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ADVISORY: Embargoed WRI Press Call on 2025 Global Tree Cover Loss Data and Analysis

darla.vanhoorn@wri.org — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 19:37:53 +0000

ADVISORY: Embargoed WRI Press Call on 2025 Global Tree Cover Loss Data and Analysis darla.vanhoorn… Thu, 04/16/2026 - 15:37

Registration is for members of the media only.

WASHINGTON D.C. (April 16, 2026) – Join World Resources Institute (WRI) and the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab (UMD) on April 23, 2026, for an embargoed press call previewing how much global tree cover was lost in 2025, along with expert analysis of the state of the world's forests.

The call will take place at 8AM EDT (2PM CEST / 7PM WIB) and will feature global forest experts from WRI and UMD.

To attend, please register here.

Speakers will present new forest loss data from UMD’s GLAD Lab, highlighting 2025 hotspots, key drivers of loss, and impacts on climate, biodiversity and livelihoods. They will also outline solutions to strengthen forest protection.

Please note: The 2025 Tree Cover Loss data and analysis are strictly embargoed until April 29, 2026 at 12:01 AM EDT / 6:01 AM CEST / 11:01 AM WIB. By registering for this press call, you agree to respect this embargo.

The call will be held in English, with live interpretation into French, Spanish, Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesian.

The UMD GLAD Lab’s 2025 tree cover loss data will be released on Global Forest Watch and Global Nature Watch on April 29, with in-depth analysis available on the Global Forest Review.

WHAT
Embargoed press call to preview 2025 Global Tree Cover Loss Data

WHEN
Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 8:00AM (2:00PM CEST / 7:00PM WIB)

WHO
Speakers:

Elizabeth Goldman, Co-Director, Global Forest Watch, WRI
Sarah Carter, Research Associate, Global Forest Watch, WRI
Matthew Hansen, Professor, University of Maryland; Director, Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) Lab

Respondents:

Arief Wijaya, Managing Director, WRI Indonesia
Joaquin Carrizosa, Senior Advisor, WRI Colombia
Mirela Sandrini, Executive Director, WRI Brasil
Peter Potapov, Researcher, Food, Land and Water, WRI; Adjunct Professor, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland
Rod Taylor, Global Director, Forests, WRI
Stasiek Czaplicki Cabezas, Bolivian researcher and data journalist for Revista Nómadas
Teodyl Nkuintchua, Congo Basin Strategy and Engagement Leader, WRI Africa

Moderator:

Alison Cinnamond, Global Director, Strategic Communications, WRI

WHERE
To RSVP, please register here. Registration is for members of the media only.

MEDIA CONTACTS
For any questions or to request the embargoed content, please contact Darla van Hoorn (darla.vanhoorn@wri.org) and Kaitlyn Thayer (kaitlyn.thayer@wri.org).

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Dwindling Seagrass Is Disproportionately Impacting Coastal Women along Mozambique’s Inhambane Bay

alicia.cypress@wri.org — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:00:04 +0000

Dwindling Seagrass Is Disproportionately Impacting Coastal Women along Mozambique’s Inhambane Bay alicia.cypress… Thu, 04/16/2026 - 08:00

"This is like our machamba [household garden] — we cultivate in the bay," explains a fisherwoman from Guiduane, an island community in Inhambane Bay, off the southern coast of Mozambique. As a gleaner, she fishes for crabs and oysters by hand in the nearby seagrass meadows which has become a source of income, food, identity and foundational to her way of life.

“I am a gleaner of everything: matewo [razor clams], mapalo [sand oysters], thogoma [sea snails], crabs and even shrimp,” she explains. “We collect, cook, prepare, dry and sell shellfish, getting money to buy food, clothes for the children, notebooks, uniforms and to build our houses.”

Quotes from coastal community members in this article are drawn directly from WRI research developing the Ocean Dependence Framework, shared anonymously to protect participant privacy. Quotes have been translated from their native language Guitonga into English.

As a part of Mozambique’s artisanal fishery — a national designation which refers to community- or family-based operations that use traditional methods and low-tech gear — this gleaner from Guiduane is among 492 million people in coastal communities whose livelihoods depend at least partially on small-scale fishing, nearly half of whom are women. This sector provides 40% of the world’s fish catch and helps feed around 2.3 billion people globally.

With a deep connection to the ocean, coastal communities like those near Inhambane Bay are also on the front lines of climate change as stewards of natural resources, holders of local knowledge, and custodians of coastal cultures and heritage. However, this interdependence heightens their vulnerability to the increasingly severe storms, sea-level rise and ocean acidification that directly threaten their livelihoods.

Despite having the most at stake, these coastal communities are routinely left out of the very decisions that shape the future of their coastlines — from marine conservation to climate adaptation and blue economy agendas. Women, who bear a disproportionate share of these impacts, are often the least represented.

The stories gathered here are drawn from WRI's research in Mozambique with Ocean Revolution Moçambique — part of a broader effort to understand and help close that gap.

Women pulling a guínia — a small, hand-woven net traditional to Inhambane, Mozambique — at dusk to catch small shrimp. Photo by Iben Guianba/WRI.

The Gendered Impact of Seagrass Decline in Inhambane Bay

Inhambane Bay is a major estuary in southern Mozambique and home to nearly 20 fishing communities. Its seascape is characterized by a mosaic of coastal dunes, mangroves, mud flats and vast seagrass beds.

"It is in the seagrass beds that marine species take refuge, and it is these marine species that we sell to ensure the well-being of our communities on a daily basis and to provide for our children's education," a fisher from Maxixe, the largest city in the Inhambane province, explained in Revista Presença Geográfica, a Brazilian academic journal.

But in recent decades, nearly half of Inhambane Bay’s seagrass meadows have been lost to increasingly frequent and severe tropical cyclones, compounded by growing fishing pressures. Such pressures are mainly associated with beach seine nets — large nets dragged along the seafloor which can tear and uproot seagrass.

Based on the unique ways men and women use the bay, they experience these declines differently. Women predominantly glean or use small mesh nets — locally known as “guínia" — to catch shrimp. These activities occur predominantly in shallow waters where seagrasses dominate. Working mostly on foot, they fish in areas above the low tide mark, which are often exposed during storms, most vulnerable to sun exposure and drying out as temperatures rise. These areas are also most accessible to disturbance from human activities.

Men, by contrast, often fish using traps or large nets, often operating from boats. Their activities occur in waters further offshore, where seagrasses may be less affected and where they can target alternative areas like deeper estuary channels. This means women are often more acutely and directly exposed to seagrass loss.

A guínia fisherwoman from Guiduane describes in our research how such losses are playing out: “We all rush to fish in the areas that have seagrasses because when the tide goes out, the shrimp enter … since there are few areas with seagrasses, all of us who use guínia nets rush to crowd there. It's true that the seagrasses are disappearing, just look … others fish where there are no seagrasses because the space with seagrasses is very small, so we don't catch anything besides very small things and small crabs without value here.”

In the seagrass meadows of Inhambane Bay, a crew of men haul a seine net — a large net kept vertical in the water by surface buoys and bottom weights that's dragged along the seafloor to encircle fish. Photo by Rachel Thoms/WRI.

The stakes extend far beyond income. These resources underpin other central aspects of life, including social cohesion. "We made friends on the beach, and we also harvest crabs together, we talked and got to know each other," explains a gleaner from Nhamua. A guínia fisherwoman from Kuguana explains how the shrimp she catches can be a source of identity that "allows us to move from one place to another and makes us feel proud when we go to sell it elsewhere. It is also exported abroad and essentially carries our identity with it."

In this region, women often travel farther inland than their male counterparts to sell fish, creating vital information networks between coastal and inland communities while improving access to affordable, nutritious food in rural areas. Declining seagrass resources, therefore, not just threaten incomes, but also food security, cultural practices, and social identities, with impacts rippling through the community and region.

The Barriers Women Face in Adapting

In Inhambane Bay, these gendered exposures intersect with deeper power dynamics that constrain women's capacity to adapt to a changing environment. Social norms discourage them from fishing further out to sea — considered both dangerous and incompatible with their expected domestic responsibilities. Furthermore, men typically control household finances, making it harder for women to spend money on more expensive gear or boats that would enable them to diversify their harvesting grounds.

A woman sells dried shrimp at a regional market stall in Inhambane Provice, Mozambique. Photo by Iben Guianba/WRI.

As a result, women’s livelihoods are largely constrained to near-shore areas, and their use of guínia nets present additional risks. Guínia nets, though traditional in the area, are prohibited under Mozambique's fishing regulations due to their small mesh size, which catches juvenile fish before they can reproduce and reduces long-term fish populations.

Enforcement has historically been weak, but it is likely to intensify as Mozambique rolls out expanded bans on all beach seine nets. Guínia net fishers therefore face compounding risks that go beyond declining seagrass habitat. These include potential fines and equipment seizure, alongside the ecological consequences of overharvesting by fishing with these fine-mesh nets.

Women also face challenges beyond harvesting. Most women who sell fish operate informally — on streets or door-to-door in urban and rural areas. Male traders, by contrast, access more diverse and higher-end markets like hotels and restaurants in part because they have access to better transport like refrigerated trucks, and higher levels of education that enables them to learn other languages such as Portuguese and English. The concentration of women using low-gear, nearshore fishing practices and informal markets feeds perceptions that their fishing activities are less legitimate than men's. Layered onto existing structural barriers, these perceptions reinforce women's near-absence from decision-making, including in Community Fisheries Councils, which are overwhelmingly male.

High exposure to seagrass loss, multi-dimensional dependence on these ecosystems and systemic barriers to adaptation converge to make women disproportionately vulnerable to seagrass declines. Yet women aren't without their own unique strengths. Even without representation in the councils, they maintain strong informal networks to navigate fishing practices and other areas of their lives. For example, many women are part of rotating savings groups, which can provide both a trusted social network and a source of financial cushion against shocks. Many also diversify their livelihoods — fishing at low tide, then returning to tend family farms when the tide rises — a pattern that makes them more resilient if one source of food or income fails. At the same time, women in coastal communities are not a monolith. Their roles, relationships with fisheries and resilience vary depending on economic status, the prevalence of specific gender norms, cultural expectations and other factors that differ within and across communities.

Women in Inhambane Province participate in a rotating credit and savings group where members pool money, grant credit and generate interest on their savings. Photo by Rachel Thoms/WRI.

Gender-Blind Policies

Although it’s clear that coastal people are at the heart of thriving ocean economies and resilient communities, their needs are not always fully represented in ocean decision-making or policies.

In Mozambique, female-dominated practices such as gleaning and guínia fishing, are not captured within the national fisheries monitoring system. For guínia fishing, this gap is compounded by its prohibited status, which both excludes it from official monitoring and discourages fishers from registering their gear. Women’s post-harvest activities are even more invisible, as they lack dedicated data systems altogether.

As a result, national planning and regulations meant to protect marine areas or restrict certain kinds of fishing gear don’t take into consideration women’s fishing practices, running the risk of restricting women's access to fishing grounds and livelihoods without providing viable alternatives. This not only creates hardship but can also weaken community support for conservation measures.

