WRI's goal is to protect the global climate system from further harm due to emissions of greenhouse gases and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change.
WRI's Governance goal is to guarantee public access to information and decisions regarding natural resources and the environment.
WRI's Markets & Enterprise goal is to harness markets and enterprise to expand economic opportunity and protect the environment.
WRI's People and Ecosystems goal is to reverse rapid degradation of ecosystems and assure their capacity to provide humans with needed goods and services.
U.S. Climate Change Policy
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| Climate & Energy Security Impacts | Current Legislative Proposals | U.S. Emissions Flow Chart | U.S. & International Emissions |
On this page:
- WRI Contacts
- Congressional Testimony & Submissions
- Policy Briefs & Backgrounders
- Charts & Data
- Publications
WRI Contacts
Jonathan Pershing Program Director Jennifer Layke Deputy Director Tim Herzog Policy Communications
Congressional Testimony & Submissions
- Testimony of Dr. Jonathan Pershing before the Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe (May 6, 2008)
- International Climate Change Negotiations: Restoring U.S. Leadership. Jonathan Pershing’s Testimony Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (November 13, 2007)
- Legislative Hearing on America’s Climate Security Act of 2007. Jonathan Pershing’s Testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (November 8, 2007)
- Jonathan Lash’s Statement To the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. (October, 9, 2007)
- The Future of Coal under a Carbon Cap and Trade Regime. Submission to the U.S House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (September 14, 2007)
- Voluntary Carbon Offsets: Getting What You Pay For. Derik Broekhoff’s Testimony Before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (July 18, 2007)
- Letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairwoman, Committee on Environment and Public Works from WRI President Jonathan Lash in response to June 28th testimony of the National Commission on Energy Policy on a comparison of projected greenhouse-gas emission reductions (pdf) under various cap-and-trade proposals (June 19, 2007)
- Climate Change & Energy Independence: Transportation & Infrastructure Issues. Jonathan Lash’s Testimony Before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (May 16, 2007)
- U.S. Re-Engagement in the Global Effort to Fight Climate Change. David Jhirad’s Testimony Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (May 15, 2007)
- International Perspectives/Developing Country Engagement: Testimony before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, Committee on Energy and Commerce (March 27, 2007)
- U.S. Climate Policy Design: Submission to the House Energy & Commerce Committee (Mar 19, 2007)
- USCAP: Jonathan Lash’s testimony before the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee (Feb 13, 2007) - other USCAP testimony
- Biofuels: Submission to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee (Feb 1, 2007)
- Technology: Jonathan Pershing’s testimony before the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee (May 25, 2006)
- Design Elements of a Mandatory Market-based GHG Regulatory System: Submission to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee - Listen (Apr 4, 2006)
Policy Briefs & Backgrounders
- The Bottom Line Series
- Fact Sheet: Midwest States Show National Leadership in Addressing Climate Change and Energy Security
- Green Employment Tax Swap
- U.S. Climate Change & Energy Security Impacts: 2025
- Climate Science 2006: Major New Discoveries
- Growth of Emissions in the US and the European Union
- Growth of Emissions and Energy Use in China
- Agriculture & Climate Change: Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Opportunities and the 2007 Farm Bill
- Agriculture & Climate Change: The Policy Context
- Beyond the RFS: The Environmental and Economic Impacts of Increased Grain Ethanol Production in the U.S.
- Energy Security & Climate Change: Alternatives For the Clean Car Revolution (WRI/Merrill Lynch)
- Taxing Carbon to Finance Tax Reform (WRI/Duke Energy)
Charts & Data
- Climate Statistics: Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) (international and U.S. climate data)
WRI Publications
- All WRI Climate Publications
- Target: Intensity. An Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Intensity Targets. Timothy Herzog, Kevin Baumert, and Jonathan Pershing. An analysis of GHG intensity targets and their potential as frameworks for achieving significant emissions reductions. 2006. 36 pages.
- Navigating the Numbers. Kevin Baumert, Timothy Herzog, and Jonathan Pershing. An analysis of international and sectoral GHG data and the implications for international climate policy. 2005. 122 pages.
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading in U.S. States: Observations and Lessons from the OTC NOx Budget Program. Andrew Aulisi, Jonathan Pershing et al. A review of the multi-state NOx trading program and lessions for a multi-state GHG emissions trading program. 2005. 36 pages.
About the World Resources Institute
WRI is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people’s lives. Our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment for current and future generations.
With respect to global warming, our goal is to protect the global climate system from further harm and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change. In the United States, we believe that national, mandatory legislation with significant emissions reductions in the short- and long-term is an essential step to combat global warming and lay the foundation for comprehensive international efforts.
What We Do
As an independent non-advocacy research organization, WRI has been a trusted partner providing policy analysis, facilitated dialogue, and guidance to public and private decision-makers as they develop climate change strategies. Our information and inventory tools are used extensively to assess and measure GHG emissions at every level. We focus our efforts in the following approaches:
- Technology. Based on the “wedge” model, WRI is analyzing the technology options that can produce significant emissions reductions; for instance, wind power, biofuels and carbon capture and sequestration. This analysis focuses on the investments and policies required to deploy these and other technologies on the scale required, along with the environmental impacts.
- Business Engagement. WRI has had great success in working through private sector partnerships to develop innovative climate change policies and the business case for action. In particular, WRI is currently working with major corporations on greenhouse gas accounting, renewable energy purchasing, climate change strategy development, and carbon capture and storage technology and policy reviews.
- Objective Policy Expertise. WRI does not advocate for specific legislation, but we are experts on the specifics of policy architecture. We have testified before Congress on policy options, important design considerations, and the possible effects on other sectors and policies. We advise U.S. state and regional policymakers and we also work extensively to turn our extensive experience with the private and public sector into workable and effective policy strategies.
- International Perspectives. Internationally, WRI is a high-level participant in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the G-8, the European Union, the Asia-Pacific Partnership, and many major emitting countries. We can speak to both the international and U.S. experiences with environmental protection and policies: what has worked in the past, how climate, energy, and agriculture policy relate, and how U.S. policies could link to state and international efforts.
