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The Most Impactful Things You Can Do for the Climate Aren’t What You’ve Been Told

New WRI research shows that pro-climate behavior changes, such as driving less or eating less meat, could theoretically cancel out all the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions an average person produces each year1 — specifically among high-income, high-emitting populations.

But it also reveals that efforts focused exclusively on changing behaviors, and not the overarching systems around them, only achieve about one-tenth of this emissions-reduction potential. The remaining 90% stays locked away, dependent on governments, businesses and our own collective action to make sustainable choices more accessible for everyone. (Case in point: It’s much easier to go carless if your city has good public transit.)

Source: World Resources Institute

April 10, 2025

From Better Breeding to Cow-Burp Vaccines, Emerging Solutions Could Curb Agricultural Emissions

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas — 84 times stronger than carbon dioxide over 20 years. Because it traps heat more intensely in the short-term than other GHGs, cutting methane emissions now can have a fast and significant impact on slowing climate change.

A good place to start is farms. Nearly half of global methane emissions come from agricultural activities such as livestock production, rice cultivation and burning crop waste. And with global food demand rising, these emissions are projected to grow.

The good news is that promising approaches are emerging to rein in agriculture’s climate impact. A new WRI report provides the latest scientific updates, as well as economic considerations for over 25 methane mitigation solutions.

Source: World Resources Institute

March 19, 2025

The overlooked benefits of real Christmas trees

The environmental pros and cons of Christmas trees go far beyond the climate impact of “real or plastic”, scientists say. So what’s the best choice for a green Christmas?

Source: BBC

December 3, 2024

Nearly a quarter of Europe has the potential to be a wildlife haven

Europe has been plowed, logged, paved and settled for more than a millennium, making it appear to be one of the least wild continents on the planet.

But look again. Nearly a quarter of this populous region is pristine enough to support key herbivores and carnivores, hallmarks of functional wild ecosystems, according to new research. From the Arctic tundra of Norway to the Sierra Nevada mountains of southern Spain, large tracts of land with minimal human presence offer the potential to meet biodiversity targets by restoring wildlife, a process sometimes referred to as “rewilding.”

Source: Anthropocene

August 23, 2024

Is There Such a Thing As ‘Better’ Meat? It’s Complicated

Meat and dairy are major contributors to climate change. Animal agriculture is responsible for more than three-quarters of agricultural land use, 11%–20% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and more than 30% of global methane emissions. Meat production is also a leading driver of recent tropical deforestation.

The good news is that companies and consumers are increasingly looking for more sustainable animal products. But reducing emissions is just one piece of the puzzle. So are addressing water use, water pollution and biodiversity loss driven by animal agriculture; improving animal welfare; supporting local farmers and more.

The problem is that there’s no single solution to tackle all these priorities at once.

Source: World Resources Institute

July 18, 2024

How Good are Re-Planted Mangroves at Storing Carbon? A New Study Puts a Number on It

What hasn’t been clear is how well mangroves planted by people store carbon compared to stands that developed naturally.

Now, decades of data reveal that, in 20 years of growth, successfully planted mangroves can reach up to 73 percent of the carbon stock levels found in naturally occurring mangrove stands. In a new study published in Science Advances, a group of international researchers looked at 684 planted mangrove stands to come to this conclusion.

Source: Inside Climate News

July 17, 2024

Amazon deforestation cut by 83% in places protected by Indigenous communities – new research

Although deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon have halved, it is still losing more than 5,000km² every year. That’s an area three times larger than Greater London.

By combining satellite imagery for the entire Amazon region with data from the Brazilian national census, a new study found that deforestation in areas protected by Indigenous communities was up to 83% lower compared to unprotected areas. These results show that Indigenous communities can play an important environmental stewardship role by helping to prevent deforestation by people encroaching on their lands

Source: The Conversation

July 16, 2024

AI data centers are undermining climate solutions

The scrutiny of data centers has intensified because of tech company secrecy, energy consumption and societal impacts on customers, policymakers and communities.

Source: Green Biz

July 9, 2024

What are the trade-offs between animal welfare and the environmental impact of meat?

An increasing number of people would describe their dietary habits as “flexitarian” or “reducitarian.” These are people who still eat meat and dairy but are trying to reduce their consumption, often for environmental or ethical reasons.

It’s tempting to assume that what’s good for the planet is also good for the animal, but unfortunately, this is not the case. These two goals are often in conflict. What’s better for animal welfare is often worse for the environment, and vice versa. This is true across different types of livestock (for example, beef versus chicken) and across different ways of raising a specific animal (caged versus free-range hens).

Source: Our World in Data

June 24, 2024

4 Ways Ocean Health Is Critical to Human Health Everywhere

The ocean has long sustained coastal communities that rely on it for their food, livelihoods and wellbeing. But these benefits don’t stop at the shoreline. New research commissioned by the Ocean Panel shows that the health of the ocean is directly linked to the health of humans everywhere.

The extent to which ocean health impacts human health is relatively unexplored in science and academia to date. This new research illustrates that a healthy ocean and its biodiversity can offer critical benefits to all people — such as new medicines and technologies, nutritious and sustainable diets and opportunities to bolster physical and mental wellbeing.

Source: World Resources Institute

June 17, 2024

Switching to plant-based diets means cleaner air – and it could save more than 200,000 lives around the world

Adopting a healthier diet will probably feature prominently in many of our new year’s resolutions. But it’s often challenging for people to live up to their intentions.

But there are good reasons to persist in making deliberate choices about what’s on your plate. These choices not only impact your own health, they affect the health of the planet too.

Source: The Conversation

January 18, 2024

Diverse forests hold huge carbon potential, as long as we cut emissions.

New study estimates that natural forest recovery could capture approximately 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, but only if we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these results requires community-driven efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity.

Source: Nature

December 01, 2023

These 8 Countries Are Scaling Up Renewable Energy the Fastest

Renewable energy has grown exponentially over the past two decades thanks to government policy and falling prices, far faster than many experts expected. Today, building new solar and onshore wind power on average costs around 40% less than coal or gas power. These cost declines have helped renewables reach a tipping point, meaning that the transition away from fossil fuels appears difficult to reverse

Source: World Resources Institute

November 22, 2023

State of Climate Action 2023

The State of Climate Action 2023 provides the world’s most comprehensive roadmap of how to close the gap in climate action across sectors to limit global warming to 1.5°C. It finds that recent progress toward 1.5°C-aligned targets isn’t happening at the pace and scale necessary and highlights where action must urgently accelerate this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scale up carbon removal and increase climate finance.

Source: World Resources Institute

November 14, 2023

Benchmarks for Success for COP28

The COP28 summit is unique because it will feature the first-ever “Global Stocktake” of progress since the international Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted in 2015, creating a critical moment for stronger action. A Global Stocktake synthesis report published in September 2023 was a “truly damning report card” of current global efforts to confront climate change. But just as importantly, it offered a blueprint for how governments can and should move forward.

Source: World Resources Institute

November 9, 2023

UN University 2023 Interconnected Disaster Risks Report

There are different kinds of tipping points. Climate change has so-called “climate tipping points”, specific thresholds after which unstoppable changes occur, influencing the global climate. These tipping might be interconnected, but so are the solutions.

Source: UN University

October 29, 2023

Making Solar Energy as Clean as Can Be Means Fitting Square Panels Into the Circular Economy

As solar projects surge nationwide, the demand is increasing for recycling solutions that will keep photovoltaic panels out of landfills and their energy-producing elements in the sun.

Even for the most enthusiastic boosters of renewable energy, it’s hard to argue that solar panels provide truly clean electricity if, at the end of their lives, many of them end up in landfills.

Source: Insight Climate News

October 9, 2023

The Ocean Can Play a Bigger Role in Fighting Climate Change than Previously Thought

With climate extremes dominating the global news cycle in 2023, from record heat both on land and at sea to devastating wildfires and floods around the world, the need to address climate change is more apparent and urgent than ever.

But one of the most promising areas for climate action has been largely overlooked and underinvested to date: the ocean.

Source : World Resources Institute

October 6, 2023

6 Shifts the Finance System Can Make to Build a Sustainable Future

Every day, governments, financial institutions and corporations have a choice to make: invest in physical assetsthat emit greenhouse gases and harm nature or prioritize the development of green solutions that foster a stable, resilient and equitable economy. As communities face the harsh impacts of climate change, the choice to build a sustainable future is becoming clearer.

Source : World Resources Institute

June 23, 2023

The Global Benefits of Reducing Food Loss and Waste, and How to Do It

One-third of all food produced globally by weight is lost or wasted between farm and fork — that’s more than 1 billion tonnes. Converted into calories, this equates to 24% of the world’s food supply going uneaten. At the same time, 1 in 10 people globally remain malnourished.This scale of food loss and waste harms not only human health and nutrition but also economies and the environment. Wasted food takes a major financial toll, costing the global economy more than $1 trillion every year. It also fuels climate change, accounting for approximately 8%-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Source : World Resources Institute

June 23, 2023

Ending Deforestation in the Amazon Can Grow Brazil’s GDP — But That’s Not the Only Reason to Do It

At present, Brazil’s economy relies heavily on extraction of the Amazon rainforest — like farming, mining and other resource-intensive practices. The result: The majority of people see deforestation as essential for economic growth. But new research from WRI Brasil and New Climate Economy points to just the opposite. WRI experts explain how Brazil can halt deforestation in the Amazon while growing GDP and vastly improving quality of life for communities throughout the country

Source : World Resources Institute

June 23, 2023

6 Ways to Remove Carbon Pollution from the Atmosphere

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have emitted more than 2,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. (A gigaton is one billion metric tons.)

This concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the air causes the climate change impacts we’re experiencing today, from forest fires to stifling heat waves and damaging sea level rise — and the global community is still emitting more each year. Unless we make serious changes, climate impacts will only continue to intensify.

Source : World Resources Institute

March 31, 2023

Can the New High Seas Treaty Help Limit Global Warming?

A framework agreement to protect open oceans is the first step toward enacting protections for ecosystems that take CO2 from the air and store it for millennia in sediments.

Source : Inside Climate News

March 14, 2023

The Red Sea Could be a Climate Refuge for Coral Reefs

A large new marine protected area could help some of the world’s most heat-tolerant corals survive the century, if the pressures from resorts, industry and other development ease.

Source : Inside Climate News

February 6, 2023

What Could a “Bioeconomy” in the Amazon Look Like?

News coverage of the Amazon rainforest in the past few years has been grim. Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon increased 15% during 2021, with 9,770 square kilometers of native vegetation lost, an area the size of Puerto Rico. If deforestation continues, a tipping point may be reached, where the Amazon rainforest becomes a net emitter of carbon rather than a carbon sink. Aside from fueling climate change, deforestation poses risks to biodiversity: the Amazon is home to one out of every 10 species known to science. The problem is that the current regional economic model in the Amazon is highly dependent on resource extraction and exploitation, pushing the rainforest closer to its tipping point. Changes in land use account for almost half of Brazil’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and of those emissions, approximately 80% are linked to deforestation in the Amazon. It’s clear that heavily forested nations like Brazil need a new economic model — one fit for a low-carbon, sustainable and prosperous future. Enter the “bioeconomy.”

Source : World Resources Institute

December 5, 2022

How Forests Near and Far Benefit People in Cities

A New Yorker may not think about the forested Catskills Mountain Range upstate as she pours a glass of water. Londoners probably don’t consider the Amazon rainforest as they watch the rain falling on city parks. And folks in Addis Ababa are probably not thinking about the Congo Basin as they eat injera, an Ethiopian staple made from the grain teff. And yet, forests near and far affect these urbanites’ daily lives far more than most people realize.

Source : World Resources Institute

November 30, 2022

Envisioning the Battery Data Genome, a central data hub for battery innovation

Back in the 1990s, researchers undertook the Human Genome Project, a 13-year journey designed to enable a new era of innovation in medicine. By assembling and sharing vast amounts of data to uncover the secrets behind the genetic determinants of disease, this project transformed the medical industry and led to innumerable breakthroughs. Now, researchers are extending that model of innovation to battery science with an eye on impact at a global scale.


Source : Argonne US National Laboratory


October 14, 2022

Championing Its Heritage, Canada Inches Toward Its Goal of Planting 2 Billion Trees

Two years into a reforestation campaign, the country has yet to meet 1 percent of its objective, sowing worry about the level of financial commitment from the government. And some fret that planting trees may not be an optimal strategy for countering climate change or fulfilling other environmental goals.

Source : Inside Climate News

October 3, 2022

36 Countries Are Gaining More Trees than They’re Losing

We know that deforestation is an ongoing, devastating problem — satellite data has been tracking it closely for years. But another question has remained more elusive: How much new forest is growing? Thanks to new data from researchers at the University of Maryland and WRI, we now have an answer: Tree cover — lots of it —is cropping up all over the globe.  All told, 130.9 million hectares of land gained tree cover globally between 2000 and 2020, according to the study. Put together, that’s an area larger than Peru.

Source : World Resources Institute

August 23, 2022

What to Know About Seagrass, the Ocean’s Overlooked Powerhouse

When most people think of coastal ecosystems, they think of mighty mangrove forests and colorful coral reefs. But these ecosystems are only the tip of the iceberg — there’s more beneath the surface, specifically seagrass. Seagrasses provide humans with countless goods and services — everything from food security to shoreline protection to clean water. They are found in almost every sea around the world, with more than 1 billion people living within 100 kilometers of seagrass meadows. Yet most people are unfamiliar with the many benefits these plants provide to humans and animals alike. Here, we answer key questions about seagrasses: What are they, where are they and why are they important? Let’s dive in.