Several examples in Mozambique illustrate these impacts:

The national shrimp closure — a seasonal ban on shrimp fishing with any gear type — was expanded to Inhambane Bay from 2022 to 2023, disproportionately impacting guínia net fishers who depend on shrimp to feed their families and pay school fees. The policy ultimately failed due to widespread non-compliance.
In Quirimbas National Park, zoning regulations displaced women octopus fishers on Ibo Island from their traditional fishing grounds and disrupted their market access when larger vessels that previously docked there to purchase their catch were restricted from entering.

Adaptation policies suffer from similar blind spots. Without information on the specific barriers women fishers face, support systems fail to reach them. For example, the underrepresentation of women in Community Fisheries Councils leadership and decision-making structures reduces their access and control over key resources such as cold storage, processing equipment, as well as trainings focused on ecosystem-based management. This leaves them more vulnerable to post-harvest losses and less equipped to participate meaningfully in management and restoration interventions that affect the ecosystems on which they depend.

Recognizing Coastal Communities

Coastal communities are central to protecting biodiversity, building sustainable economies and adapting to climate change. Yet the policies meant to support these goals too often lack the information needed to account for them. The people rendered most invisible are often those already experiencing the greatest marginalization: women, small-scale operators, Indigenous and local peoples, and youth. This gap leaves both decision-makers and communities poorly served.

When a fisherwoman describes the bay like her “machamba” she’s articulating something fundamental: a personal relationship to the bay that’s central to her survival and rooted in stewardship. Directly exposed to seagrass decline and deeply interdependent with these ecosystems, the bay’s fisherwomen are some of the first to notice environmental change and among the best positioned to mobilize for protection and restoration.

For coastal communities, and especially women and other marginalized groups within them, to play their rightful role in building the resilient coastal futures we all depend on, policies must finally see them clearly enough to support them. This means building data and planning systems that represent the knowledge, needs and capacities of diverse groups within these communities.

On the shores of Inhambane Bay, women return from gleaning. Matewo (prickly razor clams) shells are piled high from processing, while the canoes and seine nets of male fishers lie beached and drying nearby. Photo by Rachel Thoms/WRI.

The Ocean Dependence Framework

The insights we learned from the people of Inhambane Bay are part of WRI's research developing and piloting the Ocean Dependence Framework — a decision-support tool that helps policymakers, planners and practitioners understand how people depend on ocean resources. These insights are key to ensuring that climate and conservation investments reach those most dependent on the ocean, rather than compounding the pressures they already face.

The framework is just one piece of a growing toolkit — alongside approaches such as co-producing sustainable ocean plans and incorporating social and cultural dimensions into ocean accounting — that can make ocean governance genuinely accountable to the people most dependent on it. The challenge now is getting these tools into the hands of planners and policymakers who can act on them, at a pace that matches the changes coastal communities are already facing.

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A woman fishing for sand oysters in the seagrass meadows of Inhambane Bay near Guiduane, Mozambique.

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Climate change is not just threatening coastal women's incomes, but also food security, cultural practices and social identities, yet they remain largely absent from ocean governance.

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Rachel Thoms

ADVISORY: WRI Press Call on the Impact of the Iran War and its Implications for the TAFF Conference

darla.vanhoorn@wri.org — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:51:04 +0000

ADVISORY: WRI Press Call on the Impact of the Iran War and its Implications for the TAFF Conference darla.vanhoorn… Wed, 04/15/2026 - 14:51

Registration is for members of the media only.

WASHINGTON D.C. (April 15, 2026) — As the Iran war disrupts fuel supplies and drives price volatility, its impacts are cascading across global energy, food and water systems — exposing deep vulnerabilities in economies worldwide.

Join World Resources Institute (WRI) for a press call on Tuesday, April 21, at 8am EDT / 2pm CEST, where experts will unpack how these interconnected shocks are unfolding in real time — and what they mean for countries’ near-term resilience and long-term energy transitions.

WRI experts will provide analysis on:

Why fossil fuel dependence is amplifying today’s crisis — and how clean energy improves resilience, price stability and energy security
How disruptions to fuel and fertilizer flows are driving food price spikes and threatening food security and livelihoods across Asia, Africa and beyond
Why the Middle East’s extreme water stress makes the region particularly vulnerable — and how conflict could deepen water, food and health risks
Which countries are best positioned to weather the crisis — and what governments are doing now
How the upcoming Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF) in Santa Marta, Colombia offers a unique opportunity for countries to advance a coherent policy response to the current crisis

WHAT: WRI Press Call on how the U.S.–Iran conflict is driving cascading global impacts across energy, food and water systems — and how the upcoming Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF) in Santa Marta, Colombia presents a critical opportunity for countries to align on coordinated policy responses to the crisis.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 8am EDT / 2pm CEST

WHO:

Speakers

Ani Dasgupta, CEO and President, WRI
Melanie Robinson, Global Climate, Economics and Finance Program Director, WRI
Craig Hanson, Managing Director, Programs, WRI
Nicholas Robins, Senior Director, Finance & Private Sector, WRI
Ulka Kelkar, Executive Program Director, Climate, WRI India

Moderator

Alison Cinnamond, Strategic Communications Director, WRI

WHERE: 

To RSVP, please register here.  Registration is for members of the media only. 

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Can Forests Withstand and Recover from Wildfires?

alicia.cypress@wri.org — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:22:33 +0000

Can Forests Withstand and Recover from Wildfires? alicia.cypress… Wed, 04/15/2026 - 08:22

Wildfires haven’t always been bad news for forests. Some forests have evolved to cope with these brutal events. Traits like thicker tree bark or heat-resistant seed pods ensure trees can survive and even thrive after fires — some forests even depend on them.

But over the last several decades, more frequent, larger and intense forest fires are burning forests that have historically not experienced nor adapted to fires. In 2024, unprecedented fires burned 13 million hectares of natural forests and planted trees, an area roughly the size of Greece, and emitted 4.1 billion tons of greenhouse gases — more than four times the emissions from air travel in 2023.

When fires become more frequent and intense, even resilient forests are vulnerable to severe damage. Added pressures such as climate change, forest fragmentation, and the spread of tree pests and diseases, can also make forests more prone to fires and less likely to recover, reducing their capacity to store carbon and support wildlife.

A charred hillside in Ashcroft, British Colombia, Canada, after a 2025 brush fire. More frequent and intense fires make it difficult for forests to recover from wildfires. Photo by MikoFox/Flickr.

While recovery can occur naturally, it may take decades or even centuries. Tree planting and other interventions can accelerate forest growth after fires, especially where forests have been severely damaged or natural regeneration is not possible. But ultimately, burned areas must be left to regrow rather than be cleared for agriculture or other uses.

Here, we explore whether forests can withstand and recover from fires and how forest resilience can be strengthened through protection, restoration and management strategies.

How Do We Measure Burned Forests?

We measure the area of forests burned by fires by looking at data that shows where fires have killed trees or severely damaged the forest canopy, known as stand-replacing fires. While these fires do not always cause permanent forest loss, they can cause long-term changes to forest structure and soil chemistry. This is different than lower-intensity understory fires, which largely burn the vegetation that grows underneath trees on the forest floor, allowing trees in fire-adapted ecosystems to successfully recover. However, in normally wet forests that are not adapted to fire such as the Amazon, even these lower-intensity fires can cause severe damage and tree mortality.

We use data on tree cover loss due to fire produced by the University of Maryland, which captures both natural and human-ignited fires that directly cause tree cover loss, including fires that escape from already cleared agricultural land and then spread into forests. It excludes burning within recently cleared areas (e.g., slash-and-burn agriculture) because the loss was not directly caused by fire.

We then use satellite images to look at 30 x 30-meter satellite pixels of forest after a fire. For each pixel, it is considered tree cover loss if more than 50% of the canopy cover is gone, or if less than 10% of the canopy cover is left. Only the first stand-replacing disturbance in a pixel is recorded, so repeating fires in the same area are not captured. Read more here about how we define tree cover and how tree cover loss differs from deforestation.

Are Wildfires Getting Bigger and More Frequent?

In 2023 and 2024, fire-driven tree cover loss was roughly twice the global annual average of the last two decades, and three times higher in the tropics, as record-breaking fires raged across Canada and South America. These two years were notably the warmest on record.

For some forests, fires are essential. Boreal forests, which are mostly made up of evergreen trees in northern regions like Canada and Russia, accounted for about 60% of tree cover loss due to fire between 2001 and 2024. Having evolved alongside fire for thousands of years, the trees in these forests have developed thick bark and heat-resistant seed pods that open after burning, allowing them to withstand and recover from fires. But these adaptations can fail when fires become too intense or frequent, sometimes leading to permanent forest loss when forests transition to grasslands.

Such adaptations are absent in tropical rainforests like the Amazon, which until recently experienced very little fire. In these ecosystems, fires can be catastrophic, killing trees, harming Indigenous communities, releasing vast amounts of stored carbon and damaging wildlife habitats.

The consequences of larger and more frequent fires are already severe. Global carbon emissions from forest fires increased 60% between 2001 and 2023. Fires in Canada alone released about 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, roughly equivalent to India’s total fossil fuel emissions that year. Air pollution caused by wildfire smoke has been linked to more than 1.5 million deaths each year. In addition to the impact of fire on community health and livelihoods, forest fires have destroyed an estimated $45 billion to $77 billion worth of mostly commercial timber since 2001.

Wildlife has also suffered devastating losses with billions of animals— including many threatened and endangered species — killed or displaced.

Fires in tropical rainforests, like those in the Amazon, where trees have not adapted to fires, can be devastating. Photo by Rômulo Ferreira/Flickr.

What Makes Forests More Vulnerable to Fire?

A forest’s resilience to fire includes its ability to withstand or resist fire, as well as its ability to recover from it. Several interconnected elements influence this:

Forest type. Many forests, such as in the western U.S., Mediterranean Basin and Brazilian Cerrado, have adapted to fires, developing traits like thick bark that allow them to withstand and even benefit from periodic fires. In contrast, wet tropical forests like the Amazon and Congo Basin, as well as peatland forests, have historically experienced little fire, lack fire-resistant traits, and can suffer high tree mortality even from brief fires, hindering recovery.

Forest connectivity, structure and composition. While connected forest landscapes can allow fire to spread more easily, connectivity also preserves cooler, moister microclimates that reduce fire risk and provide refuges that serve as seed sources for recovery. Furthermore, commercial plantations, with their high density of young trees, thin bark and low crowns, are generally more vulnerable to fire than older primary forests.

Fire frequency. The frequency of fires occurring in forests varies greatly based on climate and vegetation. Some boreal forests may burn as little as once a century, while dry tropical forests like the Brazilian Cerrado experience fires every few years and have evolved to survive this frequency. Yet even well-adapted species can suffer damage when fires occur too frequently. Black spruce, a dominant boreal species, produces seeds only every 30 to 40 years. This is sufficient when fires occur once per century, but repeated burns within a few decades can eliminate seedlings before they mature, leading to long-term species loss.

The Lodgepole pine tree, found in the boreal forests in Canada, has traits like thicker bark and seed pods, making them more resilient to heat and wildfires. Photo by hotdipper/Flickr.

