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Fixing Central Africa's Water and Power Challenges Starts with Restoring Nature

sarah.brown@wri.org — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:59:53 +0000

Fixing Central Africa's Water and Power Challenges Starts with Restoring Nature sarah.brown@wri.org Mon, 06/08/2026 - 12:59

From smallholder farms in Africa to the busy streets of Bogota, communities are reshaping the way the world designs its cities, uses energy and produces food. These examples show not just what could work, but what already does. Learn more about the series.

Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, sits where Lake Kivu drains into the Ruzizi River along the border with Rwanda. The city's steep hillsides turn heavy rains into fast-moving runoff that overwhelms drains, damages roads and threatens downstream communities.

It's a growing challenge across the Ruzizi Basin, a watershed spanning nearly four times the area of Greater London (about 6,000 square kilometers). Rapid in-migration, driven in part by people fleeing armed groups, is accelerating urbanization beyond what infrastructure and public services can support. As cities expand, paved surfaces replace forests, intensifying runoff and erosion. Informal settlements, timber extraction and inadequate waste management systems add further pressure.

In 2020, floods in the Ruzizi Basin killed at least 38 people, damaged 15,000 homes and displaced 75,000 residents. Damage to water infrastructure also disrupted water supplies for about 200,000 people. Erosion and waste flowing into the Ruzizi River are also affecting hydropower infrastructure and performance.

Amid these pressures, Bukavu is turning to nature. Since 2023, WRI Africa's Cities4Forests team and local partners have supported a range of interventions, from restoring riverbanks and planting trees — yielding 50 hectares of restoration — to building a neighborhood recycling network. Together, these efforts are helping strengthen climate resilience in a region routinely disrupted by conflict while offering lessons for rapidly urbanizing watersheds across sub-Saharan Africa.

Three Interventions for One Watershed

Bukavu’s nature-based solutions efforts are taking shape across three interventions:

• Stabilizing the slopes that feed the Ruzizi I Dam
• Greening the inner city
• Turning plastic waste into livelihoods

Each targets a different point along the same watershed system.

Upstream of the Ruzizi I Dam, planting native vegetation has stabilized slopes and riverbanks, reducing soil erosion, landslide risks and sediment runoff into the Ruzizi River, while involving local communities in land stewardship.

Urban greening efforts have restored trees and green spaces in priority locations along avenues, recreation areas and roundabouts. This helps cool public spaces and reduce flood risks in nearby neighborhoods.

Plastic recycling initiatives have helped improve waste management, reducing debris in rivers and drainage systems. Plastic waste is collected and transformed into usable products that generate income for local communities.

As Central Africa rapidly urbanizes, cities across the Ruzizi Basin can use nature-based solutions to reduce flood risks and protect water systems, helping communities become more resilient.

Stabilizing the Slopes and Banks Above the Ruzizi I Dam

Upstream of the Ruzizi I hydropower reservoir, deforested hillsides — driven by the growth of informal settlements and household tree cutting for fuelwood — have accelerated erosion. Heavy rains wash sediment into gullies and waterways, degrading water quality and clogging the reservoir. Because the Ruzizi I Dam supplies electricity across the region, these impacts can also affect power reliability. Storage capacity in the reservoir fell from 1.7 million cubic meters in 1989 to 700,000 cubic meters in 2015, a decline of more than 58%.

To slow sediment flow at its source, restoration efforts have focused on priority rivers, gullies and ravines. Along riverbanks and erosion hotspots, native trees, shrubs and grasses with deep root systems have been planted to stabilize soil and reduce runoff.

Bare slopes increase the risk of sediment flowing into rivers, as well as landslides and flooding. Restoration efforts have helped stabilize the land and reduce these risks. Photo by WRI Africa

Community engagement has been central to the project's long-term maintenance. The initiative worked with the DRC's National Electricity Company (SNEL), local associations and families of military personnel living in a government-owned housing settlement to identify priority areas for intervention. Families responsible for maintaining the restored land were trained in agroforestry and land management practices, helping turn the effort into a locally managed stewardship model rather than a one-time planting campaign.

Since 2023, more than 30 hectares of land have been restored, more than 31,000 trees have been planted and more than 1,000 part-time restoration jobs have been created for women and youth. The restored vegetation is already helping reduce sedimentation and landslide risks for nearby communities while protecting the long-term performance of the hydropower reservoir.

Local community member in Camp Saio neighborhood of Bukavu prepares land for tree planting along the steep slopes near the Ruzizi I Hydropower Dam. Photo by Elie Hakizumwami/WRI Africa

Greening the Inner City

Informal growth and tree clearing haven't only affected Bukavu's hillsides. The city center has also steadily lost green cover in parks, roundabouts and road medians. The result is a hotter, dustier urban environment, with more stormwater running off paved surfaces and into drainage systems poorly equipped to handle the city's growing population. Areas that were once planted and shaded have become bare, compacted ground.

To help restore urban green cover, efforts focused on priority public spaces across the city, including avenues, recreation areas and traffic roundabouts. Native tree species suited to local conditions were selected for each site. Municipal teams received training in urban greening and tree maintenance, while residents helped care for newly revitalized public spaces.

Move the slider to compare the Major Vangu Roundabout in November 2023, before restoration, and January 2025, after efforts to restore green cover.

Since 2023, more than 20 hectares of degraded urban ecosystems and public green spaces have been restored, including tree plantings along 13 kilometers of avenues and renewed vegetation in recreation areas and traffic roundabouts. More than 200 municipal employees and community members have also participated in the effort through full- and part-time work.

A nursery in Bukavu of native plants that will be used to restore the city's bare hillsides and watershed. Photo by WRI Africa

These investments help cool streets and public spaces, improve air quality and absorb stormwater before drains overflow, reducing flood risk for communities along the Ruzizi River.

Turning Waste into Livelihoods

Poorly managed solid waste is a major cause of blocked drains and polluted waterways in Bukavu and across the Ruzizi Basin. Limited waste collection services mean plastic and other debris often accumulate in streets and open spaces, where heavy rains wash them into rivers and drainage systems. The waste clogs drains, contaminates water supplies and worsens flooding during storms.

To help break this cycle, community-led recycling initiatives have expanded waste collection and plastic reuse in several neighborhoods. In partnership with the recycling social enterprise Plastycor, local women and youth were trained to collect and transform plastic waste into products for resale, including waste bins, fishing platforms and household items. Participants then shared these skills with others in their communities, expanding the program through a community-based train-the-trainer model.

A participant of the Plastycor recycling network stands next to plastic waste collected from the river and the local landscapes. Photo by WRI Africa

The initiative reached 709 community members, including 406 women and 303 young people, creating income opportunities while helping reduce waste in waterways and public spaces.

For Yvette Nshangalume, a Plastycor trainee living in Bukavu’s Ibanda neighborhood, the benefits are both environmental and social. “Our work is helping keep our neighborhoods clean and safe by reducing waste,” she said.

Why This Approach Works in a Conflict-Affected Context

Population displacement and conflict-driven economic insecurity have strained municipal capacity across eastern DRC. While nature-based solutions cannot replace stable governance or public infrastructure, they can still be effective under difficult conditions because they rely on locally available materials, phased implementation and community participation. Projects such as riverbank restoration, urban greening and erosion control can be carried out gradually, maintained locally and adapted as conditions change.

In Bukavu, this adaptability was tested directly. Much of the 50 hectares of urban greening and restoration near the Ruzizi I Dam was implemented during the resurgence of the M23 rebellion in 2025. Despite security constraints, local planting and maintenance efforts continued, demonstrating that community-led restoration can persist through instability while helping protect critical water and energy systems.

Scaling Efforts Across the Basin

Bukavu's experience highlights how cities across the Ruzizi Basin can use nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk, protect water systems and safeguard hydropower infrastructure. Similar approaches could also help rapidly urbanizing cities in Burundi and Rwanda facing growing pressures from erosion, flooding and informal growth.

Sustaining these efforts over the long term will require financing for maintenance, restoration and local stewardship programs. Blended finance — combining municipal funds, national programs and impact capital — could help scale nature-based solutions while reducing flood risk, lowering water treatment costs and improving energy reliability.