Source : World Resources Institute

August 10, 2022

Did you know that whales are climate heroes?

These ocean giants store planet-warming carbon in their bodies – 33 tons in fact! That’s equivalent to thousands of trees. They also play an important role in the overall health of the marine environment by boosting phytoplankton – microscopic plants that produce more than half the world’s oxygen. Without whales, we won’t have a healthy ocean, let alone a healthy planet

Source : WWF International

July 1, 2022

50 ‘Prêt à Voter’ proposals

The success of the green transition depends less on the development of new technologies, but rather on the creation of favourable conditions to increase the adoption of current solutions and benefit from their widespread implementation.

Source : Solar Impulse Foundation

July 1, 2022

Committing to climate-responsible finance sends “strong signal of hope to all”

A webinar on 20 May underscored the importance of the recently released landmark joint appeal, “Climate Responsible Finance—A Moral Imperative Towards Children,” signed by the World Council of Churches (WCC), United Nations Environment Programme, Muslim Council of Elders, and New York Board of Rabbis.

Source : World Council of Churches – 2050Today member

June 22, 2022

6 Things to Know About Direct Air Capture

While efforts to reduce GHG emissions should always take priority, meeting climate goals will also require carbon dioxide removal (CDR) — systems that remove carbon directly from the air — likely at the billion-tonne scale by mid-century. Carbon removal is needed not only to balance out residual emissions that cannot be or are not eliminated by 2050, but also to reduce the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, which is triggering increasingly devastating climate change impacts.

Source : World Resources Institute

May 11, 2022

Glass dismissed: wine goes green with paper bottle drive

While glass bottles have been part of the wine-drinking tradition for centuries, making the material requires huge amounts of energy at a time when companies are looking for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their products. Recycling rates for glass are also poor.

Source : The Guardian

May 5, 2022

4 Solutions to End Deforestation by 2030

The world loses 3-4 million hectares of primary tropical forest every year. When they disappear, so do the benefits they provide — everything from carbon storage to biodiversity protection. But there are solutions. Forest expert Frances Seymour lays out four ways to end deforestation in the next decade.

Source : World Resources Institute

April 21, 2022

Setting the standard for reusable packaging

“Using very conservative estimates, we found that reuse can save at least 50 percent of climate emissions,” Juska wrote via email following an interview for this story. “But, if standards are in place so that cities and companies can align and create more efficiencies, reuse can save up to 80 percent of climate emissions compared to single-use.” (For comparison, increasing recycled content only saves 15 percent or less, Juska noted.)

Source : GreenBiz

January 28, 2022

Le bois joue un rôle fondamental dans la transition énergétique

Thomas Büchi a créé Charpente Concept en 1991, premier bureau spécialisé en ingénierie du bois à Genève. Il est à l’origine de nombreux bâtiments emblématiques en bois (la Halle 7 de Palexpo, le Palais de l’équilibre, le refuge du Goûter, la « broken chair », etc.) et plaide pour une meilleure utilisation de celui-ci dans la construction. D’un seul employé il y a trente ans, sa société en compte aujourd’hui 33 et possède six agences réparties entre la Suisse et la France.

Source : Genie.ch

CHANGING TRENDS IN FOOD: DISCOVERING AND UTILISING ALTERNATIVE CROPS

and this can have implications for health and the environment. As a result, there is a need to make better use of the wide variety of crops available to us, some of which have been cultivated and consumed by communities for centuries, and explore how they can be incorporated into modern diets worldwide in an equitable and sustainable way.

Source : The Economist Intelligence Unit

July 2, 2021

The battery invented 120 years before its time

At the turn of the 20th Century, Thomas Edison invented a battery with the unusual quirk of producing hydrogen. Now, 120 years later, the battery is coming into its own.

Source : BBC Future Planet

April 1, 2021

Seizing the Urban Opportunity

How national governments can recover from COVID-19, secure shared prosperity, and tackle the climate crisis through cities.

Source : Coalition for Urban Transitions

March 17, 2021

For a City Staring Down the Barrel of a Climate-Driven Flood, A New Study Could be the Smoking Gun

Not all of the water from the planet’s melting glaciers is pouring into rivers and oceans. A surprising amount is building up behind unstable piles of rubble left behind by the retreating ice. As the Earth continues to warm, the swelling lakes threaten to burst through the glacial moraines holding them back and wash away the forests, towns and farms below.

