WRI Insights

Record-setting levels of smog this week [shut down Harbin](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/21/chinese-city-paralysed-by-smog), a city of 11 million people in northeast China. Officials blamed increased coal consumption during the first days of winter heating, underscoring the urgency of the China State Council’s [recently announced initiative](http://www.wri.org/blog/can-china%E2%80%99s-air-pollution-action-plan-slow-down-new-coal-power-development) to address persistent smog in major cities. But while the Air Pollution Control Action Plan has ambitious goals—cutting air particulates and coal consumption—it may create unintended problems for the country’s water supply.

It is common knowledge that China burns a large amount of coal, with [the fuel accounting for nearly 70% of China’s primary energy consumption](http://www.eia.gov/countries/data.cfm) in recent years. What is less commonly known is that China is also working on ways to reduce the impact of its coal use, including aggressively pursuing research and demonstration of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology.

Earlier this year, [WRI analysis](http://www.wri.org/publication/reducing-food-loss-and-waste) found that one in four food calories produced go uneaten. Yesterday a group of experts took the first step toward helping to curb this massive amount of food loss and waste. At the Global Green Growth Forum in Copenhagen, [WRI announced](http://www.wri.org/news/release-new-effort-launched-measure-and-monitor-global-food-loss-and-waste) the launch of a process to develop a global standard for measuring food loss and waste. This standard, known as the [“Global Food Loss and Waste Protocol,”](http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/global-food-loss-and-waste-measurement-protocol) will enable countries and companies to measure and monitor the food loss and waste that occur within their boundaries and value chains in a credible, practical, and consistent manner.

The UNFCCC negotiations are entering a crucial phase. Negotiators [decided nearly two years ago](http://insights.wri.org/news/2011/12/qa-legal-aspects-durban-platform-text) to establish an international climate action agreement “with legal force” by 2015. How this agreement will be structured, though, remains to be seen. WRI’s [new working paper](http://www.wri.org/publication/pathway-climate-change-agreement-2015-options-setting-and-reviewing-ghg-emission) lays out the various options for designing the process for submitting "national offers," countries’ plans to reduce their respective greenhouse gas emissions. It will be critical for negotiators to focus on three key areas: the content of the offers, the timing and process for submitting them, and how they will be reviewed.

Indonesia has the world’s third-largest rainforest, which is a haven for biodiversity and an economic lifeline for many rural communities. However, Indonesian forests are in [rapid decline](http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/14/world/expedition-sumatra-episode-5-blog/) and the country regularly tops deforestation hotspots lists. The key to protecting Indonesia’s forests remains reforming its massive forestry and agriculture sectors. By giving these industries the tools to produce commodities such as palm oil and wood pulp sustainably, Indonesia can increase agricultural production without contributing to deforestation. WRI has produced a new issue brief to address this challenge, ***[How to Change Legal Land Use Classifications to Support More Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia](http://www.wri.org/publication/how-to-change-legal-land-use-classifications-to-support-sustainable-palm-oil-in-indonesia)***. This publication provides a “how-to guide” for companies to shift their palm oil operations from forested to degraded land, as well as recommendations on how Indonesian policymakers can make this process easier.

WRI mempublikasikan analisis singkat untuk membahas tantangan tersebut: How to Change Legal Land Use Classifications to Support More Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia (Bagaimana Mengubah Klasifikasi Legal Penggunaan Kawasan untuk Mendukung Kelapa Sawit yang Lebih Berkelanjutan di Indonesia). Publikasi ini memberikan panduan praktis bagi perusahaan untuk memindahkan operasi kelapa sawitnya dari lahan berhutan ke lahan terdegradasi, sekaligus menawarkan beberapa rekomendasi kepada para pembuat kebijakan di Indonesia untuk membuat proses ini dapat berlangsung dengan lebih mudah.

Pennsylvania is generating more electricity than it has in the past, but the good news is that it’s doing so while emitting less carbon dioxide pollution. **In fact, [new WRI analysis](http://www.wri.org/publication/power-sector-opportunities-reducing-carbon-dioxide-emissions-pennsylvania) finds that Pennsylvania can reduce its CO2 emissions 21 percent below 2011 levels by 2020 just by complying with current policies and taking advantage of existing infrastructure.** Achieving these reductions will allow Pennsylvania to meet moderately ambitious EPA power plant emissions standards, which are due to be finalized in 2015.

Last month, China’s State Council announced a new action plan to combat air pollution, which included a prohibition of new coal-fired power plants in the three most important metropolitan areas around Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou (known as the [“key-three city clusters”](http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2013-09/12/content_2486773.htm)). But while the plan sounds like progress, will it actually slow down China’s new coal construction? A bit of analysis suggests that it may take more action to really curb China’s appetite for coal.

Over the next two decades, India’s urban population is expected to double to more than 600 million people. Urban centers [will soon comprise](http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-01-09/news/28427585_1_urban-population-cities-demographic-dividend) 40 percent of the country’s population and 70 percent of new employment. Today, India faces a choice: It could either continue to build increasingly sprawling and inefficient cities or embrace well-designed and people-focused models.

Innovative farmers are beginning to demonstrate how agroforestry and other relatively simple practices can significantly boost food production in Africa’s drylands. In fact, [according to a new WRI working paper](http://www.wri.org/publication/improving-land-and-water-management), improving land and water management on just 25 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s 300 million hectares of prime cropland would result in an additional 22 million tons of food. This strategy could go a long way towards sustainably feeding Africa—and the world.