WRI Insights

Strengthening community forest rights [can help mitigate climate change](http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/07/community-forests-undervalued-approach-climate-change-mitigation) in many heavily forested countries. Globally, communities have legal rights to at least [513 million hectares of forest](http://www.rightsandresources.org/publication/what-future-for-reform/), making up one-eighth of the world’s forests. These community forests hold [about 37.7 billion tonnes of carbon](http://www.wri.org/securingrights), or 29 times more than the annual carbon footprint of all passenger vehicles in the world.

As part of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), countries are currently hard at work to [create an international climate agreement by 2015](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/11/qa-jennifer-morgan-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015) that can both respond to the growing impacts of climate change and drive a global shift to a low-carbon economy.

At [COP 20](http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/11/what-would-success-look-cop-20-lima) in Lima, country representatives are coming together to discuss plans to reign in global greenhouse gas emissions. A new interactive from WRI reveals the history of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as well as what needs to happen to stay within world’s [“carbon budget”](http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/03/visualizing-global-carbon-budget) and prevent the most disastrous impacts of climate change.

COP 20 is a major milestone on the path to Paris and the 2015 climate agreement. By narrowing down the options for the agreement and setting the rules of the road for putting forward and evaluating national contributions over the next year, this can be the global climate conference that puts us on the way to an [effective, robust, and ambitious agreement](/blog/2013/11/qa-jennifer-morgan-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015).

Recent data reveals only 10 countries produce around 70 percent of global GHG emissions. Here's a closer look at these top 10 emitters—based on our [Climate Analysis Indicators Tool](http://cait.wri.org/wri/).

With China at an economic and environmental crossroad, ongoing cooperation on climate and clean energy with the U.S. can yield significant social and economic rewards for both countries. The benefits of this course can and must go together to tackle climate change and create vibrant economies for the 21st century.

Rapid urbanization creates a number challenges for city leaders, but the growing use of sustainable urban mobility solutions provides reasons for optimism in cities worldwide.

To limit global warming to 2 degrees C will require enormous collective effort. China and the U.S. have joined the EU by announcing their targets, *and as the world’s top three emitters*, the pressure will stay on them to deliver the most ambitious reductions possible.

A new tool from [WRI’s Access Initiative](http://www.accessinitiative.org/) and the [Jamaica Environment Trust](http://www.jamentrust.org/), shows where recently approved or proposed development projects overlap with protected areas, fisheries, forest reserves, and other areas important for Jamaica's environment and public health.

To stay below a 2-degree Centigrade temperature rise, the world needs to reach global carbon neutrality-no net carbon increases-by the end of the century, according to a new report from the UNEP. WRI President Andrew Steer shares highlights and tells what needs to be done.