Insights: WRI's Blog

Future cities will need a near-zero-carbon footprint, an end to dependence on fossil fuels and an ability to manage weather extremes while finding ways to lift up already vulnerable and marginalized groups. To envision these cities of the future, we have to demand more of our collective imagination.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) accounts for nearly 20% of the world's fish catch. A "trusted traveller" border control-like system for the seas could help curb illicit fishing.

Soil is eroding more quickly than it is being formed. Sustainable land management can help control soil erosion, protect watersheds and reduce carbon emissions.

Data shows that the energy sector produces 73% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 10 countries account for more than two-thirds of annual emissions.

On the road from coal to renewable energy, China has a complex challenge to face: it must satisfy rising energy demand while reducing carbon emissions and sustainably managing water use without hobbling the power and agriculture sectors or the overall economy. Water stress adds to the challenge, because 66.5% of China's coal-fired power plants are in areas where water is scarce.

Research shows that 80 airports around the world could be underwater with one meter of sea level rise, which scientists predict is likely to occur by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions aren't reduced.

As the avocado industry continues to grow in Mexico, particularly in Michoacán and Jalisco, deforestation, water stress and social challenges compound.

To prevent the most dangerous impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions will have to reach net zero by 2050. That will require both deep cuts in emissions and the removal of remaining emissions directly from the atmosphere. Making that happen will take concerted U.S. innovation akin to a moonshot. In this case, it's a CarbonShot.

Zoleka Mandela draws on her grandfather's legacy in speaking out against the injustice of the hidden epidemic that threatens children, especially in the developing world. In this podcast, she is joined by Claudia Adriazola-Steil, director for health & road safety at the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, as they discuss the unimaginable toll—emotional and economic—taken by road deaths, and what we can do to turn this loss into action.

Advocates of climate finance in Congress have spent the last three years on the defensive, working to maintain current levels of spending. But a rapid scale up of investment in climate action is urgently needed, and public finance plays a key role.