WRI Insights

Strengthening the world's food and energy systems offers a buffer against not only war, but climate change and other growing threats. 

As the Iran war causes fuel shortages and price spikes around the world, some countries are faring better thanks to abundant clean energy.

WRI water expert Liz Saccoccia explains how the war in Iran could intensify water crises, potentially amplifying risks to food security, energy and stability across the Middle East.

We explore the data to see where the clean energy transition stands today, from rising investment and job growth to grid needs and critical mineral demand.

For millennia, fire was humanity's greatest tool. Today, it’s one of our greatest threats. Recovering control will require learning from the past while confronting the political choices of the present.

We asked WRI experts Carter Brandon and Ruth Engel how people, cities and health systems can adapt to extreme heat.

Europe’s cities can beat extreme heat by combining efficient air con with passive cooling to reduce emissions and energy use.

Trees can make it feel up to 14 degrees cooler. Yet analysis shows many cities are leaving large areas of plantable land underutilized. 

Every fraction of a degree matters. New WRI analysis explores how 1.5 and 3 degrees C of global warming might affect around 1,000 of the world's largest cities — and the people who live there.

Some neighborhoods and communities can feel hotter than others in the same city on the same day. As cities adapt to extreme heat, understanding these disparities — and the solutions to mitigate them — is more essential than ever. 

Data from restoration projects across Africa shows how the benefits of land restoration extend far beyond ecosystems, creating new jobs, raising incomes, empowering women and youth, and strengthening communities.

Communities are holding polluters accountable, shaping environmental decisions and building healthier neighborhoods — demonstrating how environmental justice advances from the ground up.

In conflict-affected Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, nature-based solutions are reducing flooding, protecting hydropower dams and creating green jobs, providing lessons for rapidly urbanizing cities across sub-Saharan Africa.

In Berbere, Ethiopia, solar power is about more than clean energy. It's making irrigation possible, transforming farmers incomes and lives.

From Unicorn Burgers to reimagined meatballs, food service providers are getting creative with their plant-based offerings. In the process, they’re saving money and reducing their planetary impact.

In Rwanda, small businesses are turning coffee waste, fruit pulp and food scraps into fuel, fertilizer and income. In doing so, they're building a blueprint for circular food systems across Africa.

From Kinshasa to Dire Dawa, cities across Africa are discovering that wetlands, trees and parks could be their strongest defense against climate change.

Shenzhen is implementing 113 near-zero carbon demonstration projects, an ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce energy costs and expand parks and walkways. In the process, it's creating a blueprint for a modern green city. 

In Makassar’s informal settlements, community-led design and nature-based infrastructure are turning flood-prone neighborhoods into healthier, safer places to live.

Book Bunk Trust is working to reinvigorate Nairobi's libraries into vibrant civic centers where city residents can learn new skills, explore the arts, take part in environmental programs and connect with one another. 

In Berbere, Ethiopia, solar power is about more than clean energy. It's making irrigation possible, transforming farmers incomes and lives.