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Dan Lashof, Director of WRI US, responds to the introduction of the Green New Deal resolution by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, stating that the proposal has revitalized the urgent conversation on climate action in the U.S. and highlights the necessity of linking ambitious climate goals with job creation and the reduction of economic inequality.

The report finds that while some progress has been made, the world is not yet on track to achieve the 2020 climate turning point. Progress is uneven across the six milestones, with most outcomes designated as having insufficient or off-track progress, though some areas like shipping and public climate finance are on track.

The document examines the link between community land tenure and global sustainability goals, highlighting that while indigenous and rural communities manage over 50% of the world's land, only 10% is legally recognized. It presents evidence that secure tenure reduces deforestation and carbon emissions more cheaply than technological carbon capture. The author calls for legal reforms, simplified formalization procedures, and a more equitable playing field between communities and corporations to protect these critical carbon sinks and support rural livelihoods.

The document evaluates the world's collective progress toward six climate milestones in energy, transport, land use, industry, infrastructure, and finance. It concludes that while some progress has been made, the global community is generally not on track to achieve the 2020 climate turning point. The report highlights significant data gaps that hinder accurate tracking and urges governments, businesses, and financial institutions to increase ambition and fulfill commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The document analyzes the evolution of bicycle-sharing schemes (BSS) across four technological generations, moving from simple free-bike models to sophisticated dockless and electric systems. It provides a comprehensive guide for city officials on planning, regulatory frameworks, financing, and safety, emphasizing the need for proactive governance to manage the risks and opportunities of the 'fourth generation' of bike sharing.

The Land Accelerator, supported by Germany's BMZ and the DOEN Foundation, provides technical knowledge and capital to entrepreneurs restoring degraded land. The 2019 Demo Day featured 14 African entrepreneurs from 8 countries presenting businesses focused on sustainable food, land use, and climate resilience.

The paper examines the decline of urban accessibility in the global South due to rapid urbanization and motorization. It introduces an access-mobility framework to categorize under-served residents and proposes three priority action areas: building safe, democratic street networks; developing integrated, user-oriented transport services; and managing private vehicle demand. The authors emphasize that these actions require capable governance and sustainable funding models to move cities from a vicious cycle of car-dependency to a virtuous cycle of balanced, multimodal transport.

The Global Commission on Adaptation's report, 'Adapt Now', presents climate adaptation as a human, environmental, and economic imperative. It argues that current responses are insufficient and calls for a 'triple dividend' approach—avoiding losses, gaining economic productivity, and securing social-environmental benefits. The report details specific strategies for food security, natural environments, water management, urban areas, infrastructure, and disaster risk management, while proposing a 15-month 'Year of Action' to jump-start these transitions through eight dedicated Action Tracks.

The document identifies a "missing middle" in climate finance—a systemic gap where mobilized funds fail to reach local and subnational actors due to bureaucratic barriers, capacity constraints, and a preference for international intermediaries. It argues that the direct access modality is a critical tool for overcoming this gap by empowering national and subnational entities. The authors highlight that while the AF has pioneered direct access, the GCF remains dominated by Multilateral Implementing Entities (MIEs), with only 16% of approved funding channeled through Direct Access Entities (DAEs) as of March 2019. The paper recommends shifting toward a principle of subsidiarity, increasing grant-based financing, and holding MIEs accountable for transferring capacity to national institutions.

The document explores the integration of customer clean energy demand into utility planning, focusing on the role of Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) in the US. It argues that early collaboration between utilities and customers can lead to more efficient clean energy procurement, faster decarbonization, and lower costs. The report details the IRP process, identifies barriers to customer engagement—such as limited resources and lack of transparency—and provides pathways for involvement through direct engagement, stakeholder forums, and regulatory proceedings.

The report outlines a 'Target-Measure-Act' approach to reduce global food loss and waste, identifying regional hotspots—such as consumption in high-income regions and handling/storage in low-income regions—and proposing 10 scaling interventions to accelerate progress toward SDG 12.3.

The statement evaluates the conclusion of COP24, noting that while negotiations were contentious, they established a foundation for the Paris Agreement's rulebook and set the stage for updated national climate commitments by 2020. It highlights progress on the Adaptation Fund and the agreement to set a new post-2020 finance goal, while criticizing the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait for opposing the IPCC 1.5°C report. The author emphasizes that the world has not yet begun to aggressively reduce global emissions and calls for bold action from heads of state.

The document argues that Nature-based Solutions (NBS) can reduce disaster risk and provide lower-cost, resilient services when integrated with conventional gray infrastructure. It details specific NBS applications for coastal, urban, and river flooding, provides a framework for implementation, and outlines policy and financing mechanisms to scale these approaches.

The briefing identifies three central pillars for climate finance negotiations at COP24: the replenishment of dedicated funds, the creation of reporting guidelines for tracking financial flows, and the planning of a new collective quantified goal after 2025. It emphasizes the need for developed countries to scale up support, specifically through the Green Climate Fund, and to improve both ex-post reporting of past flows and ex-ante projections of future funding to build trust with developing nations.

The document argues that while individual CVF countries have low emissions, their collective impact is significant, equivalent to the world's fifth largest emitter. It provides a 'menu of options' for updating NDCs across key sectors—energy, transport, forests, and agriculture—while emphasizing the need for enhanced international finance, technology transfer, and robust national legal frameworks to implement these ambitions.

The document identifies four primary areas of negotiation for COP24: resolving the impasse on climate finance, standardizing the communication of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), establishing a timetable for the Enhanced Transparency Framework, and defining the outcomes of the Talanoa Dialogue in light of the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) faces a crisis of confidence as it nears the end of its first funding period. The World Resources Institute outlines five key priorities for the GCF Board's final 2018 meeting in Bahrain: approving a record 20 funding proposals worth $1.1 billion, accrediting 16 new partners while managing capacity constraints, establishing a process for the fund's first replenishment, reforming decision-making to move beyond a strict unanimity-based consensus model, and conducting a comprehensive performance review of its portfolio.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) reported total assets of $141,669,442 as of September 30, 2018, an increase from $106,449,500 in 2017. The organization's primary operating revenues for 2018 totaled $111,151,598, with the majority of expenses directed toward "Policy research, technical support, and communications programs". An independent audit by Grant Thornton LLP issued an unmodified opinion, stating the financial statements present fairly the Institute's financial position. WRI maintains a permanent endowment of $25,100,000 and operates subsidiaries in India, China, and Europe to support its focus on climate, energy, food, forests, water, and cities.

The briefing examines the intersection of poverty eradication and climate action, arguing that the "leave no one behind" (LNB) principle is essential for ensuring that the poorest populations—who are most vulnerable to climate impacts—benefit from and participate in the energy transition. It outlines four key implications for climate policy: including the poor in decision-making, targeting them as implementers of adaptation and mitigation, maximizing direct benefits for them, and providing compensatory measures to offset regressive impacts like carbon taxes. The author notes that while many Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) mention inequality, few contain concrete measures to realize these benefits, suggesting that upcoming NDC updates provide a critical opportunity to integrate LNB principles.

The World Resources Institute supports California's SB 100 legislation, which mandates 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045 and sets interim renewable energy targets for 2020 and 2030, alongside a statewide goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.