitigation increases by 40 percent.

WRI’s Economics Center helps provide a better understanding of the value that ecosystems provide to the economy. We use an economics lens to analyze problems and solutions at the intersection of environment and human well-being.

We conduct in-depth economic assessments of the value of terrestrial and marine ecosystem services, renewable energy investments, the impact of climate vulnerability for communities and their livelihoods and more. We develop tools and guidance to help decision-makers understand the economic and social trade-offs of investing in and protecting natural resources.

The New Climate Economy, a flagship project of the Global Commission on Economy and Climate, produces groundbreaking research to show how economic development and climate action can go hand-in-hand. WRI is the managing partner.