The Global Land Squeeze: Managing the Growing Competition for Land

The report warns that increasing global demand for land-based products is underappreciated in current climate strategies, potentially leading to policies that increase emissions. It projects significant land conversion by 2050 and advocates for a strategy of producing more on existing land, protecting ecosystems, reducing demand for land-intensive products, and restoring native habitats.

• By 2050, land conversion for agriculture is projected to be twice the size of India, while the demand for wood will require land the size of the continental United States.
• Current climate strategies have underestimated the carbon and biodiversity costs associated with expanding wood harvests and agriculture, resulting in policies that divert land toward uses that may significantly increase emissions.
• WRI proposes a four-pronged strategy to balance land demand with environmental needs: increasing production efficiency and city density, protecting natural ecosystems, reducing demand for land-intensive products (such as beef and milk), and restoring native habitats, particularly inefficient tropical pasture lands.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). The Global Land Squeeze: Managing the Growing Competition for Land. https://www.wri.org/research/global-land-squeeze-managing-growing-competition-land

Chicago

World Resources Institute. The Global Land Squeeze: Managing the Growing Competition for Land. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/global-land-squeeze-managing-growing-competition-land.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=The Global Land Squeeze: Managing the Growing Competition for Land |url=https://www.wri.org/research/global-land-squeeze-managing-growing-competition-land |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendglobal, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{The Global Land Squeeze: Managing the Growing Competition for Land}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/global-land-squeeze-managing-growing-competition-land}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }