WRI Insights

[The Climate Investment Funds](https://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/cif/) (CIFs), one of the world’s largest dedicated funding facilities for climate change mitigation/adaptation projects, [have now been in operation](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/10/whats-future-climate-investment-funds) for five years. It’s a good time to step back and evaluate what lessons we’re learning from these important sources of climate finance.

Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a bold and courageous decision this week [to extend](http://www.setkab.go.id/mobile/berita-8652-melalui-inpres-no-62013-presiden-sby-perpanjang-penundaan-izin-baru-pengelolaan-hutan.html) the country’s [forest moratorium](http://www.wri.org/publication/indonesia-moratorium-on-new-forest-concessions). With this decision, which aims to prevent new clearing of primary forests and peat lands for another two years, the government could help protect valuable forests and drive sustainable development.

“Energiewende” may not be a household word in the United States today, but U.S. citizens and policymakers are likely to hear more about it. It’s the name of Germany’s ambitious energy transformation, which aims to move the country to at least 80 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050.

Since 2009, more than 30 countries have submitted [proposals for REDD+ readiness grants](http://www.forestcarbonpartnership.org/node/257) to start addressing the [social, economic, and institutional factors](http://www.google.cm/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pik-potsdam.de%2Fmembers%2Fcramer%2Fteaching%2F0607%2FGeist_2001_LUCC_Report.pdf&ei=dLA7UdSuEKOn4ASA0YGICg&usg=AFQjCNEDOtOHqKsyeW9mJYtVpleh7-gUdg&bvm=bv.43287494,d.bGE) that contribute to forest loss. Many countries have made encouraging strides in defining their plans to become “ready” for REDD+. Yet, in a [new WRI analysis](http://www.wri.org/publication/putting-the-pieces-together-for-good-governance-of-redd) of 32 country proposals, we identify the need for stronger commitments and strategies to address land and forest tenure challenges. While most countries identify secure land tenure as critical to successful REDD+ programs, relatively few outline specific objectives or next steps to address weaknesses in land laws or their implementation. Lack of clear strategies to address land tenure challenges could significantly hinder efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The [new working paper](http://www.wri.org/publication/putting-the-pieces-together-for-good-governance-of-redd) from WRI’s [Governance of Forests Initiative](http://www.wri.org/project/governance-of-forests-initiative) reviews 32 readiness proposals submitted to two grant programs supporting REDD+ readiness: the [Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)](http://www.forestcarbonpartnership.org/) and the [UN-REDD Programme](http://www.un-redd.org/). We reviewed these documents to assess how REDD+ countries plan to address eight core issues (see Box 1 below). The analysis sheds light on how REDD+ issues are understood and prioritized, as well as where more technical and financial support is needed.

Germany is in the midst of an unprecedented clean energy revolution. Thanks to the [“Energiewende,”](http://energytransition.de/) a strategy to revamp the national energy system, Germany aims to reduce its overall energy consumption and move to 80 percent renewable energy by 2050. The country has already made considerable progress toward achieving this ambitious goal.

Increased industrialization in Asia has created countless hurdles for communities to protect themselves from pollution. Important government information—such as the amount of pollutants being discharged by nearby factories or results from local air and water quality monitoring—still isn’t readily accessible in user-friendly formats. [This practice](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/04/action-plan-environmental-justice-latin-america-and-caribbean) often leaves the public entirely out of decision-making processes on issues like regulating pollution or [expanding industrial factories](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/09/can-access-information-protect-communities-pollution-lesson-map-ta-phut-thailand). In many cases, the public lack the information they need to understand and shield themselves from harmful environmental, social, and health impacts.

Chinese [overseas investments](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/12/closer-look-chinas-overseas-investment) are rapidly increasing. As of 2011, China’s outward foreign direct investments (OFDI) spread across 132 countries and regions and topped USD 60 billion annually, [ranking ninth globally](http://unctadstat.unctad.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=88) according to U.N. Conference on Trade and Development statistics. A significant amount of this increasing OFDI [goes to](http://wzs.ndrc.gov.cn/gzdt/t20111114_444211.htm) the energy and resources sectors—[much of it](http://wzs.ndrc.gov.cn/gzdt/t20111114_444211.htm) in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

U.S. natural gas production is booming. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), production [grew by 23 percent](http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/index.cfm) from 2007 to 2012. Now—with production projected to continue growing in the decades ahead—U.S. lawmakers and companies are considering exporting this resource internationally. But what are the climate implications of doing so?

How can Indonesia—the world’s fourth-most populous country and an emerging economic powerhouse—[reduce deforestation](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/11/false-choice-between-palm-oil-and-indonesian-forests) and promote sustainable development across its vast, rapidly changing landscape?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [recently released](https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/us-greenhouse-gas-inventory-report-1990-2014) its annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory report. Using new data and information, the EPA lowered its estimate of [fugitive methane emissions](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/04/close-look-fugitive-methane-emissions-natural-gas) from natural gas development by 33 percent, from 10.3 million metric tons (MMT) in 2010 to 6.9 MMT in 2011. While such a reduction, if confirmed by measurement data, would undeniably be a welcome development, it doesn’t mean that the problem is solved.