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New research finds nearly two-thirds of sewage and human waste in 15 major cities is unsafely managed, worsening urban sanitation crisis.
India
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What if we could predict violent conflicts before they arise and help stop them? A groundbreaking new tool, launched today by the Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership, can predict the risk of violent conflicts up to 12 months ahead of time.
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by Aman Srivastava and Priyanka Mohanty - December 03, 2019New Delhi's growing industry and transport sectors contribute to year-round air pollution, but the city's air quality reaches crisis levels during the crop-burning season in October and November.
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by O.P. Agarwal - November 20, 2019As Diwali ends and winter sets in, fireworks and crop burning push New Delhi's poor air quality to dangerous extremes. But to fix underlying, year-round air pollution, Delhi should look to cleaner transport.
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by Ayushi Trivedi and Marlena Chertock - October 31, 2019When Cape Town and Chennai nearly ran out of water, these two cities managed to avert Day Zero, while revealing broad social inequity in both places. World Cities Day is a good moment to consider the lessons to be learned about equitable responses to water crises.
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by Amala Devi and Pamli Deka - October 24, 2019Solar panels can help rural doctors in India maintain reliable electricity and save more lives. But remote hospitals remain a largely untapped market for renewables.
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October 24, 2019India is often ground zero for extreme heat events, and the urban heat island effect makes these events even more severe in cities, which are warmer than surrounding areas due to concentrated human activity and construction. Cities' buildings have a lot to do with the heat residents feel.
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by Jack McClamrock, Lihuan Zhou and Giulia Christianson - October 10, 2019We analyzed the effects of water shortages on five publicly traded Indian thermal power companies. In some cases, drought caused significant financial impacts, and investors should start stress-testing their portfolios now for climate impacts.
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Financial Implications of Parched Power: Insights from an Analysis of Indian Thermal Power Companies
This paper provides quantitative evidence to help investors better understand and measure the financial impacts from water shortages in the thermal power sector, drawing on data and analysis of Indian companies. It introduces a new methodology to estimate the water shortage-induced impacts to earnings on five Indian thermal power companies from FY 2014-2017. It also uses outputs from climate models to analyze potential future changes to water availability in India, which could increase the risk of water shortages.
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A new report from the Coalition for Urban Transitions shows that national governments that invest in low-carbon cities can enhance economic prosperity, make cities better places to live and rapidly reduce carbon emissions. The report finds that implementing low-carbon measures in cities would be worth almost US$24 trillion by 2050 and could reduce emissions from cities by 90%.
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by Tatsatom Gonçalves and Debbie Weyl - September 17, 2019China's market for new buildings is booming. Constructing zero carbon buildings would enable China and other countries to keep up with demand without further fueling climate change.
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by Renilde Becqué, Debbie Weyl, Emma Stewart, Eric Mackres, Luting Jin and Xufei Shen - September 2019Buildings that emit no greenhouse gas emissions during their operation are vital to meeting the SDGs and Paris Agreement targets. But in the past, zero carbon buildings have been assumed to be only attainable by technologically advanced or wealthy countries. New WRI research finds there are policy pathways to reach zero carbon buildings regardless of location or development status. The report identifies eight pathways countries can take to reach zero carbon buildings by reducing energy demand and cleaning energy supply.
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by Edward Davey - September 16, 2019As deforestation and land use issues get more global attention, leaders shouldn't forget the people living on these lands. A new report from the Food and Land Use Coalition outlines solutions that help rural and forest communities thrive.
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by Namrata Ginoya, Uttara Narayan and Jesse Worker - July 25, 2019India's 29 states are updating their climate action plans in 2019. From health experts to business owners, and from academics to farming communities, people outside of government can make valuable contributions to these climate plans.
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by Hayden Higgins - July 02, 2019Nicholas Walton gets on the phone with Raj Bhagat Palanichamy, an expert in cities and water for WRI India, to understand why Chennai ran out of water—and what can be done to prevent residents from going thirsty.
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Strengthening the resilience of sustainable development in a warming world
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by Raj Bhagat Palanichamy - June 25, 2019Chennai's four main reservoirs are virtually dry. This crisis is not only due to last year's poor monsoon season—lack of proper management is driving the city's water security problems.
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A mapping platform to connect affordable, reliable and clean energy to sustainable development solutions for all.
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by Anne Maassen and Jessica Seddon - May 15, 2019Positive change is happening in cities, but it’s often lost in a sea of bad news about air pollution, rising costs of living and traffic jams. Projects from Dar es Salaam, Medellín, Pune and more provide inspiration.
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by Ayesha Dinshaw, Namrata Ginoya, Parvathi Preethan and Arivudai Nambi Appadurai - March 2019This paper describes how sectoral departments in two Indian states have sought to manage climate risks and incorporate adaptation into their sector plans, budgets, and programs, as well as why this was necessary, what it looked like, and how this mainstreaming of adaptation was possible.