WRI Insights

Temperatures hit an unseasonably warm 61˚F in Washington D.C. earlier this week. The Middle East is blanketed in record rainfall and rare heavy snowfall, [ending](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/01/10/middle-east-snow/1823275/) a nearly decade-long drought. Australia [witnessed its hottest day on record](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/australia-braces-for-more-blistering-heat-after-record-busting-spell/2013/01/10/1b5e00f2-5b4f-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_blog.html) this past week, stoking wildfires. And China is experiencing a bitterly cold winter, where temperatures [are the lowest](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/01/09/china-cold/1820089/)they’ve been in almost three decades. We’re only two weeks into 2013, and already we are getting a reminder of the extreme year we just emerged from.

The need for action on sustainable transport has never been more apparent than it is today. The world’s population is expected to reach a whopping [9.8 billion people by 2050](http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/pressrelease.pdf), with [about 70 percent](http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35571/icode/) of these people residing in cities. Meanwhile, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are on the rise. Transportation [contributes 13 percent](http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/Pub/pdf/09GHGsum.pdf) of global emissions, spurring climate change and creating dangerous air pollution.

The [draft U.S. National Climate Assessment](http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/) was [released last week](http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/01/new-national-climate-assessment-shows-america-course-unprecedented-warming), confirming that the climate is changing, that it is primarily due to human activities, and that the United States is already being adversely impacted. These top-line messages should come as no surprise, as they reconfirm the major findings of [previous National Climate Assessments](http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/previous-assessments) and of the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s](http://www.ipcc.ch/) recent reports.

A [new federal report](http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/) reveals alarming statistics on climate change. According to the 3rd National Climate Assessment, released in draft form today from the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the world could warm by more than 12°F by the end of the century if action isn’t taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As another year begins, big business will continue falling well short of taking the leadership role on the sustainability the world urgently needs. While many chief executives now publicly identify sustainability as a key issue for their companies, walking the talk is proving more elusive.

Natural ecosystems [provide essential services](http://www.wri.org/publication/insights-from-the-field-forests-for-water) for our communities. Forests and wetlands, for example, [filter the water](http://www.wri.org/stories/2011/02/protecting-forests-protect-water-us-south) we drink, protect neighborhoods from floods and droughts, and shade aquatic habitat for fish populations.

According to new data, 2012 was a chart-topping year for the United States – but not in a good way. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Climate Data Center (NCDC) [recently declared](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/) 2012 to be the hottest year on record for the contiguous United States. This year shattered the previous record temperature, set in 1998, by 1.0°F. The year was also marked by 11 extreme weather events that each caused more than $1 billion of damages.

With more than [400 million](http://www.nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=181) of its 1.2 billion citizens [without access](http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/08/indias-blackouts-highlight-need-electricity-governance-reform) to electricity, India needs extensive energy development. A new initiative aims to ensure that a significant portion of this new power comes in the form of renewable energy.

Zipcar’s $500 million [acquisition by Avis-Budget Group](http://www.businessinsider.com/avis-buys-zipcar-2013-1) announced last Wednesday is a watershed moment for the car-sharing industry. What will it mean for car sharing?

Experts say that developing nations could [require more than $100 billion](http://www.wri.org/stories/2010/01/summary-studies-estimating-cost-climate-change-adaptation-developing-world) for adaptation each year. Developed countries say that they have already [delivered more than $33 billion](http://www.wri.org/publication/summary-of-developed-country-fast-start-climate-finance-pledges) so far towards this climate adaptation funding.