As climate pressures and urban growth intensify across the region, Bukavu's restoration efforts offer one example of how cities can better protect communities most exposed to flooding and infrastructure failures, both in the DRC and across the basin.

About the Project

Cities4Forests helps municipal leaders accelerate nature-based solutions from concept to scale. Through its Green-Gray Infrastructure (GGI) Accelerator, Cities4Forests provides technical assistance across the project development cycle — from feasibility to financing and from pilot implementation to replication — alongside policy support, peer learning and investor engagement.

The work in this article was made possible with funding support from the Caterpillar Foundation and DANIDA.

Graphics by Sara Staedicke

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Restoring the bare hillsides of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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In conflict-affected Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, nature-based solutions are reducing flooding, protecting hydropower dams and creating green jobs, providing lessons for rapidly urbanizing cities across sub-Saharan Africa.

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New Data Shows What’s Driving Forest Loss Around the World

shannon.paton@wri.org — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000

New Data Shows What’s Driving Forest Loss Around the World shannon.paton@… Thu, 06/04/2026 - 08:30

Thanks to satellite data, we know how much forest the world is losing, and where. But that’s only part of the story.

Unless we know what’s driving tree cover loss, it’s impossible to know if it’s permanent or temporary; what the impacts are for people, nature and climate; and the solutions to keep forests standing. That’s where new data comes in.

Developed as part of a collaboration between WRI and Google DeepMind and available on Global Forest Watch, the new data provides a more detailed picture than ever before on the local, regional and global causes of tree cover loss. It reveals that 34% of tree cover losses worldwide from 2001-2025 were likely the result of permanent land use change, meaning trees won’t grow back naturally. This percentage nearly doubles in tropical primary rainforests, with 60% of loss likely associated with permanent land use change.

However, the drivers of tree cover loss — and their long-term impacts on forests — vary widely by region and require different solutions. Better understanding them can help aid in the conservation of these critical ecosystems.

Different Drivers of Tree Cover Loss Have Different Impacts

Not all types of tree cover loss are deforestation, or the permanent conversion of forests to other land uses. Some loss can be temporary, though the time it takes for forests to regrow and their condition after regeneration may vary.

About the Data

Researchers at Land & Carbon Lab, Global Forest Watch (GFW), and Google DeepMind developed a new dataset that maps the dominant drivers of forest loss at 1 kilometer resolution from 2001-2025. The new data was developed using an advanced AI model that uses satellite imagery and additional biophysical and population data to predict the dominant driver of tree cover loss. The higher resolution of the new data and the addition of more driver classes, like hard commodities and other natural disturbances, makes this data set the most detailed view of what’s causing forest loss yet. Learn more from Global Forest Watch.

Our analysis found that drivers of tree cover loss likely to cause deforestation — which include “permanent agriculture,” or the removal of tree cover for agricultural activities; “hard commodities,” like mining for minerals or metals and energy infrastructure; or development of settlements and infrastructure — accounted for 34% (182 million hectares) of all tree cover loss globally from 2001-2025. Approximately 94% of this was permanent agriculture, which was associated with the loss of 172 million hectares of trees from 2001-2025, an area of land larger than Mongolia. In tropical primary rainforests, specifically, drivers likely to cause deforestation accounted for 51.8 million hectares, an area larger than Thailand.

Drivers more likely to cause temporary loss include logging, such as cyclical harvesting in timber, pulp, or wood fiber plantations and clearcut or selective logging of natural forests; shifting cultivation, a type of rotational agriculture where forests are temporarily cleared for cultivation and then abandoned to allow regeneration; wildfires; and natural disturbances like landslides or insect damage. These drivers of temporary loss accounted for 66% of total tree cover loss, or 359 million hectares.

Deforestation often has more severe impacts compared to temporary disturbances, including permanent loss of carbon stocks, profound habitat disruption and loss of ecosystem services. But the impacts of temporary forest disturbances from both human and natural causes can vary widely. Although forests may regrow following these disturbances, they may experience degradation or changes to forest structure and species composition. For example, logging — particularly in primary or old-growth forests — can lead to biodiversity and carbon losses. Some natural disturbances that cause tree cover loss, such as when trees are knocked down due to storms, changing rivers or landslides, can be cyclical features of a forest’s ecology and have ecological benefits. But when these events are more extreme, they can profoundly alter the condition of the ecosystem.

And the lines are blurry. In many cases, climate change has contributed to increasing the extent, frequency or severity of many “natural” disturbance events, including wildfires and pest outbreaks, compromising forests’ overall condition.

Drivers of Tree Cover Loss Vary Around the Globe.

Within this global picture, there are large regional differences in what’s driving tree cover loss.

Long-term loss of tree cover for permanent agriculture can encompass a wide range of dynamics, from small-scale to industrial-scale agriculture, and can include perennial tree crops, pasture or other seasonal crops. Permanent agriculture is the predominant driver of tree cover loss in Latin America and Southeast Asia, accounting for 72% and 65%, respectively. Expansion of agriculture is fueling deforestation of tropical forests in these regions, and can be associated with various underlying dynamics, such as international, regional or local demand for agricultural products, land speculation or land tenure insecurity.

For example, in Bolivia, the majority of tree cover loss is attributed to permanent agriculture (55%, or 5.8 million hectares from 2001-2025), largely due to the expansion of pasture and soy. Government policies have incentivized the expansion of commercial agriculture in recent years, with commodities like soy increasingly exported to neighboring countries in South America, as well as consumed domestically. The expansion of Mennonite colonies, accompanied by large-scale farming, has also played a role.

Local communities in the tropics have practiced shifting cultivation, a form of subsistence farming, for centuries. Forests under these systems typically undergo periods of recovery after temporary cultivation, allowing for soils and forests to recuperate. Shifting cultivation is the main driver of tree cover loss in Africa, accounting for 50% of loss, followed by permanent agriculture, which accounts for 42%.

In places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the majority of shifting cultivation occurs in secondary forests; however, research shows that growing populations are increasingly expanding to new areas to clear forests for food and fuel. Shifting cultivation drives 83% of tree cover loss in DRC, or 18 million hectares from 2001-2025. Of this, 6.9 million hectares of loss occurred in valuable primary forests that were not previously a part of the cultivation cycle, representing a more fundamental change in land use with long-term ecological impacts.

Tree cover loss from wildfire may occur due to natural causes, such as lightning, or may be related to accidental or deliberate human activities¹. In temperate and boreal forests, wildfire is the leading driver of tree cover loss. Wildfire accounts for 63% of tree cover loss in Russia/the Asian mainland and 57% of forest loss in Australia and Oceania. In North America, wildfire and logging account for 52% and 43% of tree cover loss, respectively.

In many fire-adapted forests in these regions, periodic wildfires are a natural part of ecosystem dynamics and support ecosystem health and biodiversity. However, the warming and drying effects of climate change are increasing fires’ frequency, length and severity, which in turn increases fire-related GHG emissions in a fire-climate feedback loop. These effects are evident in places like Russia, where 74% of tree cover loss from 2001-2025 can be attributed to wildfires, or 68 million hectares.

Logging can include harvesting cycles in managed forests or timber, wood fiber, or pulp plantations, as well as clear-cut or selective logging of natural or semi-natural forests. It also includes establishment of logging roads and other forest management activities, such as forest thinning or salvage logging. In Europe, logging drives the large majority of tree cover loss, accounting for 90%.

For example, in Sweden, a heavily forested country, the routine harvest of timber caused 98% of all tree cover loss from 2001-2025 (6.3 million hectares). Sweden is one of the largest producers of wood products globally, including pulp, paper and other sawn wood products. After trees are harvested, they are replanted or allowed to naturally regenerate, meaning that tree cover loss is temporary and generally balanced by regrowth in managed cycles.

Some Drivers Have Outsized Impacts in Specific Locations

Other drivers such as hard commodities, settlements and infrastructure, and other natural disturbances represent a very small proportion of tree cover loss globally, but are important drivers in certain regions.

