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Plenary session of the COP21 after the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Photo: COP Paris/Flickr.
Commentary

Three Cheers as We Enter 2016

Pessimists may be confidently gloomy about 2016 -- anemic world economy, rising inequality, terrorist threats, disastrous weather -- but in the area of sustainable development, they are wrong. WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer notes that we have much more reason for hope at the start of this new year than we did at the beginning of 2015.

Commentary
Satellite image of central U.S. storm, December 28, 2015. Photo credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project
Commentary

Climate Milestones of 2015: The Good, the Bad and the Signs to Watch

2015 featured some of the most significant climate milestones in human history. From record-high temperatures to atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide not seen in a million years or more to a landmark international agreement to limit global warming, no other year has seen such a stark contrast of climate indicators.

Commentary
U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and other heads of state at COP21. Credit: White House
Commentary

Top 5 Corporate Sustainability Stories of 2015

2015 was a roller-coaster year for business and sustainability around the globe, ending with the groundbreaking Paris Agreement on climate change. Here are our top five stories illustrating the wild ride.

Commentary
Maasai tribe in the Serengeti National Park.
Commentary

LandMark Puts Indigenous Peoples and Other Communities on the Global Map

Indigenous peoples and communities manage their forests and other ecosystems well if they have secure rights over their land, but getting legal recognition of these rights is often a challenge. LandMark, a new online platform, can help address this challenge.

Commentary
Commentary

Transforming Our Cities into the Cities We Need

Cities designed for cars rather than people create an urban existence that is bad for the economy, bad for family life and terrible for the environment. We can -- we must -- do better in the 21st century, as WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer explains.

Commentary
Flooding in Sri Lanka
Commentary

When Adaptation Is Not Enough: Paris Agreement Recognizes “Loss and Damage”

For the first time, loss and damage now resides within the international climate agreement as a standalone concept. It springs from the reality that there are some climate change impacts that cannot be adapted to—impacts that are so severe that they leave in their wake permanent or significantly damaging effects.

Commentary
India farmers
Commentary

What Does the Paris Agreement Mean for Climate Resilience and Adaptation?

The new Paris Agreement places unprecedented importance on actions needed to help people adapt to a warmer world, and solidifies expectations that all countries will do their part to promote greater climate resilience.

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Commentary

Top 10 Outcomes 2015

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Commentary

The Governance Center of Excellence

Commentary
Mato Grosso forest
Commentary

A COP21 Surprise: Brazilian States Commit to Restore More than 3 Million Hectares of Degraded Land

These new commitments, part of Initiative 20x20, already fulfill a quarter of the restoration goal set forth in Brazil's national climate plan to restore and reforest 12 million hectares by 2030.

Commentary

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