WRI Insights

On February 20, WRI President Andrew Steer participated in event with GreenBiz CEO Joel Makower at the [annual GreenBiz summit](http://www.greenbiz.com/events/greenbiz-forum/2013/02/new-york/program) in New York City. This post builds off that discussion.

There’s a popular saying in the news that two events are a coincidence, but three make a trend. Over the past few days, there have been two major developments in the national media that will likely have a big impact on coverage of environmental issues. It’s clear that a troubling trend is already underway.

Leading China experts and top media representatives participated in a ChinaFAQs briefing this past Friday to discuss how the country will address pressing environmental, climate, and energy challenges at home and globally in the coming years. At the National People’s Congress beginning March 5, 2013, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are expected to formally become China’s president and premier, respectively. Other top spots in China’s ministries will also be assigned, [with implications](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/03/embracing-ecological-progress-china) for China’s future of low-carbon development and for the United States.

“You cannot manage what you cannot measure” is a [well-known adage](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/05/national-greenhouse-gas-inventories-can-help-countries-curb-climate-change) for business, and the phrase is increasingly relevant for cities. In the past decade, many cities have [started measuring](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/06/first-time-ghg-protocol-help-brazil-measure-greenhouse-gas-emissions-agriculture) their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data. GHG inventories are essential for building effective low-carbon strategies, tracking GHG reductions, responding to regulations and local GHG program requirements, and securing climate finance. Some cities [also believe](https://www.cdp.net/) that tracking emissions can eventually conserve financial and other resources.

Over the past two decades, the world has witnessed a remarkable period of economic and human development: More than 2 billion people [have gained access](http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG%20Report%202012.pdf) to improved drinking water; life expectancy [has increased](http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/gbd/publications/healthy-life-expectancy-187-countries-1990-2010-systematic-analysis-global-bu) by approximately five years; more children are going to school, with 90 percent enrolled in primary education; and per capita income levels have doubled across developing countries.

“This gathering represents man’s earnest endeavor to understand his own condition and to prolong his tenancy of this planet.” With these stirring words, Indira Gandhi, India’s Prime Minister, galvanized the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. A wake-up call to the state of our planet, Stockholm gave birth to the [UN Environment Programme](http://www.unep.org/), amid high hopes that humanity could together curb alarming trends in pollution and natural resource loss.

Worldwide, one out of every five people [lacks access](http://www.sustainableenergyforall.org/objectives/universal-access) to modern electricity. Affordability, quality of service, and social and environmental impacts pose great challenges in providing people with the power they need for lighting, cooking, and other activities. Good governance involving open and inclusive practices is essential to overcoming these pressing obstacles.

As more and more people move into cities, more cars are also hitting the streets. These vehicles not only spew greenhouse gas emissions, they can cause urban traffic fatalities. We already see [1.2 million traffic-related deaths](http://www.who.int/gho/road_safety/mortality/en/index.html) per year worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, with increased urbanization and motorization, road fatalities [are expected to become](http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/en/) the fifth-leading cause of death by 2030.

The national conversation around climate change [has resumed](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/02/how-turn-state-union-address-commitments-real-climate-action). In both the [Inauguration](http://www.wri.org/news/2013/01/statement-president-obama-commits-climate-change-action-second-inaugural-address) and [State of the Union addresses](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/02/how-turn-state-union-address-commitments-real-climate-action), President Obama devoted considerable time to the issue, including his declaration that “we must do more to combat climate change.”

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), one of the world’s largest paper companies, [announced](http://www.rainforestrealities.com/newsroom/press-releases/app-commits-to-an-immediate-halt-to-all-natural-forest-clearance/) earlier this month that it will no longer cut down natural forests [in Indonesia](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/10/2-new-tools-can-cut-deforestation-and-support-sustainable-palm-oil-indonesia) and will demand similar commitments from its suppliers. The announcement was received with guarded optimism by [Greenpeace](http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/major-breakthrough-in-protection-for-indonesias-remaining-rainforests/), [Rainforest Action Network](http://ran.org/rainforest-action-network-responds-asia-pulp-and-paper%E2%80%99s-new-forest-commitments), [World Wildlife Fund](http://wwf.panda.org/?207497/WWF-Welcomes-APP-Announcement-to-Halt-Clearing-Urges-Paper-Buyers-to-Wait-for-Proof), and other NGOs who have waged a persistent campaign to change APP’s forest policies.