For example, while hard commodities — which include artisanal to large-scale mining and energy infrastructure like oil drilling — comprise slightly less than 1% of all tree cover loss globally, they’re an important driver in places like Peru, Latin America’s largest gold producer. Both legal and illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining are widespread throughout the country and can cause long-lasting and acute impacts, especially in Indigenous and local communities. For example, in Madre de Dios, Peru, tree cover loss due to hard commodities comprised 30% of all tree cover loss from 2001-2025 (125,000 hectares), mainly in biodiverse tropical primary forests. Gold mining is one of the top economic activities in this region, but has also negatively affected people’s health due to mercury exposure.

While other natural disturbances such as storms, floods and pests represent only 1.6% of all tree cover loss globally, they can have a substantial impact on forests in certain places.

For example, bark beetles are a native insect in North American conifer forests. However, over the past three decades, severe outbreaks fueled by climate change have occurred across North America, Europe and Russia, threatening the health of these regions’ forests. In the United States, Colorado’s forests have been extensively impacted by bark beetle outbreaks, with natural disturbances representing 26% of all tree cover loss there from 2001-2025 (140,000 hectares). While forests can recover following pest outbreaks, research finds that when wildfires occur in the first few years after a severe outbreak, conifers may not be able to recover, shifting forests’ species composition as they become dominated by different tree species that are able to successfully regrow.

Different Drivers of Forest Loss Require Different Solutions

Because the natural and human management dynamics behind the drivers of tree cover loss differ across regions, there is no single solution to eliminate deforestation or degradation and sustainably manage the world’s forests. However, this new data provides accurate, spatially detailed and globally consistent information to support policymakers, land managers, researchers and others in identifying the causes of disturbances and the most appropriate interventions.

The most effective mix of policies and management interventions will vary according to the local context:

Permanent agriculture: When deforestation is associated with international agricultural supply chains, direct interventions such as voluntary corporate commitments and demand-side regulations like the E.U. Deforestation Regulation can play an important role in reducing pressure on the world’s forests. Measures that reduce growth in global demand for land-intensive commodities, such as shifting high-meat diets towards plant-based foods, can also help. However, strengthening forest and land-use governance, including granting property rights to Indigenous communities, is also critical, particularly when deforestation is tied with domestic demand for agricultural goods, land speculation, land tenure insecurity and conflict or organized crime. When tree cover loss is associated with permanent smallholder agriculture, policies should support vulnerable farmers and their livelihoods.
Shifting cultivation: While shifting cultivation is often a temporary forest disturbance, the environmental and livelihood impacts of this practice are highly dependent on context. Policies should balance food security with forest conservation objectives, carefully considering the social, economic and environmental context in these landscapes, as well as the potential impact of alternative management systems.
Wildfires: Managing wildfires and mitigating wildfire risk in a changing climate can involve a variety of strategies depending on the type of forest ecosystem, including fuel management, wildfire monitoring, land and fire management practices, improving capacity to respond to wildfires, and more.
Logging: In managed forests or timber plantations, managing rotation cycles and tree species diversity can improve health and resilience of these forests and enhance carbon sequestration. In primary forests and those with high conservation value, establishing protections and preventing illegal logging within existing protected areas through enforcement or traceability systems can help ensure these areas are protected for years to come.
Hard commodities: Protecting forests and nearby communities from expansion of hard commodities requires a number of strategies, including establishing land and resource rights, monitoring and enforcement, and demand management, among others.
Settlements and Infrastructure: Managing or preventing tree cover loss associated with settlements and infrastructure expansion will require consideration of forests and trees in land use and urban planning, ensuring that residents can benefit from the ecosystem services that trees provide, as well as promoting higher-density, livable cities to curb urban sprawl.
Other natural disturbances: Ensuring long-term forest health after a natural disturbance will be highly dependent on the type of event. Interventions to reduce the risk of insect outbreaks or diseases and/or promoting natural recovery or restoration following disturbances are some options.

It is also important to consider that local land use dynamics are shaped by global market forces. In a globalized economy, sustainable management of the world’s resources as a whole is crucial for our collective future. This new data provides a sharper picture of our progress toward global goals to end deforestation — but to meet them, we must effectively address the underlying causes of tree cover loss.

Download country data Explore the Map

This dataset has been updated since the original publication to include tree cover loss from 2023-2025.

The authors would like to acknowledge The Sustainability Consortium, who contributed to the early stages of this research.

Data visualization by Sara Staedicke.

Footnotes

¹The wildfire class includes tree cover loss due to fire with no visible human conversion or agricultural activity afterwards. Forest clearing for agriculture that involves the burning of vegetation are included under the relevant agricultural class (permanent agriculture or shifting cultivation). ‘Runaway’ or ‘escaped’ fires that are started as part of the process to clear vegetation for agriculture but spread into surrounding forests that are not cleared for agriculture are included as wildfire.

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Data on Global Forest Watch reveals that 34% of tree cover losses worldwide from 2001-2025 were likely the result of permanent land use change, meaning trees won’t grow back naturally. This percentage nearly doubles in tropical primary rainforests, to 60%.

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RELEASE: WRI Appoints Eric Garcetti to Global Board of Directors

darla.vanhoorn@wri.org — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:51:39 +0000

RELEASE: WRI Appoints Eric Garcetti to Global Board of Directors darla.vanhoorn… Wed, 06/03/2026 - 11:51

WASHINGTON (June 3, 2026) — World Resources Institute (WRI) today announced that Eric Garcetti, Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy at C40 Cities, former U.S. Ambassador to India and former Mayor of Los Angeles, has joined its Global Board of Directors. Garcetti has spent decades advancing climate action, urban resilience and international cooperation — from leading one of America’s largest cities to diplomatic missions and global climate negotiations. He joins WRI's Global Board as the organization deepens its work to support country and community transitions that advance people, nature and climate together.

Currently serving as C40's Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy, Garcetti helped mobilize cities, states and regions to accelerate climate action and strengthen international cooperation ahead of COP30 in Brazil. Previously, as chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, he spearheaded the Cities Race to Zero initiative through which more than 1,000 cities committed to zero-carbon goals ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.

Garcetti spent nearly a decade as Mayor of Los Angeles, where he led major efforts to expand infrastructure, raise wages, widen access to education and advance one of the country’s most ambitious urban sustainability agendas. He then represented the U.S. as Ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025, helping deepen cooperation on climate, energy, trade and other shared priorities between two of the world’s most important economies.

Throughout his career, Garcetti has worked at the intersection of policy, implementation and partnership-building, building experience that aligns closely with WRI's mission to help governments, businesses and communities turn ambitious goals into real-world progress.

“What sets Eric apart is that he has never treated climate as a standalone issue,” said Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO, WRI. “He has spent his career demonstrating that climate action isn't just good for the planet — it creates jobs, strengthens infrastructure, improves public health and makes economies more competitive. That is precisely WRI's message, and he brings the track record to match.”

“As a mayor, a diplomat and a climate negotiator, I've learned that ambition alone doesn't move the needle — you need solid data, practical tools and the right people at the table,” said Eric Garcetti, Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy at C40 Cities. “I have long admired WRI for its unique ability to deliver all of those things, giving leaders what they need to act with confidence. I'm honored to help champion and amplify that work as a member of WRI's Global Board.”

Garcetti was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and the London School of Economics. He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and co-founded Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network of more than 700 U.S. mayors committed to advancing local climate action.

“During Eric's tenure as Mayor of Los Angeles, his climate commitments were visible on the ground — particularly his efforts to direct green economy investments towards communities that had long been left behind, said Gloria Walton, Member of WRI’s Global Board of Directors and President & CEO of The Solutions Project.” That track record of translating climate ambition into action is what WRI needs on its Board.”

Find the full list of WRI's Global Board Directors here.

About World Resources Institute:
WRI works to improve people’s lives, protect and restore nature and stabilize the climate. As an independent research organization, we leverage our data, expertise and global reach to influence policy and catalyze change across systems like food, land and water; energy; and cities. Our 2,000+ staff work on the ground in more than a dozen focus countries and with partners in over 50 nations.

