Social Impact

How climate change affects communities, migration, health, and social justice

STATEMENT: European Commission Protects EUDR’s Core Principles

Brussels (October 21, 2025) — The European Commission today put forward a formal proposal to simplify the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) for micro and small enterprises, as well as downstream...

For New Global Forest Pledges to Succeed, They Must Center Forest Communities

Forests are among our most powerful allies in the fight against climate change. As the world races to halt and reverse deforestation globally by 2030, recognizing the role of the...

Improving Air Quality in BogotĂĄ, Colombia, from the Ground Up

In Bogotá, WRI Colombia led efforts to improve the city’s air quality alert system and reduce pollution in key neighborhoods across the city. From 2020 to 2025, WRI Colombia worked...

4 Questions That Will Shape COP30 for Vulnerable Countries

In a year marked by escalating climate impacts, economic headwinds, climate policy rollbacks and a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, the road to the 2025 UN climate summit (COP30) has been...

ADVISORY: WRI Press Call on Expectations for COP30

Washington (October 20, 2025) — Join World Resources Institute (WRI) for a press call on Monday, October 27, at 9:00am ET / 2:00pm CET, where experts will share insights on what’s...

BogotĂĄ, Colombia, Uses Data and Smart Urban Design to Cut Air Pollution

Nestled in the Andes, Bogotá’s mountainous landscape traps air pollutants, sometimes cloaking the Colombian capital in a dusty smog.The consequences have been severe. The city’s poor air quality resulted in...

Cocoa Robbed Ghana of its Forests. Farmers Are Bringing Them Back

When Alex Tawiah and Georgina Nyarko first heard about beekeeping on their cocoa farm, they were skeptical. Could bees really help them earn a steady income?  They put their misgivings...

More Coal Won't Solve US Energy Woes

The Trump administration is doubling down on efforts to revive the United States’ coal industry.On Sept. 29, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $625 million in funding aimed at retrofitting...

RELEASE: Clean Energy Investments Can Power Indonesia’s Growth and Advance Its Net-Zero Goals, Finds New WRI Study

Every US$1 billion invested in renewable energy projected to generate US$1.41 billion in economic returns  (Jakarta) October 14, 2025 – Investing in clean energy and energy efficiency can power Indonesia’s twin...

Clean Energy Can Supercharge Indonesia's Economy

Countries today face a fundamental challenge: how to grow their economies and meet development goals without repeating the planet-warming patterns of the past.Historically, rapid economic growth has come at the...

ADVISORY: ACT2025 Press Call on Climate-Vulnerable Nations' Expectations for COP30

WASHINGTON (October 21, 2025) — Join Allied for Climate Transformation by 2025 (ACT2025) on Tuesday, October 21 from 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. EDT (see additional time zones below) for...

STATEMENT: IUCN Adopts Landmark Resolution on Crimes Affecting the Environment

ABU DHABI (October 9, 2025) — Today, at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, IUCN members adopted a landmark Resolution on Crimes that Affect the Environment.The resolution recognizes...

19 Ways to Help the Climate, Ranked

It may seem like political divides around climate change are only deepening. Yet the world’s largest climate survey reveals a striking consensus: Eighty percent of people globally want their countries...

5 Key Levers Countries Can Use to Advance a Just Transition

Climate change is accelerating, threatening lives, livelihoods and economies across the world. In response, countries are stepping up efforts to manage climate risks and shift away from carbon-intensive industries. But...

ADVISORY: Embargoed Press Call on the State of Climate Action 2025 Report

WASHINGTON (October 8, 2025) – Join an embargoed press call to preview the State of Climate Action 2025 report on Thursday, October 16, 2025, from 9:00–10:00 a.m. ET / 3:00–4:00 p.m. CEST,...

WRI Pilots Approach to Identify Clean Energy Financing in Developing Countries

Clean energy investment can expand energy access, reduce emissions and power green growth in developing countries. But deploying clean energy technologies requires significant capital, especially in these markets. While the...

