WRI Insights

Although there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to developing a sustainable national GHG inventory system, countries can learn from each other’s experiences: *What’s worked and why? What hasn’t worked and why? And how have countries built their capabilities for compiling a national inventory over time?*

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its [Clean Power Plan](https://archive.epa.gov/epa/cleanpowerplan/carbon-pollution-standards-new-modified-and-reconstructed-power-plants-regulatory.html), the first time the United States has set standards to limit carbon pollution from existing power plants. The Plan sets emissions reduction goals for individual states; once the goals are finalized next year, states will develop plans to achieve the necessary reductions. EPA’s modeling indicates that the standards will reduce national carbon pollution from power plants by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

A new initiative from WRI and the [Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)](http://www.rspo.org/) aims to shed light on how oil palm concessions affect forests. [Global Forest Watch Commodities](http://commodities.globalforestwatch.org/) (GFW-Commodities) combines the RSPO’s maps of certified sustainable palm oil production sites with global forest data—information that can empower companies to manage their forests and supply chains more sustainably.

As the global wild fish catch peaked in the 1990s, aquaculture—or fish farming—has grown rapidly to meet world fish demand, more than doubling production between 2000 and 2012. **New research shows that aquaculture production will need to more than double again between now and 2050 to meet the demands of a growing population.** The question is: Can aquaculture grow sustainably?

The EPA's [proposed rule](https://archive.epa.gov/epa/cleanpowerplan/carbon-pollution-standards-new-modified-and-reconstructed-power-plants-regulatory.html) to cut carbon pollution from power plants [is a critical step](http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/05/5-essential-facts-about-emissions-standards-power-plants) in avoiding the worst consequences of global warming. Without significant reductions from the power sector—America’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions—the country cannot meet [its goal](http://www.wri.org/publication/can-us-get-there-here) of reducing its emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. EPA’s proposal provides a flexible framework that puts those reductions within reach. Here’s a look at how the proposed rule would impact states and the future of U.S. climate action.

To help city leaders shift to a planning paradigm that creates more compact neighborhoods and sustainable cities, [EMBARQ](http://www.embarqmexico.org/) has released a [Transit-oriented Development Guide for Urban Communities](http://www.wrirosscities.org/research/publication/transit-oriented-development-tod-guide-urban-communities). The guide combines best practices from existing communities and design guidelines for creating healthy, sustainable, people-oriented cities.

WRI’s six-part blog series, Mobilizing Clean Energy Finance, highlights individual developing countries’ experiences in scaling up investments in clean energy and explores the role climate finance plays in addressing investment barriers. The cases draw on WRI’s recent report, [Mobilizing Climate Investment](http://www.wri.org/publication/mobilizing-climate-investment). Mexico’s experiences with wind energy provide an important case study for policy makers pursuing renewable energy deployment in other countries.

To this day, carbon pollution—the main driver of climate change—has not been controlled from power plants. That’s why the U.S. EPA’s new rules are so momentous, putting federal limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants for the first time. With the power sector representing [a third](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/01/usa-epa-carbon-idUSL1N0MT1AM20140401) of America’s carbon footprint, these rules are the biggest single action the administration can take to drive down greenhouse gases.

At the upcoming [UNFCCC intersessional negotiation in Bonn](https://unfccc.int/meetings/bonn_jun_2014/meeting/8031.php), which begins on June 4, climate and environment ministers will have a two-day session to share their views on key issues for the [international climate negotiations](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/11/qa-jennifer-morgan-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015). Because these officials rarely attend such interim meetings, this is an unusual and major opportunity for them to show their commitment to strong international action, including steps needed this year to address climate change and secure a [global climate agreement by 2015](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/11/qa-jennifer-morgan-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015). Here are three specific points that ministers could make to underscore their commitment to curbing climate change:

There is a tremendous amount of underutilized and unproductive land throughout the world that has the potential to provide valuable ecosystem services if trees are returned to the landscape. In collaboration with the University of Maryland and IUCN, and as part of the [Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration](http://www.forestlandscaperestoration.org/), WRI recently updated its [Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities](http://www.wri.org/forest-restoration-atlas). **We found that more than 2 billion hectares of land worldwide have the potential to be restored—and many of them are located in some unexpected places.**