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How Might a ‘Super El Niño’ Affect Food, Forests and Water?

shannon.paton@wri.org — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:49:10 +0000

How Might a ‘Super El Niño’ Affect Food, Forests and Water? shannon.paton@… Tue, 06/02/2026 - 15:49

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), or El Niño, weather pattern occurs naturally every two to seven years, making some parts of the world drier and others wetter. But this year’s El Niño is shaping up to be a different beast.

Scientists predict an increasingly likely “Super El Niño,” where ocean temperatures in the Pacific rise higher than 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) above average and alter atmospheric conditions more than usual. The result could be stronger, more persistent impacts around the world in the form of droughts, floods, cyclones, extreme heat and more.

While Super El Niños occur roughly every 10-15 years, the effects of this year’s event could be amplified by current conditions. For one, warmer, drier and more erratic conditions fueled by ongoing climate change could exacerbate El Niño’s impacts. The last 11 years have been the warmest on record. And two, food systems around the world already face strains from the U.S.-Iran war and its resulting fuel and fertilizer shortages.

Here, WRI experts answer questions on what a Super El Niño could mean for water, food and forests — as well as how communities can prepare for the impacts.

Water Woes May Intensify

Featured Expert:

Liz Saccocia,

Water Security Associate

How might a Super El Niño affect the water supply?

El Niño causes shifting atmospheric patterns that can cause floods in some regions and droughts in others. While impacts can be tricky to predict, areas expected to experience drought this year include the Caribbean, Central America, northern Brazil, central and northern India, central and southern Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia. These conditions could reduce water availability, strain agriculture, and increase pressure on reservoirs and groundwater.

At the same time, El Niño can also bring above-average rainfall and flooding to other parts of the world. According to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), areas that may experience wetter conditions this year include the southern United States, parts of Peru, Ecuador, eastern Africa and parts of the Middle East and Central Asia. Increased rainfall may temporarily replenish reservoirs and improve water supplies in some places, but it can also overwhelm infrastructure and increase flood risks.

A Super El Niño could intensify extreme weather impacts, leading to more severe storms, flooding and drought than a typical El Niño event. Regions already vulnerable to water stress may experience sharper declines in water availability. Flood-prone areas could see more damaging rain.

How can communities best prepare for El Niño-related water shocks?

Because forecasts can provide advance warning, governments and organizations have opportunities to prepare for droughts and floods.

During the 2023–2024 El Niño, for example, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) supported anticipatory actions such as repairing and constructing irrigation systems, strengthening flood protections, and providing cash transfers so families could evacuate before floods occurred. Additional interventions included distributing drought-resilient and short-cycle crop seeds to help farmers adapt to changing conditions.

These kinds of early actions can help communities protect water supplies, reduce economic losses and improve resilience to future climate shocks.

Featured Expert:

Mike Badzmierowski,

Manager for U.S. Agricultural Policy

Climate Change and War Could Heighten El Niño’s Impacts on Food Systems

How do El Niños affect food production?

We know El Niño affects food production because it can alter global atmospheric circulation, influencing temperatures, precipitation, drought, flooding and storms around the world. Our understanding of food production linked to El Niño and other major climate patterns is still in its infancy. We know ENSO matters, but there’s a lot of uncertainty, and impacts tend to vary considerably around the globe.

What we can say is that El Niño has historically shifted food-production risk across regions. Some places benefit, some are harmed, and the global average effect can hide severe local impacts.

El Niño-induced droughts can cause food losses in some places — most concerningly, in areas that are rainfed, low-income, import-dependent and already food-insecure. For example, some regions in Southern Africa have generally experienced reduced cereal production during El Niño events due to drier and hotter growing seasons, leading to increased import needs. But the size of the impact depends on local rainfall, heat, crop calendars, starting soil moisture, government response, markets and whether other climate patterns such as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) reinforce or offset the El Niño.

How could the Super El Niño be different?

If a strong to very strong El Niño does occur, it may differ from past events in one very important way: It would be happening in a hotter world. The last 11 years have been the warmest on record. That matters because a warmer baseline can make the same climate shock more damaging. Higher temperatures can make the atmosphere thirstier, pulling more moisture from soils and plants. This can dry out soils and crops faster, worsen heat stress for crops and livestock, and make droughts more damaging even when rainfall deficits are similar to past El Niños.

This overall warming trend also complicates areas that might receive more rain. More precipitation does not always mean more usable or stored water. A recent paper in Nature shows that more concentrated precipitation can actually reduce terrestrial water storage. If rain falls in more intense bursts, more of it may pool on the surface and then evaporate before it replenishes soil and groundwater. So farms in places that receive more intense rain during an El Niño event may not necessarily be any more resilient than drier places.

Given the current shortages of fuel and fertilizer due to the U.S.-Iran conflict, how might the Super El Niño impact food systems?

The Iran-U.S. conflict-related fuel and fertilizer disruptions matter because they reduce resilience. A strong to very strong El Niño would raise the risk of drought, heat, flooding, pasture stress, fisheries disruption and regional crop losses in certain parts of the world. Those risks become more serious when farmers have fewer tools to respond.

Fertilizer has become less available and less affordable as the war on Iran has continued to disrupt energy markets, shipping and fertilizer trade. Fuel is critical across the food system, from nitrogen fertilizer production to farm equipment to refrigeration, shipping and transport of agricultural products. If fuel and fertilizer prices remain high, farmers may plant less, apply less fertilizer, or struggle to move food where it’s needed, exacerbating food insecurity. A potentially historic El Niño would layer drought, heat or flooding risks onto an already fragile system, increasing the likelihood that high costs turn into real food shortages.

Even after El Niño fades, its effects could linger through the food system. Reduced fertilizer use, poor harvests, livestock losses, higher debt and depleted household savings can affect the next planting season. So, if the U.S.-Iran conflict continues to disrupt fuel and fertilizer markets, it could worsen the effects of a likely El Niño by adding food price and input-cost pressures in the places least able to absorb them.

How can you make food systems more resilient to El Niño and other shocks?

Now more than ever, global cooperation is needed to provide food and aid when local and regional shocks occur — be they related to weather, geopolitics or both. There is also a longer-term need to reduce the drivers of climate change that increase risks to the food system in the first place. In agriculture, that means reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food production and deforestation, even while providing more food for a growing population. On the consumption side of the equation, it is essential to reduce food waste and meat consumption (especially beef) in places where it is high and shift toward more plant-centered diets. We also need to use more of our finite cropland, water and fertilizer for food. A significant and growing amount of global agricultural land, water and fertilizer is devoted to producing food crops for fuel, such as corn for ethanol and soybeans for biodiesel. This becomes harder to justify in a world where climate shocks increasingly threaten food security.

A Super El Niño Could Trigger More Damaging Forest Fires

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What is the relationship between El Niños, forests and climate change?

Ongoing human-caused climate change is the most important driver of increased forest fires globally over the last decade. El Niño amplifies the effects of climate change by shifting rainfall patterns and raising global temperatures, bringing hotter, drier conditions and increased fire risk to some regions while exposing others to above average rainfall and flooding.

Of these impacts, fire poses the greatest threat to forests and the carbon they store. In areas where El Niño brings drier, warmer conditions, it lowers ignition thresholds and accelerates the spread of accidental, intentional and naturally ignited forest fires. The resulting fires can cause damage that takes decades to recover from and release enormous amounts of carbon that accelerate climate change, triggering a dangerous cycle that makes forests even more vulnerable to fire. Beyond fires, climate warming amplified by El Niño-related drought degrades forest health and makes trees more vulnerable to insects and pathogens.

El Niño's relationship with forest fires varies considerably by region. The clearest, most consistent pattern is in South America, where El Niño tends to reduce rainfall during the wet season, leaving the subsequent dry season even more arid and fire-prone. This is particularly true in the Amazon, where forests are not well-adapted to fire. The two most recent strong El Niño events, in 2015-2016 and 2023-2024, both produced record-breaking fire seasons in Brazil. In both 2016 and 2024, fires burned more than 2.3 million hectares of forest in Brazil — more than 4 times the annual average from 2001 to 2025, according to data on WRI’s Global Forest Watch platform.

