Even in the face of COVID-19, we cannot lose sight of another urgent and looming challenge: climate change. That’s why leading businesses are in support of enacting policies in the short term in order to lay a foundation for bolder action in the long term.
A new WRI co-authored paper published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications demonstrates how combining existing sub-national climate action with expanded national strategies in the United States will be critical to reach scientifically informed climate goals—and finds that such a comprehensive approach could reduce emissions up to 49% by 2030, relative to 2005 levels.
The task of decarbonizing the U.S. economy is too big for any one level of government to tackle alone. The “new climate federalism” model proposes a framework for the federal, state and local governments to work together to address climate change.
Recognizing that addressing climate change in the U.S. will require action at all levels of government, WRI convened thought leaders among current and former U.S. federal, state, and local government officials in a dialogue to explore these topics. This paper sets out the context and findings of the dialogue discussions, and proposes a working federalism framework to delineate roles within a future federal climate policy.
Dan Lashof, Director of WRI United States, reflects on the wildfires in the Western United States — and why now is the time for national action on climate change.
Devashree Saha testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change on opportunities for the United States to achieve an equitable, low-carbon economy.
This paper aims is a resource for national policymakers that are considering, designing and communicating net-zero targets. It provides recommendations for targets that are in line with the latest climate science and Paris Agreement temperature goals as well as an overview of countries’ targets to date.
In the United States, over four-fifths of states are debunking the myth that slashing greenhouse gas emissions comes at the expense of economic growth.
This working paper draws on the latest economic research to demonstrate how climate policy and investments in low-carbon infrastructure can reboot America’s economy and set it up for long-term success. Decarbonization can benefit U.S. economic output, jobs, manufacturing, rural communities, and consumers.
Advancing U.S. climate action will spur economic growth, create jobs, reduce costs for Americans and help fight the effects of climate change.
Russia recently released a draft long-term strategy for tackling climate change. The proposed plan would have Russia's carbon emissions drop to net zero decades after other major economies.
The United Nations Framework on Climate Change, together with the UK government, which is serving as the COP26 Presidency, announced that it will be postponing the summit due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The exact date will be determined following consultation with parties.Following is a statement from Andrew Steer, President & CEO, World Resources Institute.
Badly designed climate action can leave people behind. Here are five ways governments can create fair policies and ensure climate justice.
At the UN climate negotiations in Madrid (COP25), countries made little progress to resolve outstanding rules for implementing the Paris Agreement, but they did send some signals for countries to strengthen their national climate commitments next year.
Negotiators at COP25 have an opportunity to get countries' national climate action plans onto the same schedule. A common time frame would improve transparency and coordination, and facilitate greater collective ambition.
This week began with the Trump administration formally withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. But amidst the gloom, signs of hope: corporate leaders with the CEO Climate Dialogue went to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to enact legislation aligned with the Paris goals.
If we really want to solve the climate crisis, the time has come for companies to push for federal policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And that means making sure trade associations are on board with climate action.
Eleven leading environmental and sustainable business organizations published an open letter in the New York Times, urging the CEOs of Corporate America to step up their engagement on climate policy.
Countries' long-term climate strategies plan out to 2050. How can policymakers deal with uncertainty over this long time horizon? "Stress-testing" with different future scenarios can help.
A statement from Dr. Andrew Steer, President & CEO, World Resources Institute, on the Market Choice Act.