WRI Insights

Delegates at the April UNFCCC intersessional in Bonn, Germany [made some encouraging progress](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/05/3-encouraging-signs-progress-bonn-climate-talks). As negotiators gather again this week, it’s important that they build on this progress and take action on two key topics: raising [ambition](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/11/what-ambition-context-climate-change), and establishing core elements of the 2015 international climate action agreement.

Uganda is one of only 10 African countries with a national access to information (ATI) law. These types of laws are essential to human rights, providing citizens with legal access to the government-held information that directly impacts them—information on issues like mining permits, logging concessions, air quality data, and more. But as researchers are learning, ATI laws on the books do not necessarily guarantee freedom of information.

How can the world feed more than 9 billion people by 2050 in a manner that advances economic development and reduces pressure on the environment? This is one of the paramount questions the world faces over the next four decades.

Following an extensive global consultation process, the [High Level Panel](http://www.post2015hlp.org/) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda will present its final report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon this week. Led by the heads of state of Indonesia, Liberia, and the United Kingdom, the panel is charged with producing a bold yet practical vision for global development beyond 2015, when the current [Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)](http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)are set to expire. While this is just the first round of what is sure to be a multi-year process, there has been no shortage of discussion about the Panel’s report and what it should say.

A [new study](http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/) from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reveals troubling news: The aquifers that millions of Americans rely on for freshwater are being depleted at an accelerating rate. In fact, aquifer depletion in the years between 2004 and 2008 was nearly triple the historical average.

Global emissions [just crossed 400 parts per million](http://www.alternet.org/environment/climate-tipping-point-concentration-carbon-dioxide-tops-400-ppm-first-time-human-history), an ominous threshold for the climate. Despite this marker, there are signs of new life for international climate action, including during the recent United Nation’s [climate meeting in Bonn, Germany](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/05/3-encouraging-signs-progress-bonn-climate-talks).

Scientific understanding of the chemicals that contribute to climate change is constantly improving. So, too, is the [Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP)](http://www.ghgprotocol.org/), as we work to keep abreast of such advances and ensure that they are reflected in our tools and standards.

Investors need to understand a wide variety of business and market risks facing the companies in which they invest. In the 21st century, that includes [water risks](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/01/5-sobering-realities-about-global-water-security-0).

The U.S. Department of Energy [made a big announcement](http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-authorizes-second-proposed-facility-export-liquefied-natural-gas) late last week, green lighting the country’s second liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. Many argue that natural gas exports will bring [economic](http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/04/f0/nera_lng_report.pdf) and [geopolitical](http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/04/f0/nera_lng_report.pdf) benefits for the United States--with Japanese and French companies coming on board as key partners in the proposed export station.

Here at WRI, we are constantly [working to understand and minimize](http://www.wri.org/project/wri-sustainability-initiative) the environmental impacts of our work. Using research and expertise from around the Institute to guide us, WRI [is committed](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/08/sustainability-wri-recommitting-walking-talk) to limiting the resources we use and purchasing products that reflect our environmental and social mission.