WRI Insights

In most developing economies, [Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises](http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/de7d92804a29ffe9ae04af8969adcc27/InterpretationNote_SME_2012.pdf?MOD=AJPERES) (MSMEs) [employ up to 78 percent of the population and account for approximately 29 percent](http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/book/10.1596/1813-9450-5631) of the national GDP. Their presence in communities throughout the world– big and small, rural and urban – allows them to get products and services to hard-to-reach populations. This market concentration and high level of employment means MSMEs are in a good position to contribute to making vulnerable populations more climate-resilient. But while MSMEs can assist in helping vulnerable households adapt to climate change, they are also extremely vulnerable to the impacts of a warmer world, such as intensification of precipitation and shifts in water availability. It’s important that MSMEs overcome these challenges and capitalize on their unique business opportunities in ways that help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change.

The world is projected to hold a whopping 9.6 billion people by 2050. Figuring out how to feed all these people—while also advancing rural development, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting valuable ecosystems—is one of the greatest challenges of our era. So what’s causing the global food challenge, and how can the world solve it? We begin to answer these questions through a series of graphics below. For more information, check out the [interim findings of *Creating a Sustainable Food Future*](http://www.wri.org/publication/creating-sustainable-food-future-interim-findings), a report produced by WRI, U.N. Environment Programme, U.N. Development Programme, and the World Bank.

A [new study](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/11/20/1314392110.abstract) in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* sheds light on a question that continues to vex industry executives and policymakers alike: How significant are [fugitive methane emissions](http://www.wri.org/blog/close-look-fugitive-methane-emissions-natural-gas) from oil and gas production?

Recent [analysis](http://www.wri.org/publication/creating-sustainable-food-future-installment-two) from the World Resources Institute finds that nearly one-quarter of all food (measured by calorie) produced for people globally is lost due to spoilage or waste. In the U.S., the number is even higher, with a whopping 42 percent of all calories not reaching people’s mouths. Of that, about 20 percent of meat is lost or wasted. That means come Thanksgiving Day, of the approximately [46 million turkeys](http://www.eatturkey.com/why-turkey/history) likely to be purchased, over 9 million will go uneaten.

Multinational companies (MNCs) typically have operations and supply chains in many parts of the world. The way they respond to climate change, therefore, can affect many populations, including poor communities in developing countries, where many people are especially vulnerable to heat waves, sea level rise, and other climate change impacts. MNCs sometimes find themselves in tension with local groups and the environment, but they can also play an important role in making these communities more climate-resilient. Here are three ways that MNCs can contribute to climate change adaptation in developing countries:

This year’s climate negotiations in Warsaw, Poland ([COP 19](http://www.wri.org//our-work/topics/cop-19)) were a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand,[ the summit’s outcomes](http://www.wri.org/news/statement-climate-talks-wrap-warsaw) were dramatically out of step with the level of action needed to solve the climate change problem. A tempting metaphor for the talks was the national stadium in which they were held– one could go around in endless circles in search of the right location. On the other hand, the Warsaw COP did achieve the [incremental outcomes needed](http://www.wri.org/blog/5-issues-watch-cop-19-%E2%80%9Cconstruction-cop%E2%80%9D) to move the process forward. Negotiators put in place a work plan for [securing an international climate agreement](http://www.wri.org/blog/qa-jennifer-morgan-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015) at COP 21 in Paris in 2015. The COP also made progress on [scaling up climate finance](http://www.wri.org/blog/3-ways-make-progress-climate-finance-cop-19) and addressing the difficult issue of [loss and damage](http://www.wri.org/blog/loss-and-damage-elements-successful-negotiations-cop-19-warsaw), a process for addressing climate impacts that are difficult or impossible to adapt to. These are small but important steps toward bringing countries out of their repetitive, circular discussions and closer to agreeing collectively on how to address global climate change.

Confronted with a cooling economy and global headlines declaring an "Airpocalypse", China faces challenges on multiple fronts. While many people are quick to point out the hurdles, the reality is that its leaders are moving ahead with significant policy measures and reforms. If successful, these actions will not only help drive China's economic development, they will address another mounting threat: climate change. The [latest report](http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.Uo-NccTEN9U) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms the risks of climate change and humans' central role in it. China is no less vulnerable. One-third of its coastline is [highly vulnerable](http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/314/art%253A10.1007%252Fs11852-012-0180-9.pdf?auth66=1385310690_74d9a7c0a1c873da0f50fcaaf468b2cc&ext=.pdf) to rising seas that will probably lead to the relocation of coastal communities. China's agricultural production - including rice, wheat and corn - [could fall dramatically](http://www.climatechange.cn/EN/abstract/abstract8397.shtml) within a few decades due to shifts in precipitation and soil quality. Health impacts, including malaria and other infectious diseases, are also [expected to mount](http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/Turn_Down_the_heat_Why_a_4_degree_centrigrade_warmer_world_must_be_avoided.pdf) as global temperatures rise. As China moves to tackle issues related to the economy, pollution and urbanisation, each carries opportunities to shift the country's emissions trajectory and make progress on climate change.

How do people, governments, and corporations “value” ecosystems? And how can you put a price on the vast array of social, economic, and environmental benefits that ecosystems provide? These are just two of the questions experts sought to address at [“The Future of Revaluing Ecosystems,”](http://www.wri.org/events/revaluing-ecosystems) an event WRI recently convened in Bellagio, Italy, in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, Forum for the Future, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The meeting brought together 32 participants from public, private, non-profit, and research sectors to consider how society could include in public and private decision-making a more complete valuing of the benefits ecosystems provide to people. The discussions shed light on how we can evaluate ecosystems’ true worth to communities and businesses —and how to use these valuations to foster better environmental stewardship.

We already know the [world’s carbon budget is being exhausted](http://www.wri.org/blog/unabated-coal-use-will-break-world%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Ccarbon-budget%E2%80%9D) at an alarming pace, but a new scientific assessment reveals just how sobering the picture of the global carbon cycle truly is. The [Global Carbon Project’s (GCP) 2013 report](http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/13/hl-full.htm) finds that at the precise time emissions reductions are needed most, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels and producing cement have reached their highest level in human history.