El Niño also tends to bring drier, hotter conditions to Southeast Asia and Australia, elevating fire risk. Impacts in these regions are more variable and influenced by other cyclical climate phenomena like the Indian Ocean Dipole, which can either amplify or dampen the influence of El Niño on forest fires. A strong 2023-2024 El Niño also contributed to Canada’s warmest winters on record, thinned snowpack, and dry weather in the fall, leading to the country’s record wildfire season of 2023.

When it comes to forest fires, what might we expect this year with the potential Super El Niño?

Even before a potential Super El Niño fully develops, we are likely to see elevated fire activity in 2026. The year is on track to be one of the warmest on record. Hotter, drier conditions will increase fire risk even in the absence of a fully established El Niño.

Forest fire activity in South America is likely to be elevated in 2026 as El Niño develops, but the most severe impacts typically lag by about a year. Potentially record-breaking forest fire activity in the Amazon is most likely in the second half of 2027, when reduced wet season rainfall leaves the following dry season even more arid and fire-prone.

Elevated fire risk is also likely in Southeast Asia, Australia and Canada later this year and into 2027. El Niño tends to bring hotter, drier summers and reduced winter snowpack to Canada, as seen during the record 2023 fire season. In Southeast Asia and Australia, impacts will depend in part on how other climate phenomena like the Indian Ocean Dipole interact with El Niño.

Although global climate change and El Niño-related drought facilitate the spread of fires in forests, logging, mining roads and expanding agriculture are often what cause fires to ignite in the first place.

How can we counteract El Niño’s potential impacts on forest fires?

Cutting carbon emissions and reducing deforestation remain the most important long-term solutions to reduce climate change and wildfire danger. Limiting roads, logging and land clearing in intact natural forests may help to reduce fire ignition and prevent wildfires.

Closer collaboration between local governments and Indigenous communities is also critical, with research showing that Indigenous-led land stewardship and community-based fire management can help reduce fuel loads and lower wildfire risk. Finally, national programs for fire management, fire prevention and public education are critical to prevent catastrophic forest fires, but remain underfunded and underdeveloped across much of the world. Early warning systems and satellite-based fire detection technology, such as the fire alerts on Global Forest Watch, can also help enable faster responses in under-resourced regions.

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Designing a Better Jet Fuel Could Start with Corn Husks

shannon.paton@wri.org — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:10:05 +0000

Designing a Better Jet Fuel Could Start with Corn Husks shannon.paton@… Tue, 06/02/2026 - 14:10

After every harvest season, U.S. corn fields lay strewn with husks, leaves and stalks — waste left behind after corn kernels are collected. Some farmers feed these leftovers, known as “stover,” to animals, or use it as a natural fertilizer. But much of it goes underutilized.

New WRI research shows that this corn stover could be put to better use by helping reduce emissions in one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize — aviation.

The Future of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in the Midwestern United States Finding: Alternatives to Crop-Based Biofuels

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Making Jet Fuel from Corn Stover Can Meet Growing Demand without Contributing to Climate Change

The price of conventional jet fuel made from crude oil recently doubled after the war on Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, tightening global supplies. But the race to develop alternatives to petroleum jet fuel predates the war for a different reason: the need to clean up the industry’s pollution. The aviation industry already accounts for 2.4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, a figure projected to triple by 2050 as demand for air travel grows.

Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize. Unlike in electric vehicles, batteries are currently too heavy to work for most flights. The world will need clean alternative fuels, alongside increases in aircraft efficiency, operational improvements and, ultimately, new propulsion technologies to make flying more climate-friendly.

Some governments have responded with measures such as the U.S. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) tax credit and the EU’s SAF mandate. But not all alternative jet fuels are actually sustainable. Growing conventional bioenergy crops, such as corn and soy, to produce fuel could divert millions of acres of prime farmland away from food production while only supplying a small share of jet fuel demand. Doing so would not only hike up food prices, it would drive deforestation in other parts of the world to satisfy the demand for food. In other words, some “sustainable” aviation fuels will actually produce more emissions over their entire lifecycle than traditional fossil-based jet fuel!

Our research finds corn stover to be a better alternative — for both people and the planet.

An estimated 90 million tons of corn stover is available every year after accounting for the fraction that should be left on fields to maintain soil health. This is more than enough to produce 3 billion gallons of truly sustainable fuel, an amount that would meet short-term U.S. SAF targets and satisfy about 10% of U.S. jet fuel demand.

Making jet fuel from corn stover is a win-win: It turns underutilized waste into an energy resource without expanding our agricultural footprint. Moreover, using stover can reduce airplane emissions by 75% or more compared to planes powered by fossil fuel. This is in sharp contrast to converting vegetable oil or corn ethanol into jet fuel, the primary approaches currently being pursued in the United States.

Corn Stover Fuels Could Create Jobs and Other Economic Benefits

And it’s not just the climate that would benefit. A corn stover SAF industry could support jobs in the U.S. Midwest, a region also known as the Corn Belt, at a time when rural areas of the U.S. are experiencing lagging incomes and job growth. Moreover, it could help struggling farmers by providing another income source.

According to our research, investing in 3 billion gallons of corn stover SAF production per year could support as many as 99,000–214,000 jobs. This includes jobs for constructing and operating new SAF facilities, jobs that are indirectly connected to SAF production up and down the supply chains (such as manufacturing jobs to build equipment used in SAF facilities), and service jobs like restaurant workers, which are generally supported by more economic activity. (These numbers don’t account for the possibility that investing in SAF could shift some jobs away from other industries.)

This number of jobs would support $7 billion-$15 billion in labor income and contribute $9 billion-$32 billion to the region’s GDP, which is used as a general indicator of economic health. Additionally, this level of economic activity would support $4 billion-$10 billion in tax revenue for the region.

The potential contribution from a 3-billion-gallon-per-year corn stover SAF industry to the Midwestern economy is comparable to that of corn ethanol, an industry with great support. But importantly, it would come without the negative impacts on the climate and food production.

However, these economic impacts will only be possible with a concerted effort to invest in new technologies. WRI research estimates that the capital investment needed to make a 3-billion-gallon-per-year industry a possibility ranges from $39 billion-$131 billion.

This is because the technologies for turning corn stover into jet fuel are nascent and not yet cost-competitive with conventional jet fuels. But the gap is narrowing as traditional fuel prices spike from geopolitical conflicts like the war on Iran, making new forms of SAF more attractive to investors and airlines alike.

How to Make Corn Stover Fuels a Reality

Corn stover’s potential to reduce emissions and support the regional economy won’t be realized without policy support for research and development as well as deployment incentives.

Research is already underway to determine the best technology options for harnessing corn stover in aviation. Some technologies are more developed, like alcohol-to-jet facilities that can take advantage of existing ethanol industry infrastructure. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can more efficiently convert stover into jet fuel. Other technologies, like power-to-liquid or power- and biomass-to-liquid, have more potential to scale and become cost-effective, but need significant research and development to mature. Another option doesn’t entail converting waste into jet fuel, but would instead compensate for aviation emissions via corn stover carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

Our research shows that there is no silver bullet technology. Rather, policy should support research and development of a diverse portfolio to understand which technologies have the most potential.

Governments can also help channel more investment into corn stover fuels to help reduce costs as the industry scales, all the while creating a more stable fuel supply for airlines. The U.S. could, for example, mandate that airlines purchase low-carbon SAF or CDR. Regardless of the type of policy, support should be limited to only those SAF pathways that take advantage of wastes like corn stover or use e-fuels made using additional renewable energy, to ensure true sustainability.

Securing a Better Jet Fuel

Airlines need to find alternatives to petroleum and cut their emissions. Turning waste into fuel is a great way to start.

Corn stover is the U.S.’s most abundant agricultural waste. A stover-based SAF industry can help contribute to our energy security, reduce aviation emissions, and support the economy of the Corn Belt.

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Restaurants Are Using Behavioral Science to Promote Plant-based Eating — and It’s Working

shannon.paton@wri.org — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:16:00 +0000

Restaurants Are Using Behavioral Science to Promote Plant-based Eating — and It’s Working shannon.paton@… Mon, 06/01/2026 - 12:16

A growing body of evidence shows that eating more plants has lots of benefits — for both human and environmental health. For example, a 2025 EAT-Lancet report found that widespread adoption of plant-heavy diets would prevent approximately 11 million premature deaths annually while cutting agricultural emissions in half.