Fire intensity and severity. Low temperature fires and fires that stay low to the ground often spare trees from lasting damage, allowing forests to recover more quickly. In contrast, more severe fires tend to burn hotter and can hinder forest regeneration by moving through tree canopies, killing trees, and damaging roots and soil structures.

Deforestation and fragmentation. Agricultural expansion is one of the leading drivers of deforestation, leaving behind large amounts of debris that can fuel more intense fires. Between 2000 and 2020, more than half of the world’s forests became more fragmented, creating gaps in the canopy that dry out the forest floor and allow flammable grasses to invade. Fragmentation also leaves fewer refuges that serve as seed sources for recovery after fire damage. The impact is especially severe in tropical rainforests like the Amazon where fires are not a natural part of the ecosystem.

Climate change. Nearly half of all forests globally are now more vulnerable to drought than they were before the turn of the century, and the majority are twice as likely to experience extreme fire weather. Rising temperatures are making many regions hotter and drier, lengthening fire seasons and increasing fire intensity — particularly in boreal regions like Canada and Russia. Climate models project that fire-prone conditions could rise 111% by the end of this century in those regions. When fires burn larger areas, they release massive amounts of carbon, creating a feedback loop in which climate change drives more fires that, in turn, release more carbon. In the short term, some fire-adapted ecosystems may remain resilient, but longer-term shifts in forest structure, age and species composition are already underway. If current trends continue, forests risk shifting from a carbon sink to a carbon source.

What Can We Do to Support Forest Resilience and Prevent Wildfires?

In the face of this uncertain future, targeted action is needed to help forests recover and thrive.

Strengthening forest resilience means not only restoring what’s been lost but also protecting existing forests and supporting the people that keep forests healthy.

Protection strategies and expanded financing are among the strategies available to help forests withstand and recover from wildfires. Photo by EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid/Flickr.

These strategies can help forests recover and remain resilient in a warming world:

Restore burned forests to strengthen resilience. Preventing forests from becoming agricultural land after a fire allows forests the chance to regenerate, recover carbon and restore ecological functions. This creates cooler, moister microclimates that lower fire risk and help reverse some of the damage from deforestation and degradation. In the case of highly-damaged landscapes, active tree planting may be necessary to speed up recovery. Protecting forests that naturally store more carbon also helps slow climate change, which is fueling more intense fires.
Protect forests from fires and climate-proof them to reduce future fires. Forests, particularly those not adapted to fire, can be protected from fires by fire breaks, zero-burn land-clearing practices and fire bans. In managed forests, drought resilient species can be introduced, pests and diseases can be controlled, and maintaining a diversity of species and ages can reduce mortality and susceptibility to more burning.
Support Indigenous and community leadership through secure land rights. Indigenous peoples and local communities are among the most effective forest stewards. Strengthening land rights and community-led restoration improves forest health and livelihoods while reducing deforestation. Where land rights are secure, forests managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities tend to regrow faster and store more carbon. In addition, traditional fire management such as controlled burns can reduce long-term fire damage in fire-adapted forests.
Expand financing for recovery and prevention. Financial mechanisms like the Tropical Forest Forever Facility support forest protection, and WRI’s Forest Resilience Bond provides direct investment toward restoration, fire prevention and post-fire recovery. Partnerships with organizations such as the Lomakatsi Restoration Project in the U.S. show how local capacity building can support both ecological recovery and community wellbeing through workforce development. In the tropics, more than 200 projects have collectively planted more than 30 million trees and created tens of thousands of jobs.

Ultimately, recovery of forests after wildfires is a complex process and depends on a forest type’s ability to withstand and recover from fires, as well as its fire pattern and other factors such as droughts. To keep forests from losing their assets and turning into liabilities, it’s imperative to take action to protect and improve their resilience to fires.

Masha van der Sande is an assistant professor at the Forest Ecology and Forest Management group in Wageningen University in The Netherlands.

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A forest's ability to recover from wildfires is dependent on interconnected elements.

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While many forests have evolved to adapt to wildfires, more frequent and intense fires, plus increased pressures from climate change, are making even resilient forests more vulnerable.

Forests

Forest and Landscape Restoration

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James MacCarthy

Masha T. van der Sande

For the US EV Market, a More Turbulent Road Lies Ahead

alicia.cypress@wri.org — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:35:35 +0000

For the US EV Market, a More Turbulent Road Lies Ahead alicia.cypress… Tue, 04/14/2026 - 08:35

Momentum for electric vehicles in the United States is starting to slip.

After years of rapid growth — fueled by federal incentives and nearly $200 billion in announced EV manufacturing investments — EV sales fell 4% in 2025 following a record-breaking 2024. Since then, at least $19.9 billion in planned manufacturing investments were canceled and automakers have begun rethinking their all-electric future.

Federal policy shifts are creating a turbulent environment for the industry: The EV purchase tax credit expired in September, funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program was frozen for months, and new tariffs and proposed rollbacks of fuel efficiency standards added further uncertainty. Most recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule overturning its endangerment finding, repealing federal limits on vehicle tailpipe emissions.

Yet, there are signs of progress: Charging infrastructure continues to expand, and states and businesses are stepping in to sustain momentum. While the industry is still growing, it’s now doing so more slowly.

This slowdown carries broader consequences beyond climate goals. Electric vehicles are a key driver of innovation across batteries, semiconductors, robotics, casting, artificial intelligence and software. As countries around the world — especially China and in Europe — accelerate their EV industries, a U.S. pullback weakens its global competitiveness.

Here we look at the current state of the passenger EV industry to better understand the impacts of the changing federal landscape and potential implications for U.S. automakers, suppliers and workers.

EV Sales by the Numbers

EVs accounted for 9% of passenger car, truck and SUV (light-duty vehicle) sales in 2025, with over 1.5 million purchased EVs , including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, according to Argonne National Lab, a U.S. Department of Energy research lab. This was 4% lower compared to 2024, when close to 1.6 million EVs were sold, and the first decline in a decade for battery electric vehicles, which makes up the majority of the market (82% in 2025).

Sales in the third quarter of 2025 — about 32% of the year’s total— were a key driver as consumers rushed to take advantage of the expiring federal EV purchase tax credit, before sales fell at the end of the year.

Despite the decline, 2025 was still the second-best year on record for U.S. EV sales. However, if sales continue to slow, the gap between the U.S. and countries with leading EV markets — where EVs accounted for 48% to 92% of car sales in 2024 — could widen. Unlike the U.S., EV adoption in these countries is expected to keep rising.

EV manufacturing, particularly battery production, improves with experience. If U.S. sales and production continue to lag, American manufacturers risk falling further behind, weakening the U.S. auto industry’s global competitiveness.

EV Adoption Continues, but Expect a Slower Pace

Following an immediate decline in EV sales after the federal EV purchase tax credit expired, the longer-term impact of reduced consumer incentives and policy uncertainty remains to be seen. Forecasts, however, agree that long-term adoption will continue, just at a slower, more market-driven pace.

A recent projection by BloombergNEF, an energy research firm, expects the share of EVs in passenger car sales to reach 24% by 2030. This is lower than the 46% sales share it projected in 2024. Likewise, the International Energy Agency’s 2025 forecast expects sales of EV light-duty vehicles to reach 20% by 2030, compared to its 50% prediction in 2024. While these forecasts fall short of the initial predictions, they signal that EVs are becoming a competitive, mainstream market that could impact emissions, competitiveness, workforce and industry planning.

Forecasts of EV adoption, however, can fluctuate and be highly uncertain and sensitive to global news and current events. For example, the recent war in Iran could reignite consumer interest in EVs as oil prices surge.

Charging Infrastructure Deployment Continues to Accelerate

The U.S. continued to expand its charging network, even as EV adoption slowed, and attacks targeted the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI) that aimed to deploy 500,000 public charging ports by 2030,. More than 18,000 direct current fast charging (DCFC) ports were installed nationwide — a 30% increase over 2024.

This growth was driven mostly by private investments from automakers, retailers and charging companies, helping to counteract declines and pauses in federal funding. Companies like Tesla, Electrify America and Ionna mostly built larger, multi-port charging stations to increase charging speed, reduce wait time and improve user experience.

Tesla deployed nearly 6,800 DCFC ports, while other leading companies installed an additional 6,100. There are now roughly 240,000 public charging ports across 78,000 U.S. stations, with California, Texas and Florida leading the growth in DCFC ports deployment. An additional 19,500 DCFC ports are estimated to be installed in 2026 through public and private funds.

In 2025, implementation of the NEVI Program lagged significantly after the Trump administration froze obligated but unused funds pending a program audit. Court rulings lifted that freeze several months later, but some charger startups had already been affected. The NEVI program accounted for just 3% of the total DCFC ports added that year — not surprising given that, as of early 2026, states had spent only 2% ($94 million) of the billions available.

Despite its challenges, the program has prompted private sector investment, forced a focus on developing fast charging networks along designated corridors and spurred states to develop long-term EV infrastructure plans. Going forward, the program is expected to gain momentum as states have obligated approximately $1.4 billion through 2028.

EV Manufacturing Investments Have Mostly Been Canceled in the Midwest and the South

The cancellations of nearly $20 billion in announced EV manufacturing investments since 2025 are being felt the most in the Midwest and the South. As a result, thousands of potential jobs, state tax revenues and benefits in the broader economy will not come to fruition.

States including Tennessee, Ohio and Indiana saw the largest number of announced cancellations for EV assembly facilities. In one of the industry’s largest pivots, Ford canceled its $2.8 billion investment plan to produce electric trucks at BlueOval City in Stanton, Tenn., shifting the site to producing gas-powered trucks. Ford had initially envisioned BlueOval City as an EV manufacturing campus, housing an electric truck assembly plant and a $2.8 billion battery plant through a joint venture with SK On, an electric battery manufacturer from South Korea.

Additional battery manufacturing cancellations since the beginning of 2025 include a $5.8 billion investment for a Kentucky complex, which also resulted from the dissolution of the Ford and SK On joint venture, and the scrapping of a $3.2 billion Stellantis battery factory in Illinois.

States and Local Governments Are Stepping Up Support

In the absence of federal policies, states and local governments across the U.S. are playing a crucial role to move the transition forward.

Colorado, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois and others are offering direct financial incentives to purchase passenger EVs through rebates that help replace the $7,500 expired federal tax credit. Since November, Colorado increased their EV rebate from $6,000 to $9,000, while Massachusetts offers rebates between $3,500 and $6,000 through its MOR-EV program.

Utilities are also offering supportive programs to residential and commercial customers. For instance, Tucson Electric Power in Arizona and Alabama Power offer lower electricity rates through time-of-use charging rates, if they charge their EVs during off-peak periods to minimize strain on the electric grid.

Although local and state policies and incentives are crucial to accelerating the adoption of EVs and associated infrastructure, they’re most impactful when working in tandem with federal-level programs. On their own, they are unlikely to provide enough market signals and incentives to drive the EV transition forward in the same way that a federal-level incentive would.

