James Anderson uses the Global Forest Watch platform to analyze forest change in his hometown of Northfield, Minnesota.
WRI established its U.S. office in 1982. We work to improve water quality, increase awareness of local climate change impacts, and identify cost-effective emissions-reduction opportunities in the United States. Learn more about our work in the United States.
Water scarcity challenges industries around the world. Global population growth and economic development suggest a future of increased demand, competition, and cost for limited freshwater supplies. Scarcer water, in turn, creates new challenges for energy supply because coal, oil, gas, and...
This bubble chart shows the water and energy intensity of various industries. The bubble size is proportional to revenue (2013 figures). Source: Bloomberg Terminal (accessed summer 2015).
New WRI research finds that a U.S. carbon price would go beyond computer model predictions and encourage emissions reductions by changing the behavior of producers, consumers and investors throughout the economy.
In Putting a Price on Carbon: Reducing Emissions, we describe how a national price on carbon would reduce emissions across key sectors of the economy, including empirical evidence and real world case studies. The research examines how the incentives for emissions reductions are depicted in an...
In his final State of the Union address, President Barack Obama ranked the importance of a climate change strategy on a par with national security, economic equality and a more effective political process. Here are six steps his administration can take this year to cement its climate legacy.
WASHINGTON (January 7, 2016)– New analysis from World Resources Institute shows that Missouri can place itself in a strong position to meet or exceed its emissions target under EPA’s Clean Power Plan for reducing emissions from the power sector.
WASHINGTON (January 5, 2016)– New analysis from World Resources Institute shows that Michigan is in a strong position to meet its target under the EPA’s Clean Power Plan for reducing emissions from the power sector through its existing energy efficiency and renewable energy policies. These policies have already generated investments, jobs and energy savings in the state.
"Under President Obama, the United States has sent a clear message at home and abroad that it's serious about climate action," write WRI Board member and former Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson. "We've vastly increased fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, set standards to limit carbon pollution under the Clean Power Plan, and brought China and other countries together around firm international commitments for action."
"The shift to a clean energy economy is inevitable -- it's no longer a matter of if, but when," WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer writes. "Elected officials can make America a leader in this new clean energy future and ensure that Americans enjoy better health and a more vigorous economy."