But while most people acknowledge these advantages, vegetarian and vegan diets are still a hard sell. Fortunately, the science on how to change this is getting clearer, too.

WRI’s Food Service Playbook, which synthesizes findings from nearly 350 academic studies and was tested with 49 industry experts, shows that a few targeted changes to dining environments can significantly influence what people choose to eat. What we see is that when the food purveyors offer an exciting variety of protein choices, people are more willing to explore plant-based options while eating out. Tactics such as shifting menu compositions, featuring plant-rich dishes prominently, and taste-focused naming conventions can subconsciously steer diners toward more sustainable choices.

WRI’s Coolfood initiative works directly with food service providers to put these techniques into practice. These companies are employing behavioral science techniques to nudge diners toward more planet-friendly choices — and in many cases, it’s working. Customers are purchasing more plant-forward meals, while food service providers are reducing their carbon footprint and often saving money in production costs.

Here, we examine how a few leading food providers are boosting uptake of plant-based options.

Meet the Unicorn Burger

A burger chain might be the last place you’d expect to find exciting plant-based options. MAX Burgers is flipping the script.

The popular Swedish restaurant chain was concerned about the planetary impact of serving only beef burgers, so it set a goal to make plant-based burgers an enticing part of the menu. The numbers speak for themselves: In 2014, non-beef meals made up only 16% of sales; by 2024, that figure rose to 48%.

A major factor is a menu strategy that treats plant-based burgers with the same level of sophistication and innovation as their beef counterparts. The company offers 15 meat-free meals, supported by creative ingredients and marketing campaigns that pique customers’ curiosity. A prime example is the Unicorn Burger, featuring an Impossible Meat patty, gochujang-mayo, and packaging complete with a horn. Or there’s the Smoky BBQ Impossible burger, with pickled red onion and onion rings inside the bun.

MAX Burger's Unicorn Burger features an Impossible Meat patty, gochujang-mayo and packaging with a horn. Photo from MAX Burger

A wide variety of exciting choices and slick marketing are only part of the puzzle. MAX’s plant-based offerings are designed to match the taste of their beef counterparts, and, critically, they’re priced the same. This expansion has also helped MAX attract new customer segments, including vegetarians, who might otherwise have avoided the chain.

“Our guests really have the opportunity to choose the tastiest burger for the same price – whether they are choosing beef, plant-based beef or veggie,” said Kai Török, chief sustainability officer at MAX Burgers. “We ensure that our plant-based and veggie options are not more expensive than their meat counterparts.”

Lower-impact Lasagna

Have you ever tried to convince a kid to try a new food? It’s a task most parents dread, but the culinary team at ISS, which services hundreds of school cafeterias, didn’t back down from the challenge. This year, the global caterer rolled out new recipes in 350 U.K. primary schools.

The company realized that some of its most popular school lunches such as lasagna and spaghetti bolognese came with a hefty planetary impact. Beef is one of the most resource-intensive proteins to produce, using 20 times as much land and generating 20 times more greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based proteins like beans. ISS set out to make its recipes more sustainable without taking away well-loved meals.

Staff started by swapping 30% of meals’ ground beef for lentils, creating a 70-to-30 beef-to-lentil blend. Before launching the blended beef recipes, the ISS culinary team tested them in select schools to ensure the taste, flavor, texture and appearance were similar to the original dishes. They found this required a specific type of lentil: individually quick frozen (IQF) lentils. These lentils are fast to prepare and mirror the texture of ground beef.

The end result was a triple-win for ISS: The new recipe helped achieve a 28% reduction in the company’s per-plate emissions in the U.K. and save 30% on production costs compared to the original lasagna and spaghetti bolognese dishes. And most importantly, the food provider is able to serve a healthy meal that kids still love.

Reimaging World’s Most Famous Meatball

Most people know IKEA for its furniture, but the company also sells a lot of food. With restaurants in more than 400 locations across the world serving over 665 million people each year, IKEA is a popular place to eat — especially for its iconic Swedish meatballs. So when IKEA decided to develop a plant-based meatball recipe, the “plant-ball," leaders knew it had to live up to high standards.

“Texture and aroma play a vital role in recreating meat-based foods with plants, because diners already know what a hot dog or meatball should taste and feel like,” said Daniel Yngvesson, IKEA’s food designer. “When developing plant-based versions, we have to meet those expectations using completely different ingredients, which makes getting the texture right even more important.” To pull this off, they supplemented a pea protein base with onion, potatoes, apple, mushrooms, tomato, and savory seasonings like allspice to recreate the texture and umami flavor of meat.

IKEA's "plant balls" have helped the furniture chain reduce is food-related emissions by 11%. Photo by IKEA

The attention to detail is paying off. Since launching the plant-ball in 2020, IKEA has seen demand for the product increase 1% year-over-year. FY25 marked a pivotal shift: Sales of beef meatballs declined for the first time ever, while plant-ball sales boasted record growth. Beyond boosting sales, the plant ball has also helped IKEA achieve an 11% reduction in food-related emissions since joining the Coolfood initiative in 2018.

Popularizing Plant-Based Meals

These stories showcase a commitment to culinary innovation and creativity that has created enduring and appealing options for diners.

As climate change continues to affect what crops and animals can be produced and how much they cost, food businesses that invest in serving climate-friendly ingredients are helping build a more sustainable world. The future of food is starting to look (and taste) a lot more interesting.

Learn More About WRI’s CoolFood Initiative

WRI’s Coolfood initiative works with food service organizations to measure and reduce their food-related emissions through plant-rich menu strategies. To learn more or become a member, visit coolfood.org or follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates.

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Public Transit Is Struggling to Keep Pace with Aging Populations

alicia.cypress@wri.org — Wed, 27 May 2026 13:25:36 +0000

Public Transit Is Struggling to Keep Pace with Aging Populations alicia.cypress… Wed, 05/27/2026 - 09:25

As people live longer and more independently, many are finding that their city transportation systems are difficult to navigate: bus schedules don’t match the times they go out, payment platforms are harder to use or they’re physically unable to board buses or access subways.

This challenge is particularly urgent in China, where the aging population is rising rapidly. By 2035, 32% of the country’s population is projected to be 60 years or over; by 2050, that percentage is expected to increase to 40%.

In Beijing, the share of residents 60 years or older doubled between 2010 and 2024, where more than 16% of people are 65 years or older. Meanwhile in other major cities around the world — like Busan, South Korea; Osaka and Tokyo, Japan; Singapore; Helsinki and Barcelona — aging populations are also rising and confronting similar challenges.

By 2100, the global population 60 and older is projected to reach nearly 30%, marking a permanent shift to an aging society. This transformation is particularly acute in China, where the older population is expected to hit 52% by 2100.

In Beijing, the share of older residents doubled between 2010 and 2024, with more than 24% who are 60 years or older.

Transportation Habits of Beijing’s Older Adults

Public transportation systems are often built around working populations, offering increased service during morning and afternoon rush-hour commuting with lighter availability during the middle of the day, late evenings and weekends. But WRI’s study of Beijing’s rapidly growing population of seniors 60 years and older shows that even in retirement, older adults do not retreat from daily travel.

Instead, their average number of trips remained the same or slightly increased. Their behavior, however, shifted away from peak commuting hours, with late morning (after 9 a.m.) emerging as the most common travel window — mainly for leisure and grocery shopping, as well as for school pickups and other errands.

Compared to working and school-age populations, older adults tend to make shorter trips within their local neighborhood but the kinds of transportation they use is more diverse.

Between 2010 and 2024, walking was the most common way to travel across all generations in Beijing. Among older adults, private e-bike use grew sharply in recent years, suggesting a demand for a more comfortable, flexible and “point-to-point" convenient travel. Though older adults' total absolute bus ridership increases, buses have become less attractive option among their choices. This reflects some service, design and infrastructure barriers in the bus system that make it less age-friendly. The use of private cars, taxis and ride-sharing services also saw minor increases among older adults. Of all transportation options, the subway remained the least appealing, largely because of overcrowding and the lack of fare discounts.