**Key Federal EV Policy Developments, January 2025 – March 2026**
Policy	Description	Current Status
EV purchase tax credit (Federal Clean Vehicle Credit)	Federal tax credit for eligible new EVs (up to $7,500) and used EVs (up to $4,000).	Expired at the end of September 2025 following the passage of budget reconciliation bill (H.R.1).
National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program	Funding for states to build EV fast‑charging networks.	After pausing in February 2025 for federal review, funding resumed in August following a federal court order.
Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant	Competitive grants for EV charging and hydrogen/alternative fueling infrastructure in communities and corridors.	After pausing in February 2025 for federal review, the administration reopened the program in August 2025.
Fuel economy regulations (CAFE)	Federal vehicle fuel efficiency standards.	As of December 2025, the Trump administration has proposed reducing the 2031 fuel economy target from ~50.4 miles per gallon to ~34.5 mpg.
Greenhouse gas emission standards	Emission standards to regulate tailpipe pollution from vehicles.	In February 2026, the EPA finalized a rule to overturn its endangerment finding and repealed emissions standards for vehicles.
Annual fee on EVs	An annual vehicle registration fees for EVs to compensate for lost gas tax revenue.	While the $250 annual fee proposed by the federal government in early 2025 has not been formally implemented, many states have implemented their own fees for EVs.
Automotive and auto parts tariffs	Tariffs on imported automobiles and automobile parts imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.	The federal government implemented a 25% tariff in May 2025 on imported passenger vehicles and components that do not meet United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement requirements.

Source: Authors’ research

Automakers Are Adjusting their EV Strategies

Major automakers are adjusting their EV ambitions following a collective $70 billion in losses from canceled projects, devalued assets and the high cost of scaling back earlier EV-focused strategies.

**Major automaker EV-related financial write-downs in 2025**
Automaker	Description
Stellantis	Reported a $26.3 billion write-down for fiscal year 2025, attributing losses to scaling back EV production and overestimations in the pace of the EV transition.
Ford	Recorded a $19.5 billion write-down after canceling EV models and the dissolution of a joint battery venture with South Korea’s SK On.
General Motors	Recorded a write-down of $7.6 billion after reducing EV production and canceling EV manufacturing investments.
Honda	Expects up to $15.7 billion in restructuring costs, impairments and other operating expenses related to the EV shift.

Sources: Reuters, Reuters, WardsAuto, Automotive News

While these adjustments have raised uncertainty about what lies ahead for EVs, a few trends are noticeable. Automakers are:

Shifting away from all-electric targets. Automakers like Ford, GM and Stellantis are moving toward a more flexible demand-driven mix of hybrids and gas cars so they can be more profitable in the present context.
Prioritizing more affordable EVs over luxury models. Facing competition from Chinese EV makers and a lack of consumer interest in premium EVs, companies are moving toward lower-cost models. For example, Ford and Stellantis are pausing production of electric pickup trucks like the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Stellantis Ram. Also, Ford is launching a mid-size electric pickup starting around $30,000, and GM is reintroducing the Chevrolet Bolt at a similar price, which it expects to make up a significant portion of its EV production next year.
Expanding batteries beyond EVs. Some automakers now have greater battery production capacity than needed and are pivoting to build batteries for energy storage systems, capitalizing on the growing expansion of data centers. Ford, for example, plans to repurpose its Glendale, Kentucky, battery manufacturing facility for energy storage systems.

Automotive Suppliers Are Caught in the Middle

The EV transition has not been linear. The difficulty of predicting when EV volumes will dominate is resulting in unstable supplier production schedules.

While suppliers that have made low EV investments may benefit from extended traditional gas-powered vehicle production, they still face long-term risks if they fail to adapt to electrification trends entirely.

In contrast, suppliers that have made significant EV investments may face underutilized production capacity, delayed return on investment from new factories, retooling and specialized training, and stranded assets if volume growth continues to remain slower than expected.

The slowdown is already causing financial and operational strain in the supply chain. Major suppliers, including Bosch, Magna and Continental, have announced job cuts to adjust their manufacturing capacity. Several of these companies are also diversifying into more stable sectors such as aerospace, defense and industrial manufacturing to hedge against the volatility in the automotive industry.

Autoworkers Are Facing Higher Volatility Than Expected

Given the differences in manufacturing processes and associated skills, transitioning the industry to EVs was always going to represent a significant shift for the manufacturing workforce, exposing some workers to more risk than others. However, the limbo and redundancies from EV production pauses and other restructuring events was unexpected to most workers.

GM’s Ultium Cells battery plants faced significant restructuring in October 2025, temporarily pausing production, citing a slowdown in EV adoption and evolving regulatory environment as key reasons for the 550 permanent and 1,550 temporary layoffs in Ohio and Tennessee. These decisions have particularly hurt hourly workers in production-focused roles, such as quality operators and material operators.

Similarly, Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich., placed over 700 hourly workers on temporary layoff in late 2024 after temporarily pausing production. After months of limbo, employees have now transferred to the Dearborn Truck Plant to work on F-150 gas and hybrid truck production.

As the industry keeps pivoting, automotive manufacturing workers must have the broad skills necessary to work across EVs, hybrids and traditional gas-powered vehicles. They can do this by leveraging foundational manufacturing skills while proactively upskilling in digital and electrical domains. Established programs including “earn and learn” apprenticeships, short-term credentials, collaborative partnerships between employers and community colleges or technical schools, and state support must be leveraged to support workers.

America’s Messy but Unstoppable Transition to EVs

The transition to EVs represents the most significant transformation in road transportation since the internal combustion engine became prominent and replaced pre-industrial forms of transportation. While the EV adoption curve has slowed in the U.S., the underlying technological and investment momentum makes the shift inevitable, with deep implications for labor, local economies and infrastructure.

Ensuring a successful transition will require a multifaceted approach involving careful planning, workforce training, public-private collaboration and adaptation to policy and market uncertainties. The EV transition is at a crucial juncture where sustained, long-term investment depends on a stable policy framework, especially at the federal level, ensuring the industry continues to grow. If done right, the EV transition can still be a win-win for the U.S. economy, workers and climate goals.

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People pass by a Tesla showroom in New York City. Rollbacks of federal incentives are creating an uncertain future for electric vehicle sales in the U.S.

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As Iran War Strains Fuel Supplies, Clean Energy Is Secure Energy

shannon.paton@wri.org — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:14:09 +0000

As Iran War Strains Fuel Supplies, Clean Energy Is Secure Energy shannon.paton@… Fri, 04/10/2026 - 12:14

On any normal day, about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sails through the Strait of Hormuz. But these aren’t normal days. The military strikes on Iran that began in late February, the ensuing conflict, and the Strait’s blockade spiraled the world into yet another energy crisis. Oil is currently trading at close to $100 a barrel. LNG shipments have been and continue to be severely constrained, despite a temporary ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Many countries reliant on fossil fuels that transit the Strait are now in a precarious energy position — a place where no politician, business or citizen wants to be. For instance, gasoline prices average more than $4 a gallon in the United States. The president of the Philippines recently announced a “national energy emergency.” Prime Minister Albanese went on national television to encourage his fellow Australians to curtail private transportation and take the bus instead, given the country’s heavy reliance on imported fuel.

Clean Energy Systems Offer Major Economic and Security Advantages

While these and many more nations are reeling from the sudden energy supply shock, others find themselves in a better position to withstand the current crisis. Why? Because they previously invested in clean energy systems. By “clean energy systems,” we mean the production, delivery and use of energy for electricity, heat and transportation that do not emit air pollution or greenhouse gases during operation. These systems include renewable electricity such as wind and solar and clean firm sources like hydro, geothermal and nuclear power. These systems can be complemented by long-duration energy-storage technologies like batteries and end-use applications such as electric vehicles and heat pumps.

What enables clean energy systems to meet this moment of crisis is not their environmental credentials, but rather their economic and security features.

First is domestic supply. Every country has homegrown access to at least two clean energy resources — the sun shines and the wind blows just about everywhere at some point. The same cannot be said of oil and gas, where production is concentrated in a small number of countries and exposed to geopolitical disruption. Second is low-cost — even free — fuel. Renewable resources like wind, solar and geothermal have zero fuel costs, and the fuel cost of nuclear power is quite low. Again, the same cannot be said of fossil fuels, which have costs set by volatile global markets. This combination of security of domestic supply and stability of cost is every country’s energy dream.

These two advantages are why some of the world’s clean energy frontrunners are faring better than other countries amidst the Iranian energy crisis:

An oil tanker sails through the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world's oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) passes through the narrow channel between Iran and Oman. Photo by 35007/iStock

China: Investments in EVs and Renewable Power Pay Off

As reported by the New York Times, China spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the past two decades creating robust domestic industries for EV manufacturing and renewable electricity generation. Just think of the rapid emergence of major Chinese EV car manufacturers BYD (which now sells more EVs than Tesla), Geely and Chery. This past year, half of new cars sold in China were EVs — the majority all-electric — and one-third of new heavy-duty trucks were EVs.

Likewise, China has invested heavily in renewable power generation and equipment manufacturing. It’s now the world’s largest solar photovoltaic and wind turbine manufacturer. Electricity from solar, wind and hydropower comprises nearly 36% of China’s total electricity generation, up from 16% in 2000.

China’s rapid EV adoption has accelerated the peaking of refined oil demand. This combination of EVs and non-fossil electricity is helping China curb growth in demand for imported petroleum and natural gas, reducing China’s exposure to external supply disruptions.

Pakistan's rapid development of solar power has already avoided $12 billion in oil and gas imports even before the Iran War began. Photo by Xinhua/Alamy

Pakistan: A Distributed Solar Boom Insulates Households and Businesses from Fuel Shortages

Distributed solar PV has so far buffered Pakistan’s power sector from the impacts of natural gas supply disruptions. Grid-connected and non-grid connected solar PV installations across the country have grown so much since the beginning of the decade that they are dramatically reducing the need to use natural gas for electricity generation, particularly during the day. Analysis indicates that Pakistan’s solar boom had already avoided $12 billion in oil and gas imports even before the Iran war began.

This solar PV explosion was caused by a perfect storm of supply and demand that started at the end of the past decade. In terms of demand, rate increases made grid-connected power unaffordable for many families and small enterprises. In terms of supply, low-cost Chinese-manufactured solar PV systems started flooding the Pakistani market. It therefore became very economical for households and businesses to purchase and install distributed plug-in solar PV systems—so much so that between 2019 and 2025, the generating capacity of Pakistan’s solar panel imports exceeded the country’s existing installed power plant capacity. While this has created challenges for Pakistan’s utilities by lowering grid-based demand, it has helped shield the country and consumers during this crisis.

France and Spain: High Share of Nuclear and Renewables Keep Electricity Prices Down

Whereas some European countries are facing noticeable electricity price increases since the start of the Iran crisis, Spain and France are experiencing much lower rate increases. This is because both countries generate a sizable share of their power from sources other than natural gas. In France, nuclear comprises about 70% of the country’s electricity mix, with renewables providing another 25%. Natural gas came in at under 4% in 2024. In Spain, renewables (solar, wind and hydro) generate 57% of the country’s electricity, with nuclear providing 20% and natural gas 19%.

