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Avoiding Bioenergy Competition for Food Crops and Land
The report contends that bioenergy is an inefficient use of land that exacerbates a projected 70 percent 'food gap' between 2006 calorie availability and 2050 needs. It asserts that large-scale bioenergy targets are unrealistic, as meeting a 20 percent global energy demand target by 2050 would require doubling the world's annual plant harvest. The author argues that bioenergy's climate benefits are often overestimated due to 'double counting' carbon absorption that would occur regardless of energy use. In contrast, solar photovoltaics are presented as significantly more land-efficient, capable of generating over 100 times the usable energy per hectare. The document recommends phasing out subsidies and regulatory requirements for crop-based biofuels and instead prioritizing 'additional' biomass—such as timber processing wastes and landfill methane—for hard-to-abate sectors like aviation.
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Document type: Report
Leading on Ambition: Opportunities for the Enhancement of Nationally Determined Contributions
The document argues that current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C and seeks to provide CVF member countries with sectoral options for enhancing their NDCs. It focuses on energy, transport, forestry, food, and agriculture to drive a low-carbon, climate-resilient pathway that aligns with sustainable development goals.
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Document type: Research paper
Food Loss and Waste in India: The Knowns and The Unknowns
The paper examines food loss and waste in India, noting that post-harvest losses were valued at INR 926.51 billion in 2014. It identifies a lack of standardized measurement metrics and a scarcity of empirical research on household-level food waste and the social, economic, and environmental impacts of food loss. The authors recommend adopting the global Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard and establishing a multi-stakeholder action coalition to prioritize research and policy implementation.
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Document type: Research paper
Background Information for the Declaration on Climate Justice
The document argues that climate change disproportionately affects the world's poorest populations, particularly regarding food security and economic growth. It asserts that to limit warming to 2°C, a significant majority of known fossil fuel reserves must remain unused. Furthermore, it highlights that transitioning to renewable energy and energy efficiency can drive job creation and economic growth, citing examples from China and Germany's policy frameworks.
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Document type: Briefing
How UNFCCC Parties Can Act on Forests’ Non-Carbon Climate Effects
The document outlines how forests influence climate stability through four non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols. It argues that ignoring these effects leads to an undervaluation of tropical forests, as tropical deforestation contributes 50 percent more to global warming than carbon-only metrics suggest. The authors propose six specific mechanisms for UNFCCC Parties to integrate these effects into official processes, including GHG inventories, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD+ reporting, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), the Global Stocktake, and the IPCC's 7th Assessment Report cycle.
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Document type: Policy brief
Comment les Parties de la CCNUCC, peuvent-elles agir sur les effets climatiques non carbone des forêts
The policy brief highlights that forests influence the climate through four key non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols. It argues that focusing solely on carbon underestimates the cooling value of tropical forests and ignores local temperature spikes caused by deforestation. The authors propose six specific ways for UNFCCC Parties to integrate these effects into national greenhouse gas inventories, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD+ reporting, adaptation planning, the Global Stocktake, and the IPCC's Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).
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Document type: Policy brief
Como as partes da UNFCCC podem agir sobre os efeitos climáticos não carbônicos das florestas
The briefing explains how forests influence climate through non-carbon biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—and proposes six specific mechanisms for the UNFCCC to integrate these effects into national reporting, NDCs, REDD+, adaptation planning, the Global Stocktake, and IPCC assessments.
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Document type: Briefing
Management Response to the 2012 External Review of WRI
WRI management acknowledges the 2012 external review's finding that the institute made important progress on its 2008-2012 Strategic Plan, particularly in establishing in-country presences in China, India, and Brazil. The response outlines achievements in communications, cross-program synergies, and staff diversity, while addressing the need for better integration and visibility for its forest work. Looking forward, WRI aims to balance its role as a 'think tank' and 'do tank,' strengthen its presence in Africa, and more consistently integrate development and poverty concerns into its environmental work.
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Document type: Statement
wrr_case_study_china_agriculture-5012818b67af7f8a.pdf
This case study examines the integration of climate change adaptation into China's Comprehensive Agricultural Development (CAD) program, specifically through the World Bank-financed Irrigated Agriculture Intensification Loan III Project (IAIL3) and a subsequent Global Environmental Facility (GEF) grant. Focused on the 3H Plain, the initiative aimed to address water scarcity and agricultural vulnerability by implementing drought-resistant crop varieties, water-harvesting infrastructure, and capacity-building for farmers, including rural women.
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Document type: Case study
Increasing Food Security with Agrometeorological Information: Mali’s National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk
Since 1982, Mali's Direction Nationale de la Météorologie (DNM) has implemented a government-sponsored agrometeorological project to help farmers manage climate variability. By providing weather forecasts, rainfall gauges, and 10-day bulletins via radio and television, the project has trained over 2,500 farmers to make informed decisions on sowing and input application. Evidence indicates that farmers using this information achieve higher yields and incomes compared to those relying on traditional indicators. The project's success is attributed to its multidisciplinary approach and community-level focus, though challenges remain regarding the reliability of local-scale forecasts and the needs of herding families.
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Document type: Case study
Opportunities for Crop Research, Development and Adoption to Drive Transformative Adaptation in Agriculture
The document argues that incremental adaptation measures, such as shifting planting dates, are insufficient for low-latitude tropical countries where climate change may undermine the viability of current crop systems. It advocates for a shift toward transformative adaptation, which involves fundamental changes to production systems, including the introduction of new crop species and the redesign of seed systems. The author emphasizes that crop R&D must expand beyond major staples to include traditional and orphan crops, while simultaneously investing in adoption pipelines, extension services, and gender-responsive policies to ensure the most vulnerable farmers can access and benefit from these innovations.