Together, these trends highlight the need to move beyond basic accessibility toward inclusive, age-friendly public transportation systems that prioritize convenience, comfort, safety and service quality — especially for those with declining physical abilities — while supporting active aging and social participation.

Mobility Barriers in Beijing’s Transportation System

Some of the biggest public transportation barriers for aging populations we observed in Beijing are around service, street design and the digital platforms that are supposed to make navigating transit systems easier. They not only impact aging adults, but many other riders — especially people with disabilities. In fact, infrastructure that fails older adults can often create mobility bottlenecks for the broader public, including parents with strollers, travelers carrying heavy luggage and tourists navigating the city for the first time. By addressing these gaps, cities can enhance transportation for all residents, regardless of their physical ability or familiarity with the system.

Public Transportation Service and Design

Field studies in Beijing show that many bus stops could further improve age-friendly infrastructure — such as seating and weather shelters — as waiting for the bus to arrive can sometimes be physically demanding. Also, functional ramps or wheelchair lifts are still lacking throughout the bus system, making boarding difficult for people with physical limitations.

Boarding buses can sometimes be challenging for older adults without ramps or lifts. Photo by WRI.

Coordination between bus stops and street design could be further optimized. For example, many older stations face rigid physical limitations where the platform width is insufficient to support both furniture, like benches, while passengers move by. To guarantee safe movement and evacuation for elderly and vulnerable commuters, cities must prioritize unobstructed transit corridors, temporarily leaving no room for seating areas until smarter, integrated street designs are deployed.

Service reliability and the availability of real-time arrival information could likewise be further strengthened, helping to reduce uncertainty for passengers while waiting.

Challenges extend beyond bus service to subways, which are often crowded and more difficult to navigate. For example, some subway stations may lack elevators, require steep stair climbs to reach trains, involve long walks between transfer points and offer few places to sit — all of which can affect comfort and convenience for older riders. And unlike buses and ride-hailing, subways currently do not offer fare discounts for older travelers.

The Digital Divide

The rapid shift toward smartphone-based information and payment systems is creating a digital divide among older and younger generations. There’s a mismatch between fast-evolving technology and the physical/cognitive realities of aging, such as declining vision and reduced finger dexterity. This may also result in seniors experiencing more anxiety over privacy leaks or accidental mobile payments when interfaces change before they can adapt. As traditional services like manual ticketing and in-person inquiries fade, those who are less digitally confident are not just inconvenienced, they are increasingly left in a service vacuum in modern transportation systems where technology becomes a barrier rather than an enabler.

More seating areas and weather shelters around Beijing's bus stops can make waiting for the bus safer and more comfortable for aging populations. Photo by TkKurikawa/iStock.

How Can Cities Adapt to a More Age-Friendly Public Transportation?

Assessing a city’s public transportation system for age inclusivity requires placing older adults — as well as other vulnerable social groups such as people with disabilities — at the very center of the decision-making process. Their direct participation and voices must be included in every stage — from the early development of transport policies to the technical design of urban spaces and digital services. Integrating their experiences is as vital as the technical factors themselves. City planners should equally consider the following core elements:

Infrastructure inclusiveness, which evaluates whether older travelers can safely and comfortably complete the full physical journey. This includes walkway accessibility around bus and subway stops, waiting conditions (e.g., availability of seats, shelters and information displays), and on-board facilities (e.g., ease of step-free boarding and adequate priority seating).
Service satisfaction that reflects older passengers’ perceived experience, including accessing transportation, information and facilities while waiting, in-vehicle safety, comfort and service quality, as well as overall operations, including transfer convenience, service frequency and route accessibility.
Health benefits, which evaluates three critical areas of well-being: 1) active mobility, integrating transit with walking and cycling infrastructure — with unified payment and information systems — to encourage physical activities; 2) healthcare access, ensuring older adults easily reach hospitals and care facilities; and 3) social connectivity, expanding access to parks and community hubs to foster mental well-being through increased social participation.

By studying Beijing, we found some clear recommendations that cities can deploy to build a more inclusive public transportation system.

Public transportation service and street design should incorporate age-friendly infrastructure — such as weather shelters with seating at bus stops and functional boarding ramps on buses — to ensure the entire trip is accessible for people with limited mobility. Bus stops should also be designed to coexist with sidewalk trees and landscaping, leaving room for benches and waiting areas and offering shade to waiting passengers, while still allowing buses to pull flush to the curb and avoid dangerous boarding gaps.

For subway systems, a “silver-path” (a navigation system dedicated for older adults, that includes high-contrast, large-font floor decals and tactiles that provide direct, barrier-free routing to elevators and exits) should be installed. This will help reduce the physical pressures and cognitive overload that some seniors experience while navigating crowded stations. Subway systems should also include rest points and improve vertical accessibility by including continuous, stair-free routes — such as elevators, ramps and lifts — that allow people with mobility or physical limitations to move independently between different floor levels and reduce long walking distances. Finally, subway fare policies should align with bus services by offering standardized senior discounts, ensuring that cost does not become a secondary barrier to choosing a safe transit option.

Financially, the transportation system’s funding operations must be restructured so that government subsidies shift away from merely covering the operating losses of low-performance providers. Instead, performance-based incentives should be used to reward transit companies that proactively provide superior facilities and operational services tailored to the needs of older travelers.

To bridge the digital divide, public transport must adopt an inclusive design and a hybrid service model. Digital interfaces should be simplified into “senior modes” that feature high-contrast visuals and intuitive layouts to accommodate declining vision and dexterity, while also incorporating robust privacy safeguards to alleviate anxiety over mobile payments. Simultaneously, a combined digital and manual system is essential to support those less digitally confident. This includes maintaining traditional communication channels like telephone hotlines and community bulletins, alongside on-demand bus services accessible by phone. By integrating user-friendly technology with essential human-centric support, the system can ensure that technological advancement enables independent travel. Finally, collaborating with local communities and organizations to offer training that educates seniors on cybersecurity, data privacy, and online safety risks, will build the trust necessary for them to use digital services confidently.

Looking Forward: A City for All Ages

As cities prepare for the future and as their populations age, defining urban success must include a transportation system that moves from basic access to inclusive dignity.

Studying Beijing teaches us that an age-friendly public transportation system should solve both traditional infrastructure and service barriers, and bridge the digital divide that older generations might face — especially in the face of new artificial intelligence technologies.

WRI researchers Hua (William) Wen and Thet Hein Tun contributed to this article.

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In cities like Beijing with aging populations, design and infrastructure changes can help make public transit systems more accessible.

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Rwanda’s Food Waste Could Feed Millions. Small Businesses Are Showing How.

sarah.brown@wri.org — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:22:11 +0000

Rwanda’s Food Waste Could Feed Millions. Small Businesses Are Showing How. sarah.brown@wri.org Tue, 05/26/2026 - 15:22

Every year, nearly half of Rwanda’s food supply goes uneaten.

Inadequate food storage and processing, spoiled harvests and household waste result in a 40% loss of the country’s total food production every year, equal to 12% of its GDP. In Kigali alone, household food waste accounts for 164 kilograms per person per year (361 pounds). In a country where 19% of households are food insecure, this is a staggering loss.

Beyond exacerbating food insecurity, food loss and waste carry significant environmental and economic costs. Resources such as land, water and energy are used to produce food that is never consumed, while farmers and businesses lose potential income. These inefficiencies directly affect smallholder farmers — the backbone of Rwanda’s food system.

And Rwanda isn’t alone. Post-harvest losses are a persistent challenge across Sub-Saharan Africa. Reducing food loss and waste can help ensure that growing populations don’t go hungry. One emerging solution is “circular food systems.”

What Are Circular Food Systems?

Instead of the traditional “produce–use–discard” approach, circular food systems are designed to keep resources in use for as long as possible, regenerate natural systems and minimize waste at every stage. Agricultural byproducts can be repurposed into new products. A coffee company, for example, can supply coffee pulp (the flesh removed from around the coffee bean) to a mushroom producer, where it becomes the nutrient mix on which mushrooms grow. Waste streams can also be transformed into valuable products such as compost, animal feed or fuel.

