WRI Insights

The [CIFs](https://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/)—a pair of multilateral climate finance funds designed to help developing countries pilot low-carbon, climate-resilient development—have been called a “[living laboratory](http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2011/06/24/african-efforts-on-climate-action-get-boost)” for climate finance. Because they are one of the largest international climate finance funds and have been in operation for six years, other emerging funds can learn from their experiences. In particular, the [Green Climate Fund](http://www.wri.org/tags/green-climate-fund) (GCF)—which is expected to become the main vehicle for securing and distributing global climate finance—can benefit from the lessons coming out of the CIFs experience. We provide a few takeaways that provide lessons for the GCF.

Brazil [spent billions of dollars](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/05/uk-brazil-worldcup-infrastructure-idUKKBN0EG24F20140605) on World Cup infrastructure, and many are [understandably questioning](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/sports/worldcup/world-cup-2014-residents-wonder-how-new-stadiums-will-benefit-region-after-cup.html?_r=0) the long-term benefits these investments will bring to local communities. While many of these criticisms are justified, if one looks beyond the shiny new stadiums—namely, to the city streets—a more positive story emerges. World Cup-related investments helped finance sustainable transport systems that will benefit Brazilians long after the final whistle blows.

While the climate change debate continues in some quarters in Washington, the impact of sea-level rise cut across political divides at the [“Rising to the Challenge” conference](http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/bipartisan-group-discusses-threat-of-rising-sea-levels-in-hampton/article_e6733cb8-007f-11e4-8e90-0017a43b2370.html?mode=jqm) in Norfolk, Virginia, earlier this week. Members of Congress and Virginia mayors from both political parties joined military and state and local officials to discuss the challenges sea level rise presents to the [Hampton Roads area](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Roads), as well as how to promote federal, state and local action. “We cannot afford to do nothing, it is time to act,” Mayor Sessoms said, underscoring that the impacts of climate change are not a political issue, but a backyard issue [threatening communities in Virginia](http://www.wri.org/publication/sea-level-rise-virginia).

[New analysis](http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2277.html) published in *Nature Climate Change* shows that Indonesia is losing primary forest at a staggering rate. The country now has the highest rate of loss in tropical primary forests in the world, overtaking Brazil. Primary tropical forests are the most carbon- and biodiversity-rich type of forest ecosystem.

There’s a growing gap between current investment in low-carbon energy and what’s needed to meet world demand while avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. The good news is there’s sufficient capital and investor interest to close much of this gap. However, policies that encourage market certainty and level the playing field between different energy sources are needed to attract the volume of investment required, according to a special International Energy Agency (IEA) report, the [World Energy Investment Outlook](http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/name,86205,en.html), released this month.

While the vast majority of citizens in developing cities don’t own cars, infrastructure is still being designed and financed to support motor vehicle travel. In Mexico, for example, less than one-third of urban trips are made in cars, but three-quarters of the federal mobility budget is allocated to highways. It’s time for the world’s cities to start thinking about moving *people* rather than moving *cars*.

How does the world feed more than 9 billion people in the year 2050 in a manner that not only advances economic development but also reduces agriculture’s impact on the environment? How will we know if we’re on the right path? WRI recently reviewed a number of existing indicators on the environmental sustainability of agriculture and identified gaps. [Our analysis](http://www.wri.org/publication/indicators-sustainable-agriculture-scoping-analysis) uncovers a need for improvements in indicators as well as the data underlying them—in particular, what we call the “3Ps, 5 themes, and 7 criteria.”

Penduduk Indonesia dan Singapura beberapa minggu belakangan mulai bersiap-siap sehubungan dengan peringatan [WRI](http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2014/06/08/indonesia-braces-for-a-dry-season-that-could-be-bad-new-for-it-forests/) dan [beberapa institusi lain](http://blog.cifor.org/23000/forests-news-update-qa-on-fires-and-haze-in-southeast-asia#.U6hen_ldUnU) bahwa musim kemarau tahun ini terindikasi akan menyebabkan lonjakan api di Pulau Sumatera, ditemani dengan kabut asap beracun di sekitar kawasan.

Reflecting on [World Forest Week 2014](http://www.fao.org/forestry/cofo2014/en/), where the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN launched a [Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism](http://www.fao.org/3/a-mk173e.pdf) to help countries meet the [Bonn Challenge](http://www.forestlandscaperestoration.org/topic/bonn-challenge) to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested lands by 2020, we need to further think about creating the rich landscapes that the world needs.

Indonesia and Singapore have been bracing themselves in recent weeks as warnings that this year's dry season would likely herald a severe spike in forest fires in Sumatra, with toxic haze across the region.