WRI Insights

Like all U.S. states, Illinois will need to reduce its power sector carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in order to alleviate climate change impacts and [comply with future EPA standards](/blog/states-can-take-action-now-meet-future-power-plant-emissions-standards). The good news is that the state has already taken steps to reduce its emissions, including saving energy and increasing its use of renewable energy sources. And, Illinois has the potential to go even further. **New WRI analysis finds that Illinois can reduce its CO2 emissions 35 percent below 2011 levels by 2020 just by complying with current policies and taking advantage of existing infrastructure.** Achieving these reductions will allow Illinois to meet or exceed moderately ambitious EPA power plant emissions standards, which are due to be finalized in 2015.

The amount of adaptation finance has increased in recent years, at least in part as a result of agreements reached at the U.N. climate negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009. In the past year, [Oxfam](http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/the-climate-finance-cliff), [WRI](/our-work/project/adaptation-finance), [Overseas Development Institute](http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/5160-adaptation-finance), and civil society networks in [Nepal](http://www.cen.org.np/), the [Philippines](http://www.ejeepney.org/), [Uganda](http://www.can.ug/) and [Zambia](http://www.zccn.org.zm/) have been working together to figure out just how much adaptation finance has been flowing to these four countries and where it’s going. It’s a bit like trying to figure out the tangle of plumbing and pipes in an old house. There is money for climate change adaptation coming from different sources, flowing through different channels, and being used for different purposes.

The stakes are high at this year’s international climate negotiations in Warsaw, Poland ([COP 19](/un-climate-change-conference-resource-hub)). It is vital that negotiators get down to business on designing [the international climate action agreement](http://www.wri.org/blog/qa-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015), including actually constructing the pathway needed to reach this agreement by 2015. Making progress across five key issues will be critical to achieving this goal.

Energy and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, supported by data and analysis from [WRI’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas](http://aqueduct.wri.org/atlas), surveyed water risks among the world’s top energy-producing regions. They found that three energy sectors face particularly high water risks: [shale gas](http://www.wri.org/event/2013/04/clearing-air-reducing-upstream-greenhouse-gas-emissions-us-natural-gas-systems) in the United States, coal production and coal-fired power in China, and crude oil in the Middle East.

The next few years will be critical when it comes to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Under the UNFCCC, countries around the world committed to produce an international climate action agreement. This agreement will be finalized at the annual Conference of the Parties, meeting in Paris in 2015 (COP 21). How UNFCCC negotiations progress between now and then will in part determine whether the world curbs climate change—or feels its worsening effects. I caught up with Jennifer Morgan, director of WRI’s Climate and Energy programs, to discuss what’s at stake and what steps are needed between now and 2015 to ensure a strong, international climate action plan.

A [new report](http://www.unep.org/emissionsgapreport2013/) from the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) shows that the world is still not taking enough action to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. Assuming countries deliver on the pledges they have made to reduce their respective emissions, the *[Emissions Gap Report](http://www.unep.org/emissionsgapreport2013/)* finds that global GHG emissions in 2020 will still be 18 to 27 percent above where they need to be if warming is likely [to be limited to 2 degrees Celsius](http://www.wri.org/blog/world%E2%80%99s-carbon-budget-be-spent-three-decades) above pre-industrial levels. This gap puts the world in a dangerous position of experiencing increased sea level rise, forest fires, and other serious impacts--unless we take action now.

U.S. public financing for overseas coal-fired power is likely coming to an end. That’s the clear signal from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s [announcement](http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/international/development-banks/Documents/CoalGuidance_2013.pdf) earlier this week. At institutions like the World Bank, where the United States is the largest shareholder, this decision holds real significance.

A new [interactive map from WRI’s Aqueduct project](http://wri.org/applications/maps/agriculturemap) reveals that more than 25 percent of the world’s agriculture is grown in areas of high water stress. This figure doubles when looking at irrigated cropland, which produces [40 percent of global food supply](http://www.unwater.org/statistics_sec.html). This analysis highlights the tension between water availability and agricultural production. Finding a balance between these two critical resources will be essential—especially as the global population expands.

A groundbreaking book, *The Human Quest: Prospering within Planetary Boundaries,* delivers a powerful message: Preserving nature isn’t just about protecting the world’s remaining beauty. It’s a fundamental part of ensuring economic development and human well-being.