Connecting Finance and Policy for Renewable Energy Growth in Colombia

Colombia’s pathway to a clean energy future hinges on a dramatic scale-up of renewable generation. National estimates suggest that between 2023 and 2052, installed capacity in solar and wind must...

Matching Clean Energy Finance Needs with the Appropriate Financial Toolkit in Rwanda

In developing countries, renewable energy investment is a priority. But deployment faces systemic barriers preventing institutional investment. Moreover, project developers struggle with inadequate financial instruments that fail to address unique...

Bottom-Up Experiences in Recife and Teresina Underpin Brazil’s New National Policy on Urban Peripheries

Building solutions for urban peripheries — the sprawling, poorly served, low-income informal neighborhoods on the outskirts of Brazilian cities — requires recognizing their value.Brazilian peripheries, while poor, often have knowledge,...

STATEMENT: EAT-Lancet Report Underscores Urgent Need to Make Healthy, Sustainable Food Accessible for All

LONDON (October 3, 2025) — Today, EAT and The Lancet released the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission, a major scientific update to one of the most influential food system reports of the past decade.The...

Environmental Justice Leaders Submit Joint Opposition to EPA’s Methane Rule Delay

Contact: [email protected] Washington, D.C. — GreenLatinos, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and the Climate Justice Alliance, together with 106 partner organizations — primarily environmental justice and Tribal organizations — submitted...

RELEASE: P4G Awards $3.8M to 14 Climate Startups Driving Green Innovation in Emerging Markets

WASHINGTON (October 1, 2025) — Today, World Resources Institute’s Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) awarded $3.8 million in grants and technical assistance to 14 climate startups...

The Perfect Storm Fueling Pakistan’s Solar Boom

Pakistan has witnessed one of the most rapid and unanticipated transitions to clean energy, driven largely by homes and businesses installing rooftop solar panels. In just a few years, the...

Hundreds of Environmental Justice Organizations Tell EPA: Revoking Endangerment Finding Puts All Our Communities in Danger

Contact: Kayla Ritchie, [email protected] (CJA) / Ashley Sullivan, [email protected], (917) 837-1183 (WE ACT/EJLF) / Isella Ramirez, [email protected], (323) 854-1857 (MFN) / Prerna Sampat, [email protected] (CEED/Equitable & Just National Climate Platform)...

Climate Justice Alliance, GreenLatinos, Indigenous Environmental Network, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice Lead 89 Organizations in Opposing DOE’S NEPA Rollback

Indigenous and Environmental Justice Groups Warn the Rollback Would Strip Communities of Legal Recourse and Critical Safeguards Contact: Climate Justice Alliance: [email protected] WE ACT for Environmental Justice: [email protected] GreenLatinos: [email protected]...

STATEMENT: U.S. EPA Proposes to Reverse its Authority to Limit Climate Pollution

July 29, 2025 (Washington, DC) — Today in Indianapolis, where the heat index was expected to exceed 100 degrees and approach an all-time high, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...

Mobilizing Clean Energy Finance in the Industrial Sector in Indonesia and Vietnam

Vietnam and Indonesia are among Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing energy markets. Vietnam’s government estimates that electricity consumption will rise by 10%-12% annually through 2030, one of the highest rates in the...

The Challenge with Tree-Planting Initiatives — and How to Get Them Right

The last decade has seen a surge in tree-planting and restoration pledges. The Bonn Challenge and New York Declaration on Forests aim to restore 350 million hectares of degraded forests...

For Electric Vehicles, Smaller Is Better

The electric vehicle (EV) market is showing steady growth in many parts of the world. In 2023, nearly one in five cars sold worldwide was electric, with China, Europe and...

Latest Permitting Proposal is a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Contact: [email protected] In response to the introduction of the SPEED Act today by Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), Climate Justice Alliance Executive Director...