It’s not just the share of generation that matters, but also when resources are available. Economics 101 tells us that the marginal generator sets the overall market price; the last generator needed to meet demand sets the price for all electricity generated. So when natural gas power plants get fired up to meet electricity demand that other sources cannot satisfy, natural gas sets the market price for all power generation. That rarely happens in France due to its strong nuclear fleet. And in Spain, the fact that the country’s solar, wind and hydro resources tend to be available during different seasons and times of day reduces the frequency of natural gas being the marginal power producer. The result is that the power sectors in both countries have less exposure to volatile natural gas prices and thus, more stable electricity rates.

Some Caveats

Of course, the clean energy investments in these countries have not fully shielded them from impact. In particular, the examples above focus on clean electricity generation for use in factories, homes and transportation. Other forms of energy, such as those needed for heat, are still heavily affected.

In China, for instance, many households and industrial processes are heated by natural gas. China and others still rely on imported petrochemicals as the raw material for clothing, rubber, fertilizer and other products. All these applications remain exposed in the current energy crisis. And while Spain and France may have insulated their electricity systems from price shocks, their continued dependence on imported fossil fuels for industry and transportation leaves those sectors exposed. Moreover, some countries further shelter themselves from supply shocks by creating fossil fuel reserves, as China has done.

That said, shifting electricity to clean sources and electrifying transit are milestone steps toward energy independence.

Circumventing the Blockade through Clean Energy

For years, advocates have proclaimed the climate and health advantages of clean energy systems. Those benefits still hold and will be increasingly important in the future. But what the current Iran energy crisis reveals is that clean energy system’s greatest benefits today might actually be price stability and domestic energy resilience. Clean energy can fuel national security — because no Strait of Hormuz can blockade the wind, sun, water or Earth’s own heat.

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Workers clean solar panels in China. Over the last several years, the country has invested heavily in renewable energy. Photo by MengWen Guo/iStock

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The Ocean Dependence Framework Places People at the Center of Ocean Governance

alicia.cypress@wri.org — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:33:03 +0000

The Ocean Dependence Framework Places People at the Center of Ocean Governance alicia.cypress… Thu, 04/09/2026 - 12:33

April 9, 2026 — Coastal communities are living on the frontline of accelerating and overlapping change. Climate change is destabilizing the marine and coastal environments they depend on. Increasing pollution compounds this pressure and directly threatens their health. Food insecurity is rising.

In response, nations are transforming how they manage their coastlines — developing sustainable ocean economies, designating marine protected areas and pursuing climate adaptation strategies. Coastal communities sit at the center of all of it: not only are they the most exposed to mounting pressures and most directly impacted by the policies designed to address them, but they are also the very people whose knowledge, livelihoods and stewardship are essential to making these transitions work.

Whether coastal communities benefit from these transitions or bear their costs depends on the choices made while designing the policies. Policies that protect marine ecosystems, grow blue economies or respond to climate change can deliver real benefits to coastal communities by securing affordable food, protecting local jobs and strengthening resilience. But these same policies can also inadvertently deepen the vulnerabilities communities already face — cutting off access to fishing grounds they have relied on for generations, displacing small-scale traders in favor of commercial operators or undermining the adaptive strategies communities have already developed.

The difference between these outcomes often depends on the information available to decision-makers. While ecosystems can be mapped and economic flows can be tracked, the human dimension — who depends on the ocean, how and what they stand to gain or lose — is rarely visible to policymakers. Closing this gap will help advance conservation, development and climate goals while delivering meaningful improvements to the lives of coastal communities.

The Ocean Dependence Framework

Recognizing this opportunity, WRI developed the Ocean Dependence Framework — a decision-support tool that helps policymakers and planners put people at the center of ocean governance. Built in direct partnership with local communities and informed by experts across academia, government and development, the Ocean Dependence Framework measures three key dimensions:

Exposure — the changes affecting marine resources or access to them.
Dependence — the nutritional, economic and cultural reliance on those resources.
Adaptive capacity — the ability to respond when resources change or access is disrupted.

Taken together, these dimensions reveal which groups face the greatest impacts from changes affecting coastal communities — whether driven by climate change, marine conservation, blue economy growth or other pressures. Critically, they also explain why certain groups face disproportionate impacts, and where targeted interventions can reduce inequalities and direct benefits for those who depend on the ocean most.

In partnership with organizations at local and global scales, WRI is advancing this framework to help governments integrate people into data-driven ocean policy and planning — equipping policymakers and planners to harness local knowledge, evaluate trade-offs across policy options and design interventions that advance a more just ocean economy.

How it Works: Walking Through the Ocean Dependence Framework

The Ocean Dependence Framework assesses how changes affecting marine ecosystems impact coastal communities — and why impacts fall unevenly across groups. Ultimately it reveals who faces the greatest vulnerability and where interventions can strengthen resilience. The example below walks through each component (in bold) and sub-component (in italics).

1) Exposure: Consider a new lease for a shellfish aquaculture operation — where oysters and other shellfish are farmed for seafood — as a driver of change. The site overlaps with coastal areas used by small-scale fishers, exposing them to a potential change in access to marine ecosystems and their services. The development primarily affects intertidal habitats like mudflats and shallow seagrass beds.

2) Dependence: These intertidal areas are used for shellfish collecting, or gleaning — a practice that is key for the community’s nutritional security and commonly carried out by women. Women's dependence on these ecosystems is multi-dimensional: beyond nutrition, gleaning grounds also underpin their income and the social bonds formed among fellow gleaners. This economic and socio-cultural reliance compounds the potential impact of the proposed change.

3) Adaptive Capacity: However, women may also hold adaptive capacity that enables them to respond to — or even benefit from — this development. For example, their knowledge and skills in shellfish life cycles, harvesting and processing may make them well-suited for employment in the new aquaculture enterprise. Through their informal gleaning cooperative, they have the organizational capacity to coordinate a collective response, including influencing where the development is ultimately sited (organization). Where women hold recognized rights over their fishing grounds, they may be positioned to negotiate benefit-sharing arrangements (rights and agency).

4) Vulnerability and Resilience: The multi-dimensional dependence of women gleaners heightens their vulnerability to this proposed change, yet this vulnerability is mitigated in part by their adaptive assets, which are sources of resilience. By applying the framework across groups — comparing, for example, women gleaners with male boat fishers — decision-makers can see who faces the greatest vulnerability and why. This makes it possible to design targeted interventions that bolster the resilience of those most at risk and ensure the costs and benefits of change are shared equitably.

Proof of Concept: Mapping Ocean Dependence in Mozambique

In Inhambane Bay, located in southern Mozambique, WRI partnered with Ocean Revolution Mozambique and AfriSeas Solutions, with support from the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership, to bring the framework to life. The team developed locally-adapted indicators and piloted community-based methods to gather structured, spatially-linked data directly from fishers. For example, participatory mapping exercises enabled community members to map where they had witnessed changes in their local ecosystems, such as mangrove loss or seagrass degradation. They also mapped where they fish and what they catch.

An exercise in participatory mapping is part of a workshop with fishing communities of Inhambane Bay, Mozambique. Photo by Rachel Thoms/WRI.

To measure dependence, fishers were asked to distribute a handful of objects (like rocks or beans) across photos of local marine and terrestrial resources, placing more on the resources that matter most to them. This exercise was repeated multiple times for benefits like income, food, cultural traditions and social networks — with larger piles signaling greater contributions from that resource.

During a workshop with fishing communities of Inhambane Bay, a participant places stones on images of local marine resources during a proportional piling exercise measuring dependence. Photo by Rachel Thoms/WRI.

The results were striking. Maps revealed widespread seagrass loss across the bay, but more importantly, by layering fishing areas and dependence data with these ecological changes, the team pinpointed exactly which communities and fisher groups face the steepest threats to their income, food security and socio-cultural values as seagrass meadows decline.

Armed with this data, local planners can prioritize seagrass conservation and restoration in the areas where it will matter most. Critically, it informs not just where to act, but how — taking into account the ways communities depend on these areas, and ensuring conservation goes hand in hand with supporting people's livelihoods and capacity to adapt.

From Pilot to Policy: Building Social Dimensions into National Ocean Data

To transform ocean management at scale, this approach needs to be institutionalized and embedded within the tools decision-makers are already using. It also needs to be spread to new geographies. That's why WRI is partnering with the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, to integrate social data into the frameworks governments already use to track ocean health and economic value.

Ocean Accounts are comprehensive national information systems that move beyond traditional GDP-based metrics to measure the full contribution of oceans to economic activity and societal well-being. Although recognized as fundamental, the social component of these accounts — known as Social Accounts — remains under-developed, leaving this essential dimension unmeasured.

To help change this, WRI, in collaboration with GOAP, recently developed a data audit methodology that countries can use as a first step to compile social data within the ocean accounting framework. Using the method, WRI led an analysis of national social data systems across eight countries. The findings were encouraging: Foundational social data already exists and household surveys, fisheries statistics and agricultural censuses capture elements of ocean-related livelihoods, income and nutrition. But critical gaps remain in the ability to disaggregate data across groups in society, and key dimensions like cultural connections and local knowledge are largely invisible in official statistics. Fortunately, emerging methodologies, like the Ocean Dependence Framework, can provide critical insights to address these gaps.

As part of the co-organizing committee for Social Accounts Working Group, WRI along with GOAP and many other members, are developing practical guidance to harness existing data and these emerging methodologies. Together, the group is working to create and pilot standardized approaches for compiling and collecting social indicators that can feed directly into Ocean Accounts. When complete, governments will have the tools to track not just ocean economies and ocean health, but the wellbeing of the communities who depend on them — making it possible to design ocean management that works for both people and the ocean.

Join Us

The Ocean Dependence Framework is only as powerful as the partnerships that adapt, iterate and implement it. WRI is actively seeking collaborators to advance people-centered ocean governance:

Apply the Framework: Partner with WRI to pilot or adapt the Ocean Dependence Framework in your country or project — from marine spatial planning and fisheries management to restoration and climate adaptation. Working together combines methodological support with local expertise to generate the evidence base needed for equitable and durable ocean solutions.
Contribute data and expertise: Share datasets, indicators or community-based methods that capture how people depend on and contribute to the ocean. Feedback on the conceptual approach is equally welcome — the framework improves through diverse perspectives and geographies.
Join the Social Accounts Working Group: Connect with researchers, government officials and civil society organizations working to embed social and cultural dimensions into ocean accounting frameworks, and help shape the guidance governments can use.

To learn more about WRI’s Ocean Dependence Framework, partner with us or for additional inquiries, contact Rachel Thoms at rachel.thoms@wri.org.

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Despite Unprecedented Challenges, Clean Energy Is Still Growing in the US. The Future Is More Uncertain.

shannon.paton@wri.org — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:14:37 +0000

Despite Unprecedented Challenges, Clean Energy Is Still Growing in the US. The Future Is More Uncertain. shannon.paton@… Wed, 04/08/2026 - 12:14

The last year has been a time of whiplash for the U.S. energy landscape. Federal policy changed course under the Trump administration. Cost concerns deepened. Uncertainty and energy market turmoil increased. Projected future electricity demand rose dramatically from data centers and other driversnd new barriers to meeting that demand emerged.

