WRI Insights

It is not possible to effectively address climate change without substantive [greenhouse gas] GHG emission reductions by the transport sector. But putting the pieces together – especially in developing countries – will require fine-tuning transportation climate finance readiness to match growing demand. A [new report](http://www.transport2020.org/publicationitem/2052/new-giz-btg-transport-readiness-for-climate-finance) for the German International Cooperation [(Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)](http://www.giz.de/en/)) outlines seven routes governments in the developing world can take to accelerate investment in low-carbon transport.

This week in Washington, D.C., members of the [Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR)](http://www.forestlandscaperestoration.org/) met to advance strategies to [restore degraded forest landscapes](http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/forest-and-landscape-restoration) around the world. Such restoration has the potential to bring millions of hectares of land back to life—a move that could help protect watersheds, ensure food security, improve the livelihoods of rural communities, tackle climate change, and conserve biodiversity.

WRI’s Aqueduct project recently [evaluated, mapped, and scored](http://www.wri.org/resources/maps/aqueduct-country-and-river-basin-rankings) water risks like these in 100 river basins, ranked by area and population, and 180 nations—the first such country-level water assessment of its kind. [We found](http://www.wri.org/resources/maps/aqueduct-country-and-river-basin-rankings) that 36 countries face “extremely high” levels of baseline water stress (see list at bottom). This means that more than 80 percent of the water available to agricultural, domestic, and industrial users is withdrawn annually—leaving businesses, farms, and communities vulnerable to scarcity.

In much of Africa, the bundle of land rights that most rural people legally hold is relatively small—usually limited to surface rights and certain rights to some natural resources on and below the surface, such as rights to water for domestic use. Many high-value natural resources—such as oil, natural gas, minerals, and wildlife—are governed by separate legal regimes and administered by different public institutions. Africa’s governments often allocate these rights to outside, commonly foreign companies for large-scale operations. **In other words, while many communities hold rights to the land, foreign companies hold the rights to the natural resources on or under the same plot.** These overlapping rights oftentimes lead to conflict, unsustainable use of resources, and injustices.

New research shows that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) can reduce travel time by millions of hours for commuters worldwide. For instance, BRT users in Istanbul, Turkey, can save 28 days per year by shifting from other transport modes to BRT. Commuters in Johannesburg, South Africa, meanwhile, can save an estimated 73 million hours between 2007 and 2026. That’s the equivalent of more than 9 million eight-hour work-days.

Wisconsin has already taken strides to reduce its near-term power sector CO2 emissions by implementing cost-effective clean energy policies. And the state has the opportunity to go even further. **In fact, [new WRI analysis](/publication/power-sector-opportunities-reducing-carbon-dioxide-emissions-wisconsin) finds that Wisconsin can reduce its CO2 emissions 43 percent below 2011 levels by 2020 by extending its existing clean energy policies and taking advantage of existing infrastructure.** Achieving these reductions will allow Wisconsin to meet even ambitious EPA power plant emissions standards, which are due to be finalized in 2015.

Take a look at four U.S. cities—Boulder, CO.; Salt Lake City, UT; Pinecrest, FL.; and Hoboken, NJ—and it's clear that they are at the [frontlines of climate change](http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/us-climate-impacts-initiative). But take a closer look and you’ll see that they’re also at the forefront of local climate action.

The world’s forests and the people who depend on them face a host of challenges—including [deforestation](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/04/07/0912668107), [rural poverty](http://www.cifor.org/pen), and degradation of [critical ecosystem services](/publication/ecosystem-services). These negative outcomes are often exacerbated by weak forest governance, including low levels of transparency and participation in forest decision-making and as well as poor oversight of forest activities. To tackle these issues, decision-makers need better information about the institutional, political, and social factors that drive governance failures. An updated tool from WRI’s Governance of Forests Initiative aims to help policy-makers, civil society organizations, and other forest stakeholders evaluate governance of their countries’ forests. [*Assessing Forest Governance: The Governance of Forests Initiative Indicator Framework*](/publication/assessing-forest-governance) updates the original GFI indicators, which were published in 2009 and piloted by WRI’s civil society partners in [Brazil](/our-work/project/governance-forests-initiative), [Cameroon](/our-work/project/governance-forests-initiative), and [Indonesia](/our-work/project/governance-forests-initiative). Using the indicators, stakeholders can identify strengths and weaknesses in forest governance and develop reforms that benefit both people and planet.

The world will need to spend an [estimated US$5.7 trillion annually](http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GreenInvestment_Report_2013.pdf) in green infrastructure by 2020 in order to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees C. This week, it took a step toward creating an institution – the Green Climate Fund – that will be pivotal in achieving this goal.

A [new publication](http://www.wri.org/publication/saving-lives-sustainable-transport) from [EMBARQ](http://www.embarq.org/) explores the existing literature on the safety impacts of sustainable transport – primarily from the United States and Europe – and adding examples from Latin America and South Asia. The evidence suggests that projects that reduce traffic—such as congestion charging—and those that improve infrastructure—such as high-quality mass transport systems—can have a positive impact on traffic safety, in addition to numerous other co-benefits.