Housing Justice Is Climate Justice: Trump’s Executive Order Criminalizes the Unhoused and Ignores the Root Causes

As the federal government escalates its assault on unhoused communities, President Trump issues an inhumane executive order pressuring local governments to forcibly remove people experiencing homelessness from the streets. This...

We Must Respect–Not Repeal–Hard-fought Community Protections like the Endangerment Finding

The EPA Must Be Allowed to Continue Setting Limits on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Contact: [email protected] Washington DC – In the coming days, the Trump administration is expected to move forward...

Climate Justice Alliance Supports a People’s AI Action Plan

We need an AI Plan that protects people and the planet, not a plan that accelerates extraction Contact: [email protected] Today, the Trump Administration released an AI plan that would fast-track...

What Does ‘Green’ Procurement Mean? Initiatives and Standards for Cement and Steel.

Decarbonizing cement and steel production — which together are responsible for nearly 14% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions — will be critical to achieving national and global climate goals....

Cities Are Heating Up. Better Infrastructure Can Cool Them Down.

In a city, a grassy park might be a place to stretch out with a book, an asphalt road your route to work, a building wall a canvas for a...

House Funding Bills are a Payout to Polluters

Contact: [email protected] In response to a slew of anti-environmental appropriations bills, including the House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies FY 2026...

Farmers Restore the ‘Cradle of Mankind’ in Kenya’s Greater Rift Valley

Every morning, Joyce Muthoni steps onto her farm in central Kenya with quiet determination. She moves from tree to tree — pruning, weeding, checking the soil — nurturing each seedling....

STATEMENT: 8 African Nations Commit to 100% Sustainable Ocean Management

YAOUNDÉ  (July 11, 2025) – Yesterday, eight African nations — Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria — adopted the Yaoundé Declaration, committing to sustainably...

Grounding Global Water Risk Assessments in Local Data

More companies are assessing water risks, either voluntarily or in response to regulatory requirements. However, navigating the complex and diverse water challenges across global portfolios while under pressure from external...

How Advanced Transmission Technologies Can Revamp the Aging US Power Grid

The North American power grid is often referred to as “the world’s largest machine.” What may appear to be a haphazard collection of power plants and lines is actually an...

Investors Look to Nature to Shield Against Growing Financial Risks

Since the start of 2025, a quiet yet profound shift has begun to reshape global finance. In January, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, publicly acknowledged that \“nature capital\” —...

A Comprehensive Guide for Safer Roads and Livable Cities

Road traffic crashes kill about 1.19 million people each year and seriously injure another 20 million to 50 million. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists — the most vulnerable road users —...

Organized Crime in The Amazon: A Growing Threat to the World’s Greatest Tropical Rainforest

Brazil once again leads the world in the loss of primary tropical forests. New data shows the country accounted for 42% of global primary rainforest loss in 2024, largely due...

What Is the EU Deforestation Regulation? 7 Key Questions, Answered

Between 2001 and 2024, the world lost 177 million hectares of tree cover — a loss that is likely permanent. Most of this loss was the result of clearing for...

The US Can’t Build a Competitive Industrial Future without Centering Communities

As the global economy shifts toward cleaner and more efficient manufacturing and production, the U.S. has the opportunity to create healthier communities and increase climate resilience as it shapes a...

STATEMENT: BRICS Countries Rally Around Assertive Climate Agenda Ahead of COP30

RIO DE JANEIRO (July 7, 2025) — The 2025 BRICS Summit concluded today in Rio de Janeiro, bringing together representatives from countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa...

STATEMENT: The Republican Budget Bill Will Hurt the U.S. Economy

WASHINGTON D.C. (July 3, 2025) — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1., the Republican budget bill, by a vote of 218 to 214 following the U.S. Senate’s 51...

STATEMENT: EU 2040 Climate Goal Should Stay the Course Towards a Net-Zero Economy

BRUSSELS (July 7, 2025) - Today, the European Commission presented its formal proposal to cut the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, from 1990 levels.The revised EU...