These challenges have tested the country’s ability to keep pace with rapidly evolving energy needs. Yet even amidst significant headwinds, clean energy deployment remains strong. Data from the end of 2025, the latest available, shows that 90% of new energy capacity added in the U.S. last year came from clean sources.

However, fossil fuels are also gaining momentum. Coal use ticked up alongside a wave of new planned gas plants. Taken together, these stories paint a hazy picture for the coming years.

Below, we review the pace of clean energy development in the U.S., key trends that defined a turbulent year for America’s energy transition, and where the story goes next.

Batteries, which can store power for use when the wind isn’t blowing and sun isn’t shining, saw a 39% increase in installations from 2024-2025. Photo by U.S. government/Rawpixel

A New Era of Soaring Electricity Demand and Affordability Concerns

Energy realities are shifting quickly across the U.S.

Electricity demand hit a record high in 2025, rising 2% over 2024 and 9% above 2020 levels. For comparison, electricity demand between 2014 and 2019 across all sectors saw a net increase of only 1.2%. With mostly consistent demand increases since 2020, it appears the era of “flat demand” seen from the late 2000s and 2010s has ended. The U.S. is now firmly in an energy growth era.

Recent demand data, however, don’t capture the full story. Projections for data center growth continue to increase exponentially, with some individual data center projects planning to consume more power than entire cities. Utilities project that energy demand could rise 32% nationwide by decade’s end, with one estimate stating that data centers could consume 9%-17% of all U.S. electricity by 2030. While it's unclear how much of this load will materialize — and how quickly — the expected surge and concentration of large loads in some regions is reshaping planning across the power sector.

Manufacturing and electrification are contributing to rising demand, too, particularly in California and the Northeast. Uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps and electric water heaters continues. These technologies reduce emissions and are a welcome signal amidst a cooling market and reduced federal clean energy incentives. But it also means steady, accumulating load on an already-strained grid.

Meanwhile, energy affordability has emerged as a top concern for households across the U.S. Average residential electricity prices rose 7% from 2024-2025, outpacing inflation. Utilities sought a record $30.5 billion in rate increases, much of it for grid investments and addressing natural disasters. More than two-thirds of Americans reported financial strain due to higher utility bills. Affordability and meeting rapidly growing loads have quickly become a central political issue, especially in areas with steeply rising bills, such as the Mid-Atlantic.

These trends significantly shaped how the energy landscape evolved last year and will likely continue to do so. Looking back at 2025 and the latest data, six trends emerge:

1) Clean Energy Installations Are Still Strong, with 56 GW of Solar, Wind and Storage Added in 2025.

A record amount of electricity generation was brought online in 2025 to meet rising demand. Over 90% of it came from clean energy sources.

Based on data from the EIA’s January 2026 Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, the U.S. installed 49.6 gigawatts of new utility-scale solar, batteries and wind in 2025. Small-scale solar saw a 6.3 GW increase, raising the total solar, battery and wind capacity added to 55.9 GW. That’s equivalent to roughly double the amount needed to power New England at its highest-ever recorded demand.

Natural gas plants represented the remaining 5.2GW of capacity additions. No new coal capacity was added.

The clearest power sector generation winner in 2025 was solar, with 27 GW of new utility-scale capacity added to the grid. While this is down from 2024, solar still represented over half of all new installed capacity last year, while utility-scale solar generation increased by 34.5% from 2024-2025.

Batteries, which can store power for use when the wind isn’t blowing and sun isn’t shining, are also growing quickly, seeing a 39% increase in installations from 2024-2025. Many battery facilities are co-located with renewables. Two of the largest battery and solar co-located facilities came online in 2025 in Kern County, California and Wharton County, Texas.

Importantly, clean energy represents a larger share of the U.S. generation mix than ever before. EIA data show that wind and solar contributed 17% of all utility-scale energy generation in the U.S. in 2025, outpacing coal’s 16.6% figure. On the whole, renewable energy sources, including hydropower, comprised 24% of all utility-scale electricity generation in the U.S. Including small-scale, behind-the-meter solar, this figure rises to 26% of all electricity generation coming from renewables. Finally, combined with carbon-free nuclear energy, the U.S. saw 42% of utility-scale generation come from non-fossil resources in 2025, just above the fraction of natural gas.

Even with this progress, 2025 saw major headwinds for renewable energy development — the full effects of which may yet to be seen. The passage of H.R. 1 eliminated federal investment and production tax credits for wind and solar projects unless they begin construction one year after enactment (by July 2026) or are placed in service by the end of 2027. Renewable projects also now face complex rules for materials, components or financing from certain foreign sources, most notably China. These changes created a rush for wind and solar project developers to meet these deadlines, “safe harbor” their projects, and begin construction as soon as possible while facing simultaneous challenges with grid interconnection, market uncertainty and permitting barriers.

Visitors inspect a turbine blade at Wild Horse Wind and Solar Energy Center in Washington state. Photo by Cindy Shebley/iStock

At the same time, the Trump administration created additional challenges to renewable energy development. This includes delaying or making it more difficult to obtain federal permitting approvals for solar and wind installations and issuing stop-work orders for offshore wind plants.

Yet despite these new hurdles, renewable energy and storage are projected to grow over the next few years. In 2026 and 2027, developers plan to install 84 GW of utility-scale solar, 45 GW of batteries, and 20 GW of wind, compared to just 15 GW of natural gas. Much of these upcoming capacity additions will likely come from projects that took steps to “safe harbor” their access to valuable tax credits in 2025, guaranteeing some future solar and wind additions through the end of the decade. Battery storage installations are also likely to continue their rapid growth, since they remain eligible for investment tax credits through 2032.

2) Hyperscalers and Corporate Buyers Drove Significant Demand for Power — Both Clean Energy and Fossil Fuels.

Corporate buyers, primarily “hyperscaler” tech companies building large data centers, reported large purchases of clean energy to meet their current and future demands. The U.S. saw 29.5 GW of clean energy power purchase agreements signed in 2025 — about the same as in 2024 — dominated by big tech heavyweights like Meta, Amazon and Google. Purchases included solar, wind and battery storage, as well as growing demand for clean firm power sources such as nuclear, hydro, geothermal and gas with carbon capture.

But even while clean energy purchases and development continue, data center developers are also increasingly turning to fossil fuels and on-site power plants to more quickly meet their electricity needs. In 2025 alone, data center developers announced 50 GW of “behind-the-meter” energy projects, with almost half of that capacity coming from natural gas-powered turbines or engines. This is being driven by the need for “speed to power,” with developers trying to secure as much electricity as possible as quickly as possible so they can come online faster. While it’s unclear how many of these projects will be realized, the scale and scope of current plans would represent an explosion of large-scale fossil fuel consumption and emissions in the near-term.

Hyperscalers demonstrate this “all of the above” trend. Google, for example, announced an agreement with Xcel Energy in Minnesota for significant solar, wind and iron air batteries, as well as a separate purchase agreement for up to 400MW of natural gas, with 90% of the carbon captured and stored at an ethanol facility in Illinois. But it also recently reached a deal for 900 MW of natural gas to supply a data center under construction with Crusoe, as part of a $40 billion AI investment in Texas. Meta committed to purchase 6 GW of new nuclear power slated to come online by 2035 as well as renewables, but has also recently committed to funding 7.5 GW of natural gas plants at its Hyperion data center in Louisiana. Microsoft even announced that it met its 2025 goal to match all of its electricity from zero-carbon sources in 2025, but also entered into a deal with Chevron for 2.5GW of gas for a West Texas data center.

Costs for this infrastructure are becoming an increasingly prominent issue. States and utilities around the country introduced legislation, policies and rate tariffs to ensure that companies developing data centers pay their own costs of generation and grid investments, as well as cover any risks of stranded costs that could be passed on to ratepayers if data center projects do not materialize. In early 2026, seven major hyperscalers — including Amazon, Google and Microsoft — signed a voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge, committing to avoid shifting data-center-related costs to consumers.

3) Coal and Natural Gas Made Significant Gains.

While data show a continuous rise in renewable energy and storage installations and generation since 2020, fossil fuels made significant gains in 2025. Electricity generation from coal increased by 13% from 2024-2025, likely tied to elevated natural gas prices and the Trump administration’s use of federal funds and emergency powers to support coal plants.

Coal generation may continue to rise next year and through 2028 as the Trump administration actively promotes coal mining and power generation. It has redirected funds for carbon capture and energy resiliency projects to support building or recommissioning coal plants, as well as forcing coal plants scheduled for retirement to continue operations. Mandating that uneconomic plants continue to run is increasing costs at a time when affordability is front-and-center for consumers, causing utilities to sue the administration over these requirements.

Natural gas generation fell by 3% over the 2020-2025 period and only 5.2 GW of new plants were added (representing only 10% of capacity additions). But plans for future utility-scale natural gas through the end of the 2020s and 2030s have significantly expanded. The EIA December 2026 Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory reported 44.8 GW of new natural gas capacity planned between 2026 and 2030; this does not include plans for on-site gas plants, which could more than double this figure. In comparison, plans for utility-scale renewables development through 2030 reached 119.1 GW of new utility-scale solar, 65.5 GW of batteries and 21.1 GW of onshore wind, according to EIA.

4) EVs and Electric Appliances Make Some Strides, but Progress Is Shaky.

After years of growth and investment, the U.S. EV sector saw a turbulent year. The expiration of clean vehicle tax credits and new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration pushed plug-in EV sales to fall by 4% from 2024. Some automakers responded to federal policy shifts and slowing demand by scaling back EV plans and cancelling almost $20 billion worth of EV projects. However, 2025 was still the second-highest sales year on record for battery electric vehicles, representing 7.8% of all new vehicle sales. Used EV sales accelerated in 2025, seeing a 35% increase over 2024, with more than 375,000 units sold. While the future trajectory for EVs in the U.S. is uncertain, rising gas prices due to the war in Iran have sparked a global wave of interest in electric cars. Multiple automakers have announced new EV models and plans for the near future.

The public EV charging network continued to expand rapidly in 2025. More than 18,000 direct current fast charging (DCFC) ports were installed, a 30% jump over 2024. This investment was driven almost entirely by private automakers, retailers and charging providers, indicating robust market interest in building a nationwide fast-charging network. Federal funding may help boost installations in the near future: Although the Trump administration froze federal funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program for several months in 2025, funds were released in August. States have planned and obligated over $1.4 billion for charging projects through 2028.

Electrification of buildings continued to make strides in 2025, despite headwinds at the state and federal level. Heat pump and electric water heater sales outpaced their gas-fueled counterparts for the fourth year in a row. Data from the Census Bureau revealed that the majority of single- and multi-family homes constructed in 2024 used electric heating. And although H.R. 1 repealed the 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credit, rebates for electric appliances and energy-saving home retrofits are still available through state programs receiving federal funds.

Some states with previously ambitious electrification targets, however, retreated. California passed a law pausing all local and state building code updates through 2031. New York Governor Kathy Hochul delayed implementation of a landmark electrification law that would have banned gas in most new buildings.

5) Clean Energy Manufacturing Declined Precipitously in 2025, but Clean Energy Jobs Outpace Other Sectors.