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Document type: Research paper
Creating a Sustainable Food Future: Interim Findings
The world faces a 69 percent gap between 2006 crop calories and those required by 2050 for a population of 9.6 billion. Closing this gap through production alone would require increases exceeding those seen between 1962 and 2006. The document proposes a 'menu of solutions' categorized by reducing consumption, increasing production on existing land, and reducing emissions. Key strategies include cutting food loss and waste in half (reducing the gap by 20%), achieving replacement level fertility in sub-Saharan Africa (reducing the regional gap by 25%), and shifting 20% of future beef consumption to other proteins. It warns that aggressive bioenergy targets could widen the food gap to 100%.
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Document type: Executive summary
Cómo pueden actuar las partes de la CMNUCC sobre los efectos climáticos no relacionados con el carbono de los bosques
The document explains that forests influence climate stability through four non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols. It highlights that tropical deforestation contributes 50% more to global warming than carbon accounting alone suggests and can increase local peak temperatures by over 7.6°C. The authors propose six specific actions for UNFCCC parties to integrate these effects into national GHG inventories, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD+ financing, adaptation planning, the Global Stocktake, and the IPCC's Seventh Assessment Report.
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Document type: Briefing
CATALYZING ADAPTATION
The document outlines the achievements of the Global Commission on Adaptation, specifically the role of the World Resources Institute (WRI) in co-managing the initiative. It highlights the 'Adapt Now' report, which argues that climate adaptation is a human, environmental, and economic imperative, with benefit-cost ratios for investments ranging from 2:1 to 10:1. The report details a 'Year of Action' that mobilized over 170 partners across tracks including finance, agriculture, resilient cities, and nature-based solutions. Key outcomes include the mobilization of $790 million for small-scale food producers, the creation of the 'Principles for Locally Led Adaptation', and the launch of the '1,000 Cities Adapt Now' program. The document concludes by calling for scaled-up climate finance for developing countries and the integration of climate risks into national budgetary and policy decisions.
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Document type: Report
Climate Change made devastating early heat in India and Pakistan 30 times more likely
The study concludes that human-induced climate change made the March-April 2022 heatwave in India and Pakistan approximately 30 times more likely and about 1C hotter than in a pre-industrial climate. The event, defined as a 1-in-100-year occurrence in today's climate, caused at least 90 deaths, triggered glacial lake outburst floods in northern Pakistan, and led to significant wheat crop yield losses in India, prompting a wheat export ban. The researchers warn that at 2C of global warming, such heatwaves will become an additional factor of 2-20 more likely and 0.5-1.5C hotter. Vulnerability is highest among outdoor daily wage earners and urban poor in informal settlements, though the report notes that Heat Action Plans in India, now covering 130 cities, can effectively reduce mortality.
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Document type: Research paper
Attribution of severe low rainfall in southern Madagascar, 2019-21
The study investigates a severe drought in southern Madagascar (the Grand Sud region) between July 2019 and June 2021, which contributed to a major food security crisis. Analysis of observational data and climate models indicates that the event was a 1-in-135 year dry event, but its likelihood was not significantly increased by anthropogenic climate change. The findings suggest that natural variability remains the dominant driver of such droughts in this region, aligning with IPCC projections that perceptible changes in drought may only emerge if global mean temperatures exceed 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The report also highlights that the humanitarian impact was severely compounded by extreme poverty, poor infrastructure, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Document type: Research paper
High temperatures exacerbated by climate change made 2022 Northern Hemisphere soil moisture droughts more likely
The study concludes that human-induced climate change significantly increased the probability of the 2022 summer soil moisture droughts in both West-Central Europe and the Northern Hemisphere extratropics, primarily driven by a strong increase in high temperatures rather than precipitation deficits. For West-Central Europe, the likelihood of root-zone soil moisture drought increased by 3-4 times and surface soil moisture drought by 5-6 times. In the Northern Hemisphere extratropics, the increase was more pronounced, with the likelihood of root-zone drought increasing by at least 20 times and surface drought by at least 5 times. These conditions led to severe impacts on agriculture, energy production, and water infrastructure, compounded by socio-economic stressors such as the conflict in Ukraine.
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Document type: Research paper
Food crisis in Central Sahel in 2022 driven by chronic vulnerability with uncertain role of climate change
The report examines the 2022 food crisis in the Central Sahel, which followed an erratic 2021 rainy season characterized by delayed onset and short duration. Using three observational datasets and multiple climate models, the study finds that it is impossible to significantly link these specific monsoon characteristics to anthropogenic climate change due to large uncertainties and discrepancies. Instead, the crisis is attributed to chronic vulnerabilities, including extreme poverty, armed conflict, political instability, and global economic shocks such as the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Document type: Research paper
Vulnerability and high temperatures exacerbate impacts of ongoing drought in Central South America
The study finds that while the 2022 drought in Central South America was primarily driven by natural variability and La Niña conditions, human-induced climate change exacerbated the event by increasing temperatures, which reduced water availability through higher evapotranspiration. The drought caused severe agricultural losses in Argentina, including a projected 25-50% decrease in soy yields and a significant drop in wheat production, while limiting potable water access for over 75,000 people in Uruguay.
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Document type: Research paper
Busting myths about food waste
The document argues that food waste reduction is an accessible and cost-effective opportunity for schools and communities. It highlights that up to 40% of food produced globally is wasted, contributing roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Through examples from the US, such as the Olympia School District and Montgomery County, it demonstrates that simple interventions like bulk milk dispensers and share-tables can reduce waste and save money. The text promotes a hierarchy of food waste solutions, prioritizing source prevention and human consumption over composting.
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Document type: Fact sheet