WRI Insights

The [Open Government Partnership (OGP)](http://www.opengovpartnership.org/)—which held its most recent summit about three weeks ago—has made tremendous progress in its two years of existence. The OGP, a voluntary partnership between governments and civil society, aims to make governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Discussions at the summit made it clear that the partnership is already demonstrating impact. Sixty-two governments have now joined OGP, making 1,115 commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. The Summit provided a real sense that there’s a growing community [who really “gets”](http://www.wri.org/blog/open-government-partnership-african-nations-commit-new-levels-transparency) the importance of open government to meeting development goals. Yet there was still a gap in the discourse in one particular area—the environment.

*As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moves forward with standards to reduce power plant emissions—which are due to be finalized in June 2015—many states are wondering how they will comply. WRI’s fact sheet series, Power Sector Opportunities for Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions, examines the policies and pathways various states can use to cost-effectively meet or even exceed future power plant emissions standards. This post explores these opportunities in Colorado. Read about [additional analyses](/power-sector-opportunities-reducing-carbon-dioxide-emissions) in this series.* Colorado is generating more electricity than it has in the past, but it’s doing so while emitting less carbon dioxide pollution thanks to ongoing efforts to ramp down coal use. And the state has the potential to go even further. **In fact, [new WRI analysis](/publication/power-sector-opportunities-reducing-carbon-dioxide-emissions-colorado) finds that Colorado can reduce its CO2 emissions 29 percent below 2011 levels by 2020 just by complying with current policies and taking advantage of existing infrastructure.** Achieving these reductions will allow Colorado to meet moderately ambitious EPA power plant emissions standards, which are due to be finalized in 2015.

It’s time for businesses and governments [to step up](http://www.wri.org/blog/greater-expectations-3-actions-companies-take-climate-policy) to the climate challenge and match words to actions. This week at the annual international climate talks in Warsaw, companies, policymakers, and civil society participated in an event to deepen business engagement on climate policy. Such interaction could not have come at a more critical time. Global emissions are on the rise. And last year, climate and extreme weather events alone [cost $200 billion](http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/18/worldbank-climate-idUSL5N0J323P20131118?feedType=RSS&feedName=financialsSector). The world clearly needs to accelerate its response to the climate challenge. Businesses and governments need to work together constructively to raise the level of action and ambition. That means policymakers step up to provide a strong market signal and support, while companies come to the table with clear, public, constructive input.

Coal is emerging as a major topic of conversation at the United Nations [climate-change negotiations](http://unfccc.int/meetings/warsaw_nov_2013/meeting/7649.php) currently taking place in Warsaw – and rightly so. Indeed, it is a discussion that the world needs to have. The [latest findings](http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.UozgzF8o46Z) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conclude that we are quickly using up [our carbon “budget”](http://www.wri.org/blog/world%E2%80%99s-carbon-budget-be-spent-three-decades) – the amount of carbon that we can afford to emit while still having a good chance of limiting global warming to 2º Celsius. According to the IPCC, keeping the global temperature increase from pre-industrial levels below this threshold – the recognized tipping point beyond which climate change is likely to get seriously out of control – requires that the world emit only about 1,000 gigatonnes of carbon (GtC). More than half of this amount was already emitted by 2011. Unless we shift away from carbon-intensive behavior, the remaining budget will run out in roughly three decades.

As the UN climate meetings ([COP 19](/un-climate-change-conference-resource-hub)) in Warsaw, Poland [get down to serious business](http://www.wri.org/blog/5-issues-watch-cop-19-%E2%80%9Cconstruction-cop%E2%80%9D) in their second week, the world beyond the negotiations looms large – both with challenges and with promise. It’s an important reminder of the stakes inside the negotiating venue. Inside the negotiating rooms, things kicked into a higher gear yesterday. The co-chairs put forward a negotiating text laying out the key issues for [establishing a new climate action agreement in 2015](http://www.wri.org/blog/qa-jennifer-morgan-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015) (under the Durban Platform). Over the next several days, negotiators will grapple with four key issues.

While many people are traveling to Warsaw this week to participate in the international climate negotiations ([COP 19](http://www.wri.org/our-work/topics/cop-19)), the city is also hosting another global conference: the [International Coal and Climate Summit](http://www.worldcoal.org/international-coal--climate-summit/international-coal-climate-summit/). It’s a troubling juxtaposition—coal contributes to [43 percent](http://www.iea.org/co2highlights/co2highlights.pdf) of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it a major driver of climate change. In fact, [a new statement](http://www.europeanclimate.org/documents/nocoal2c.pdf) released by leading scientists suggests that nearly three-quarters of fossil fuel reserves—especially coal—must remain unused if the world is to limit temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. In other words, limiting sea level rise, extreme weather events, heat waves, and other climate impacts requires staying within world’s [“carbon budget”](http://www.wri.org/blog/world%E2%80%99s-carbon-budget-be-spent-three-decades)—which doesn’t include unabated coal use.

Adapting to the impacts of climate change—like heat waves, increased floods, and natural disasters—is an enormous challenge. It’s also one that comes with an enormous price tag. Although it’s [difficult to calculate](http://www.wri.org/blog/difficulty-defining-adaptation-finance) the extent of the costs, the World Bank [estimates](http://climatechange.worldbank.org/content/climate-finance-and-world-bank-facts) that developing countries need $70 to $100 billion USD per year through 2050 to meet their current and future climate adaptation needs. The Climate Policy Initiative, however, [estimates](http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-landscape-of-climate-finance/) that in 2011, only $4.4 billion USD in adaptation finance went to developing countries. This leaves a gap of anywhere from $65.6 to $95.6 billion USD per year between what developing countries need and what developed nations are giving. So who can help fill this gap?

A new [*Science* paper](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6160/850) provides the first high-resolution, global picture of annual forest cover change over the period 2000 to 2012. Prior to this research, the world lacked up-to-date, globally consistent forest data-- most information about forests is years out-of-date by the time it finds its way into policymakers’ hands. Three key findings emerge from the new maps–and they point to solutions policymakers can pursue now.