With changes to federal tax credits under H.R. 1, investment in clean energy manufacturing fell precipitously in 2025, mostly affecting the EV supply chain. Hardest hit were vehicle assembly projects, battery manufacturing, critical minerals projects and electrolyzers. Investments in U.S. clean energy manufacturing fell to $42 billion in 2025, a 17% decline from 2024, according to Rhodium Group. During Q4 of 2025 alone, companies cancelled a record $8 billion in clean energy manufacturing projects, mostly related to EVs, batteries and electrolyzers, with only $3 billion in new announcements in that period. Over the entire year, project cancellations reached $23 billion (5 times 2024 levels and affecting at least 18,000 jobs), compared to $24 billion in announced new manufacturing investments. The loss of future clean energy jobs exacerbates the national trend of declining manufacturing jobs: The U.S. shed 108,000 manufacturing jobs overall in 2025 alone.

Solar and wind manufacturing fared better than the EVs supply chain. Solar saw $3 billion in new investment announcements, compared to $300 million in cancellations; wind saw no cancellations during 2025.

While 2025 was the second-highest sales year on record for battery EVs, a loss of federal policy support and slowing sales led several automakers to shift EV battery manufacturing facilities to stationary grid storage applications to meet growing data center demand. For example, Ford announced its move from EV manufacturing to grid energy storage systems at its Glendale, Kentucky facility. LG Energy and SK On are also changing from EV to energy storage applications for data centers and grid storage. GM has a deal to provide new and used EV batteries to Redwood Energy for data center storage.

These shifts follow years of growth of clean energy jobs, which have outpaced the overall job market as well as fossil fuel jobs. From 2021-2024, clean energy jobs grew 12%, compared to 8% for the overall job market. While hurdles have grown higher, recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics still projects double- or triple-digit growth for clean energy jobs between 2024 and 2034.

6) Permitting and Siting Challenges Grew Larger Over the Last Year.

Headwinds in siting and permitting grew stronger in 2025.

For one, federal actions and requirements for additional Department of Interior reviews have made it difficult for wind and solar projects on federal and private lands to obtain federal permits and approvals, resulting in delays and cancellations. Permits that once had a clear process for approval are now required to be reviewed by Cabinet-level staff at the Department of Interior. Further, the administration attempted to halt or limit further work on already fully permitted offshore wind projects nearing completion, most recently with a stop-work order for five permitted projects on the East Coast. The judicial system responded by lifting that order, but policies like these cause turmoil and uncertainty for the U.S. investment environment. They undermine the development of new power generation sources sorely needed to affordably meet growing electricity demand.

Meanwhile, utility-scale clean energy projects are increasingly running into community opposition. An annual report from the Columbia Sabin Center, which tracks contested projects and local restrictive ordinances, identified “498 contested projects in 49 states, an increase of 32% over last year’s edition, which identified 378 contested projects in 47 states.” (For more on local restrictions to clean energy, see our recent article.)

While permitting and siting issues are not new challenges, they have become more acute and can hamper clean energy development at a time when it needs to be surging ahead. According to Clean Tomorrow, siting legislation was introduced in almost every state legislature last year, with many bills leaning toward anti-clean energy outcomes.

At the federal level, permitting reform continues to be a bipartisan topic of interest. Policymakers in Congress have introduced a number of pieces of legislation aimed at accelerating the buildout of energy infrastructure — both clean power and fossil fuels.

Clean Energy Momentum Confronts New Hurdles at a Pivotal Moment

Despite a turbulent year of fundamental policy changes, clean energy pushed forward in 2025 — even delivering another record-breaking year for solar and storage. Developers brought tens of gigawatts of clean energy online and moved quickly to break ground on clean energy projects, locking in access to federal incentives and ensuring that new solar and wind will continue to be developed in the near-term.

Still, the road ahead is far from certain. The industry faces rapidly shifting tariffs, a looming tax-credit cliff, and market volatility driven by everything from data center demand to wars to increasingly extreme weather. Key factors to watch as the year continues include actual demand from large loads, policy approaches to address affordability, evolving trade policy and supply chain issues, and impacts from the conflict with Iran.

At the same time, to affordably meet rapidly rising demand, it is imperative that the U.S. upgrades and expands the grid while completing projects that are already underway, particularly wind and solar. Broader permitting reform, which is under discussion at the federal, state and local levels, is also needed to build the right infrastructure — and to remain competitive globally.

This is a pivotal moment for the U.S. energy transition. The challenges are real, but so is the momentum. The choices made now — by policymakers, developers, regulators, businesses, investors and more — will set the trajectory for U.S. clean energy for the rest of the decade.

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Integrating Air Quality and Electric Mobility to Improve Urban Life in Latin America

sarah.brown@wri.org — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:29:39 +0000

Integrating Air Quality and Electric Mobility to Improve Urban Life in Latin America sarah.brown@wri.org Wed, 04/08/2026 - 11:29

April 4, 2026 - Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental threats to human health worldwide. In 2021, it caused 8.1 million deaths, an increase from 7 million recorded in previous studies. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, the infant mortality rate from air pollution is 100 times higher than in high-income countries.

Transport, from commuting to freight delivery, is a major source of emissions and air pollution. Poor air quality is one of the main unintended side effects of mobility. Internal combustion engine and non-exhaust emissions, along with other transport-related pollutants, release harmful toxins that damage human and animal health and contribute to global warming.

At WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, we work to advance livable, enjoyable and healthy cities worldwide. In Latin America, poor air quality and a high share of polluting vehicles underscore the urgent need for urban interventions that cut emissions. At the same time, cities must ensure that everyone has access to high-quality transport, especially efficient alternatives to private, polluting vehicles.

WRI Ross Center funded a project to develop an integrated approach between air quality and electric mobility, using WRI Colombia as a model for other teams in the region. During its development, we met with the WRI Global, Mexico, Colombia and Brasil teams working on air quality and electric mobility to explore synergies and identify potential collaborations. The meeting took place in Bogotá, Colombia, Jan. 27-31, 2025.

Bogotá Advances Air Quality and Electric Mobility Strategies

Bogotá was selected to host this regional encounter because of its recent advances in air quality management and electric mobility projects. The city uses CanAiry Alert as a tool to monitor air quality, while the Vital Neighborhoods project included air quality indicators to measure its impact. So far, Bogotá has integrated 1,485 electric buses into its public transport system, Transmilenio, representing nearly 13% of the total fleet. The city is also building its first metro line.

Field visit to Bogota’s cable car system, TransMiCable. Photo by WRI Colombia

The retreat was structured around activities to integrate electric mobility and air quality teams in Latin America, strengthen cooperation and define joint strategies. Hosts facilitated knowledge exchange, identified opportunities, supported proposal development and explored funding strategies for sustainable projects in the region. Activities included design-thinking workshops, field visits and knowledge exchange sessions to build connections among team members.

The event also included talks and visits to some of Bogotá’s most inspiring projects. The Green Movil depot has the biggest electric fleet in Latin America, with 406 buses. During the visit, the company’s general manager shared insights into operations, infrastructure and vehicle technology. The tour highlighted recent progress in implementing sustainable transport solutions, as well as the potential impact of emerging technologies.

The visit to the Barrio Vital El Porvenir neighborhood showcased how urban design can enhance active mobility and promote accessible, sustainable spaces. Project results shared during the visit highlighted improvements in air quality, emissions reductions and the community’s well-being in terms of road safety and overall quality of life.

Guided Visit to Vital Neighborhood Bosa El Porvenir. Photo by WRI Colombia

WRI’s Learning Experience

The global directors of air quality and electric mobility opened the retreat by presenting a shared vision for the future of the teams and key concepts about each of the fields. Offices then presented updates on their work carried out in both electric mobility and air quality, emphasizing the potential connections between the two areas. These presentations enabled a comparative analysis of regional strategies and approaches, identifying best practices and areas for improvement that could be replicated or adapted in other contexts.

The WRI Brasil team has extensive experience in urban transport and air quality. One of its earliest initiatives was the FedEx Vehicles & Fuels project under EMBARQ, implemented between 2012 and 2014. This project estimated particulate matter and CO2 emissions from different bus fuels. At the same time, the team analyzed pollutant sensor technologies to assess PM10 and nitrogen oxides (NOx) levels following the implementation of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and São Paulo.

The team has since built on this expertise, applying new methodologies to estimate health impacts and economic costs. In 2021, WRI Brasil published a report on the state of air quality in the country, highlighting health evidence, policy gaps and barriers to advancing air pollution control measures.

The WRI Mexico team supported the implementation of UK Pact projects in Mexico and Colombia. In Mexico, the team recently provided technical assistance to Metrobus, the regulatory authority of Mexico City’s BRT system, to develop an electrification plan under the TUMI initiative. The team has also worked with the private sector on freight transport electrification under the Clean Fleets, Clean Cities project.

Electric mobility projects in Colombia predate the establishment of the WRI Colombia office, with significant impact across multiple cities and strong collaboration with local stakeholders. Through UK Pact projects led by WRI Mexico, technical assistance was provided to local governments in Pasto, Neiva and Monteria.

Since the establishment of the WRI Colombia office, this work has continued under initiatives such as the TUMI E-Bus Mission and Deep Dive Cities. Under the Big Bet Bogotá project, the air quality team analyzed the impact of interventions in the Barrio Vital San Felipe neighborhood on improving local air quality.

A New Vision of an Integrated Air Quality and Electric Mobility Approach

The teams proposed a vision for how electric mobility and air quality should evolve by 2030. Using a design-thinking approach, the participants shared their perspectives and discussed key issues, leading to the identification of priority themes. The figure below illustrates the main topics that emerged from the exercise:

These ideas were integrated to create a vision for WRI's air quality and electric mobility teams in Latin America:

By 2030, the WRI air quality and electric mobility team in Latin America will be a leading reference in integrating sustainable mobility and air quality improvement, generating environmental and social benefits across the region. With a consolidated interdisciplinary network in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, we will drive the development of knowledge and innovative projects that respond to the needs of cities, documenting successful experiences and promoting effective public actions. We will attract international funding and raise awareness among decision-makers to accelerate the decarbonization of public and freight transport, prioritizing the impact on the most vulnerable populations, especially children, pregnant individuals and the elderly.

A Team of Skilled Global Experts

During initial discussions on project experiences and funding proposals, participants highlighted the value of leveraging WRI's global network, aligned with the objectives of the OneWRI initiative. When local teams lack specific expertise or the proposal resources are insufficient to support additional technical staff, global experts can serve as advisors or references to strengthen WRI's value proposition. As a result, the final exercise focused on identifying capacities within air quality and electric mobility across the region and the broader network, particularly where local expertise is not available. Cross-cutting teams — including climate, economics and finance, urban development, communications, equity and development — were also identified as key contributors to project implementation.

Laying the Foundations for Integrated Mobility and Air Quality Solutions

The retreat enabled the air quality and electric mobility teams to form a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary group. This integration strengthens strategic decision-making and drives innovative solutions for sustainable mobility. The team is defined by its analytical approach, commitment to innovation, equity and resilience, and a 2030 vision focused on delivering environmental and socio-economic benefits across the region.