Source : Inside Climate News

Une première à Genève : Les toitures solaires végétalisées

Les panneaux photovoltaïques cohabitent avec la végétalisation afin de produire de l’énergie verte tout en protégeant les bâtiments. Le Grand JD nous emmène sur les toitures de l’HEPIA – Haute École du paysage, d’ingénierie et d’architecture de Genève – où cette aventure commence. Ce projet est financé grâce au Fonds Vitale Environnement, alimenté par les Genevois·es ayant choisi Electricité Vitale Vert.

Source : SIG

Video game industry levels up on climate change

Want to capture the attention of millions of young people and raise awareness about the climate emergency? Then talk to the video gaming industry.

Levelling up, going faster, scoring higher and taking on the impossible is not just what it takes to achieve gaming stardom. They are exactly what it will take to confront urgent global challenges.

A recent report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners analyses the impact of the Playing for the Planet Alliance, an initiative that taps the power of the gaming industry to encourage action on climate change. Supported by UNEP, GRID-Arendal and Playmob, the alliance brings together 29 major gaming companies, which can reach over 1.2 billion players.

Source : UNEP

The new use for abandoned oil rigs

As offshore oil and gas platforms come to the end of their working lives, the remarkable ecosystems beneath the waves come into their own.

Source : BBC Future Planet

64% of people said that climate change was an emergency – presenting a clear and convincing call for decision-makers to step up on ambition

“The survey brings the voice of the people to the forefront of the climate debate. It signals ways in which countries can move forward with public support as we work together to tackle this enormous challenge.” Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

With 1.2 million respondents, the Peoples’ Climate Vote is the largest survey of public opinion on climate change ever conducted. Using a new and unconventional approach to polling, results span 50 countries1 covering 56% of the world’s population

Source : UNDP

Heavy-Duty Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Pilot Launched By New Flyer & Li-Cycle

The future of electric vehicles is batteries, batteries, batteries. That means a lot of mining for nickel, lithium, cobalt, and other minerals. Indeed, with the enormous growth in demand expected in the electric vehicle industry in the coming years, there’s concern about securing enough battery supplies to meet demand. One solution that will increase as the industry grows and EVs on the road get older is battery recycling.

Source : Clean Technica

A circular economy for batteries to underpin renewable energy growth

As the renewable energy sector grows, high-capacity long-life battery storage is fundamental to its success. How these batteries are designed and made will define their environmental impact for generations to come. Creating a circular economy for batteries is crucial to prevent one of the solutions to the current environmental crisis becoming the cause of another.

Source : Ellen MacArthur Foundation

These companies are seeking to turn carbon into value

As more companies set aggressive decarbonization and net-zero goals, the role of technologies and processes that draw down excess levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and help sequester those emissions by using it as a feedstock for another product is in the spotlight.

Source : GreenBiz

Circular Economy – Batteries

As the renewable energy sector grows, high-capacity long-life battery storage is fundamental to its success. How these batteries are designed and made will define their environmental impact for generations to come. Creating a circular economy for batteries is crucial to prevent one of the solutions to the current environmental crisis becoming the cause of another.

Source : Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Hydrogen

Comment: The EU’s enthusiastic embrace of hydrogen risks undermining the clean energy transition and its newly-minted 2030 greenhouse gas target

Source : Climate Home News

Prato: The Italian town turning rags into new clothes

Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. But a small town in Italy called Prato has built its fortune on transforming old scraps into new clothes, particularly knitwear and wool…

Source : BBC

GREENING THE BLUE REPORT 2020

The Greening the Blue Report 2020: The UN System’s environmental footprint and efforts to reduce it, was officially launched on Thursday 10 December. This year’s report includes 2019 data on greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water, and environmental management from nearly 60 entities across the UN System, representing approximately 310,000 personnel.

The futuristic cargo ship made of wood

The shipping industry’s climate impact is large and growing, but a team in Costa Rica is making way for a clean shipping revolution with a cargo ship made of wood.

Source : BBC Future Planet

Get to net-zero by mid-century? Even some global oil and gas giants think it can be done

The world must get to net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century, and can make it happen at a price that is relatively small in global terms—$1 trillion to $2 trillion per year—according to a new report from a think tank that includes BP, Shell and other big businesses. While researchers have long called for net-zero emissions by mid-century, the message could be better received coming from oil majors.

Source : insideclimatenews

A Chinese Chemical Company Captures and Reuses 6,000 Tons of a Super-Polluting Greenhouse Gas

A Chinese industrial gas company is working to reduce its emissions of nitrous oxide—a climate super-pollutant far more powerful at warming the climate than carbon dioxide—by capturing and reusing waste gas from its chemical plants. It’s a significant step for an industry that emits climate-warming emissions equal to 20 million cars every year.

Source : InsideClimate News

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