The retreat provided a crucial space to identify regional opportunities and funding challenges, facilitating discussions, strategic connections and knowledge exchange. It also developed a clear vision for the team’s future, aiming to strengthen integrated projects across Latin America. This process helped assess WRI’s current position and define viable, scalable initiatives for future funding. The development of project briefs will align the strategic vision with adaptable initiatives, strengthening the funding strategy with a particular focus on Latin America. This work established strong foundations to drive funding proposals for electric mobility, promoting a more efficient and accessible transport model.

Together, these efforts will not only reduce pollutant emissions but also improve urban air quality. To learn more about the discussions and outcomes of the retreat, we invite you to review the conference proceedings here.

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In This Indonesian City, Community-Led Design Is Improving Water and Sanitation

alicia.cypress@wri.org — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:00:02 +0000

In This Indonesian City, Community-Led Design Is Improving Water and Sanitation alicia.cypress… Wed, 04/08/2026 - 09:00

On rainy days, Meliana Mei walks along an elevated pathway from her home in Makassar, Indonesia, to the market. Water collects in trenches below the path and drains away, giving her a much safer way to reach her destination. “Our alley used to flood whenever it rained, making it very hard to get around,” Mei said. “Now I can walk to the market easily, using these new, clean and accessible pathways.”

Mei is among 40% of Makassar’s 1.7 million residents who live in flood-prone informal settlements, which are neighborhoods characterized by substandard housing, a lack of secure land tenure and inadequate access to basic services such as water, sanitation and roads.

Just a few years ago, the same rains told a very different story in these neighborhoods. Floodwater surged through narrow alleyways and low-lying homes, turning everyday movement into a challenge. Residents waded through waist-deep water, balancing across improvised bamboo planks or paid small fees to ride makeshift rafts through flooded passages. Children often played in the standing water that lingered long after storms, unaware it carried fecal contaminants from damaged sewage systems and overflowing drains.

In this coastal city facing flood risks from heavy rains and the sea – risks that are becoming even more frequent due to climate change – these conditions made it hard for residents to move through the neighborhood, care for their families or simply step outside without encountering water that was unsafe and difficult to navigate.

Before and after photos show improvements to access points and walkways in a Makasaar community. Photo by RISE.

But things are improving now thanks to new solutions from the Revitalizing Informal Settlements and Environments (RISE) program. At its core is the idea that these long-standing multigenerational communities are not problems to be cleared or relocated but places of profound infrastructure innovations. Led by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and working alongside residents and the city government, the program aims to improve environmental health through water and sanitation infrastructure, and other community updates. They do so while preserving neighborhoods without disrupting social networks, livelihoods and daily routines.

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Transforming Everyday Life

The impacts of water and sanitation infrastructure upgrades set up by the RISE initiative are now visible across six of Makassar’s informal settlements.

More than 1,400 residents now benefit directly from improved sanitation, drainage and access infrastructure, while an estimated 6,000 residents experience indirect improvements through better environmental health and public spaces.

Hundreds of toilets have been installed and connected to neighborhood sanitation systems. Wetland treatment areas filter wastewater, rainwater tanks improve household water access and upgraded drainage helps manage flooding. Nearly 3,000 square meters (32,292 square feet) of raised pathways now allow residents to move safely through flood-prone neighborhoods.

For residents, these changes are tangible. Along with sanitation improvements, the project has also reshaped public space within settlements. Wetlands double as landscaped areas where residents gather, while raised walkways function as both flood protection and communal spaces.

Integration of public spaces with sanitation infrastructure has strengthened everyday life for community members in Makassar's informal settlements. Photo by WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities.

“Often sanitation is not what communities think about first,” said Diego Ramirez-Lovering, co-director of the RISE program and a professor at Monash University. “They care about places to gather and socialize. So we designed infrastructure that also creates spaces for community life.”

Interrupting the Pathways of Contamination

Changing how people move through these neighborhoods required changing how water moves through them.

“The main problem here was dirty water, which caused diarrhea,” explained Tajuddin, a community leader in one of the settlements (and like many Indonesians, only has one name). “In Makassar, they call it camar. That's what affects children as they are more susceptible to health problems.”

In settlements built along waterways and low-lying land, poor drainage and fragile sanitation systems caused stormwater and wastewater to mix, spreading contamination through homes, streets and shared spaces.

RISE is addressing these issues by introducing rarely used systems into these dense informal settlements. By decentralizing sanitation systems by constructing wetlands, using smart pressure sewers and covered community septic tanks, the new sanitation systems are interrupting how pollution moves through these neighborhoods.

“RISE uses nature as infrastructure in this process,” said Ramirez-Lovering. Wastewater is guided through planted wetlands, where soil, roots and microorganisms help filter contaminants, before it returns safely to the environment. Improvements to drainage and rainwater management also help reduce flooding and keep contaminated water away from homes.

These approaches are particularly important in Makassar’s flat, waterlogged landscape. “Traditional sanitation solutions just don’t work in these dense environments,” Ramirez-Lovering said. “We needed alternatives that could function in these contexts.”

RISE interventions not only address water infrastructure challenges but also incorporate design of community spaces. Photo by WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities.

Designing Infrastructure with Communities

While the technologies behind RISE are innovative, what is truly unique is the way the program integrates community voices into its implementation approach.

From the beginning, the RISE team worked directly with residents, organizing discussions and designing workshops where residents helped shape what would be built and where.

“We spent a lot of time listening,” said Intan Putri, a member of the RISE engagement team. “Residents understand their neighborhoods better than anyone — where water flows, where people walk and what spaces matter most to the community.”

Residents, local leaders and local government stakeholders have been intimately involved in every stage of the design and delivery. Photo by RISE.

In practice, this meant spending weeks inside each settlement working alongside community members. Children, parents, elders and local leaders all participated in conversations about flooding patterns, sanitation challenges and how they move around their neighborhoods.

Through this process, residents helped determine where raised walkways would make movement safer during floods and suggested locations for wetlands, drainage channels and sanitation facilities.

“It is not the planner who decides where infrastructure should go,” explained Ihsan Latief, who works on the infrastructure components with the RISE team. “The community decides that this location is the right place to put infrastructure facilities.”

The results of that collaboration are now visible across the neighborhoods where RISE has worked. Raised pathways connect homes to main city roads, while wetlands and drainage improvements manage water where flooding once pooled. These interventions also reflect local customs and everyday life. Wetlands are carefully positioned with sensitivity to cultural practices and long-held beliefs about how spaces should be arranged – in some areas placed in front of homes to serve as subtle buffers between their home against spirits. Elements of the sanitation systems align with who residents feel most comfortable sharing them with. Landscaping, gathering areas and clothes-drying racks were included at residents’ request, supporting their daily routines.

Residents are also trained to monitor the sanitation systems, maintain vegetation and care for shared infrastructure. Programs such as KePoLink, a network of community environmental champions, help maintain communication with city agencies and strengthen residents’ engagement with local government.

“We involve the community so that after construction is complete, they understand the system and can maintain it themselves,” said Ikram, a senior engineer with the project. By combining local knowledge with technical expertise, RISE turns infrastructure into something communities recognize as their own.

Deep involvement of community members throughout the process strengthens community ownership of new landscapes and infrastructure. Photo by RISE.

Building Partnerships that Last

For these improvements to endure, collaboration with the Makassar city government has been just as important as collaboration with communities.

From the start, RISE worked closely with municipal agencies including the Department of Public Works, wastewater authorities and district-level leaders. City officials contributed to community engagement, helped address land tenure questions — often a major challenge in informal neighborhoods — and began preparing for long-term maintenance of the infrastructure.

The goal was to ensure that RISE would not remain a short-term pilot but become part of the city’s broader approach to upgrading informal settlements.

RISE supports the transition of operations and maintenance to municipal staff through trainings and capacity-building workshops. Photo by RISE.

Responsibility for maintenance of RISE infrastructure is now transitioning to the City of Makassar. RISE is training city personnel on the interagency collaboration that’s required for operations and management. This is supplemented by toolkits developed by the RISE team and ongoing collaboration through a city-RISE working group.

RISE has also introduced “visual contracts,” developed with communities and city agencies, that translate technical plans into accessible illustrations outlining responsibilities for building, using and maintaining infrastructure. This helps ensure that everyone understands how systems work and who is responsible for their care.

Together, these partnerships help ensure that the new pathways, wetlands and sanitation systems remain part of Makassar’s urban future long after the RISE project’s initial phase.

Bridging Research and Real-World Change

The difference RISE has made in these communities is measurable. The project is anchored in a randomized controlled trial across 12 settlements in Makassar. Six settlements received infrastructure upgrades while six served as comparison sites, allowing researchers to measure how environmental improvements affected health outcomes over time.

Using this approach — a method more commonly used to evaluate vaccines and medicines — for urban infrastructure is rare. Informal settlements are complex environments where no two neighborhoods are exactly alike, making it difficult to identify comparable sites and maintain consistent research conditions.

The RISE team tracks environmental and health indicators to monitor how project interventions influence public health. Photo by WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities.

Despite these challenges, the trial is generating valuable evidence. Researchers track water quality, environmental contamination and health indicators to better understand how improved sanitation, drainage and nature-based infrastructure are influencing public health.

For Makassar and other cities facing similar challenges, this evidence is critical for influencing policy. By demonstrating measurable health outcomes, RISE strengthens the case for investing in climate-resilient, community-led infrastructure in informal settlements.

A New Model for Urban Transformation

The impact of RISE is already extending beyond the settlements where it began. In Makassar, the city government has identified 30 additional informal settlements as priority sites for future upgrades (not including the six comparison settlements that were part of the initial experiment and will be upgraded as well) and is exploring ways to integrate RISE approaches into long-term planning and infrastructure budgets.

At the same time, the model is being adapted in other coastal and island cities. Demonstration sites in Suva, Fiji, are applying RISE’s community-led design and nature-based sanitation systems.

The project’s methods are also informing the Citarum Action Research Program in West Java, Indonesia, where RISE-inspired strategies are being used to improve sanitation and waste management for communities living along the heavily polluted Citarum River.

What is spreading is not only technology, but process: the community-involved design methods, governance tools and evidence-based approach that allow communities, researchers and city governments to work together to improve environmental health.

As Ramirez-Lovering noted, infrastructure alone cannot transform informal settlements. “What matters is designing systems that communities understand, trust and can care for over time.”

In Makassar, that idea has begun to take root. Raised pathways, wetlands and drainage systems now move water differently through neighborhoods that once flooded with contamination. But perhaps the most important shift is how these settlements are experienced and understood by residents. Rather than obstacles to development, they are becoming places where new models of climate resilience, public health and community-led urban change are being tested and forged.

RISE’s Makassar project was selected as one of five finalists for the 2025-2026 WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities, which celebrates projects and initiatives catalyzing healthy cities. The Grand Prize Winner, which will be selected by an independent jury and will receive a $250,000 grand prize, will be awarded on April 20, 2026.

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In Makassar’s informal settlements, community-led design and nature-based infrastructure are turning flood-prone neighborhoods into healthier, safer places to live.

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