Circular food systems also reduce losses before they happen. This can be through better storage, improved post-harvest handling and more efficient logistics along the supply chain.

For Rwanda, transitioning to a circular food system can unlock new products and business models, create jobs and improve food security. Small businesses are at the center of this transition in Rwanda. Working with WRI’s Circular Food Systems for Rwanda (CIRF) project, they are transforming what was once considered waste into value.

Kigasali Coffee Company: Turning Husks into Revenue and Fertilizer

Kigasali Coffee Company in Kigali has been processing coffee for both local and international markets since 2016. Like most companies in coffee processing, Kigasali generates large quantities of coffee husks, the dry outer shells of the coffee beans removed during the hulling, or “deshelling,” stage.

Coffee husks account for approximately 12% to 15% of the total weight of coffee cherries, and Kigasali produces up to 500 metric tons of coffee husks annually. In most cases, these husks are sold cheaply to brick manufacturers, who use them as an additive in brick production. But more can be gained from the company’s waste.

With support from CIRF, Kigasali’s staff began to look at its operations differently, identifying multiple points in its process where waste could be turned into value. The company started producing cooking pellets from coffee husks, producing over 5,000 kilograms of eco-friendly cooking fuel. Within two months of launching its fuel pellet initiative, it generated approximately $1,000 from selling the pellets – extra revenue from materials that previously had little value. For a small business in Rwanda, that can represent a significant additional income stream.

Coffee husks being prepared for pellet making. Photo by KTG Strategy/WRI

Kigasali has also started producing organic fertilizer from coffee pulp through vermicomposting (a process that uses worms to break down organic matter into fertilizer). It also produces biogas from coffee waste, which it also sells, and treats wastewater so it can be reused in coffee processing. These initiatives are aimed at enhancing soil fertility, improving coffee productivity and reducing environmental impacts along the value chain.

“Waste is no longer waste, but a resource,” said Consolee Niyigena, Kigasali's project manager.

Africa Food Supply (AFS): Extending Crops’ Shelf Life

Africa Food Supply (AFS) produces fruits and vegetables for local markets across Rwanda. However, much of it is highly perishable and often goes to waste. Supported by CIRF, the company developed new ways to reduce post-harvest losses while creating new food products. AFS is now transforming some of its fresh crops into longer-lasting products such as pineapple juice, ginger tea, banana bread, sweet potato muffins and pancakes. By creating products with a longer shelf life, the company can reduce waste, reach new markets and buy more consistently from local farmers, helping provide them with a more reliable income.

“We now use our own fresh produce to create new products,” said Serge Ganza, the owner of AFS. “For example, we promote the orange-fleshed sweet potato, which we were accustomed to eating only boiled. Today, we have begun producing bakery items such as cookies and bread from it. This is true value addition.”

An Africa Food Supply employee tends to tomatoes. Photo by KTG Strategy/WRI

AFS is also tackling organic waste through composting. The company mixes leftover produce such as pineapple pulp with other food waste from their restaurant and coffee shop, repurposing the waste into animal feed and organic fertilizer, which it both sells to farmers and uses to grow more fruits and vegetables. Trials are also underway to safely convert human waste into compost.

From Business Practice to System Change

These businesses are not operating in isolation. Rather, they are part of a broader shift taking place across Rwanda.

The country has been steadily building a policy ecosystem that supports circular economy approaches. The national Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation puts strong emphasis on promoting circular economy models and de-risking investment in the sector.

And in November 2024, Rwanda’s Standards Board adopted two international circular economy standards to guide how circular practices are applied and measured. Businesses and regulators in Rwanda now have clear, globally aligned guidelines to help them adopt circular approaches. Without these standards, Rwandan businesses producing circular products could not credibly distinguish themselves in the market, certifiers had no common basis on which to assess them, and policymakers had no shared way for tracking progress. These changes signal that reducing food loss, improving soil health, and reusing resources are part of Rwanda’s core development strategy. For businesses and investors, this sends a strong message: Circular solutions are a national priority worth investing in.

Barriers to Adopting Circular Food Systems

Despite progress, challenges remain.

Finance remains a key constraint. Many businesses are still too small or early-stage to qualify for conventional bank loans. At the same time, adopting circular practices often requires upfront investment in equipment or process changes, which can be difficult without access to credit. Targeted financial solutions, including dedicated circular economy funds, blended finance mechanisms and loan products tailored to small businesses can help.

Certification and market access also present significant barriers. For businesses like Golden Insect, which produces vermicompost, it’s been difficult to grow. Owner and director Xavio Imbabazi says that Rwanda’s fertilizer certification process is prohibitive for organic compost producers like him because the lengthy and bureaucratic standards can’t easily be met by a small-scale producer. This is holding his company back from expanding by limiting investment and market access.

Xavio Imbabazi, owner of Golden Insects, inspecting compost at his farm. Photo by KTG Strategy/WRI

CIRF’s multi-stakeholder platform is giving small and medium-sized businesses like Golden Insect access to policymakers to raise these obstacles and work with them toward practical solutions. For example, a coalition formed through the platform developed certification guidelines for organic fertilizers and soil amendments in 2025, designed to accommodate small producers.

Sustaining progress will also require longer-term support structures. Establishing a permanent circular economy hub for agribusiness in Rwanda could be one solution, providing ongoing access to technical assistance, peer learning and market information, while also embedding circular economy concepts into vocational and higher education systems.

With policy foundations already in place, the next step is translating them into increased investment and alignment, moving circular approaches from pilot initiatives to broader, system-wide adoption.

Building a Circular Food System that Works

The experience in Rwanda shows that circular food solutions are not theoretical. They are practical, profitable, and already being implemented by small businesses. With the right support — technical, financial and institutional — circular food systems could help reshape how Africa produces, processes and values food.

Circular Food Systems for Rwanda (CIRF)

CIRF is funded by the IKEA Foundation and led by WRI in partnership with African Circular Economy Network (ACEN), Cleaner Production and Climate Innovation Centre (CPCIC), Resonance, and African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA). Since 2021, CIRF has been working with SMEs and the Government of Rwanda to demonstrate circular solutions that can work in real businesses.

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Women sorting coffee at Kigasali Coffee Company

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The Ocean Can Play a Much Larger Role in Fighting Climate Change

margaret.overholt@wri.org — Fri, 22 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

The Ocean Can Play a Much Larger Role in Fighting Climate Change margaret.overh… Fri, 05/22/2026 - 08:00

The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent. The last 11 years have been the hottest on record, negatively affecting health, economies and ecosystems.

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

Research commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy found that ocean-based climate solutions can deliver over a third of the annual emissions cuts needed in 2050 to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F), a globally agreed target to avert the worst outcomes from climate change.

These solutions, such as offshore renewables and restoring mangroves and other “blue carbon” ecosystems, are ready to implement and economically viable today. Data shows that investing $1 in key ocean actions can yield at least $5 in global benefits, often more, over the next 30 years. They can also produce multiple co-benefits including job creation, habitat protection, food security and others.

But while investments in a sustainable ocean economy are profitable, finance for these solutions has been largely lacking. For example, less than 1% of global development funding goes to the ocean. Meanwhile, analysis shows that while 90% of coastal and island nations’ new climate plans (known as “nationally determined contributions,” or NDCs) include at least one ocean action, they’re largely missing solutions with the most potential to reduce emissions and generate new economic opportunities.

Here are seven key opportunities for ocean-based climate action that can deliver substantial emissions cuts alongside social, economic and environmental benefits for coastal communities:

1) Expanding Ocean-based Renewable Energy

Ocean-based renewable energy is a major area of opportunity, with ready-to-implement solutions including offshore wind as well as floating solar and tidal power. Ramping up offshore renewables could slash greenhouse gas emissions by up to 3.60 gigatonnes per year in 2050 — more than the E.U.’s emissions in 2021. Increasing deployment of renewables will also be critical to meeting global energy demand as the world works to increase electricity generation while phasing out coal and other fossil fuels.

This potential is more than theoretical. Investment in ocean-based renewables is already increasing. Global pledges in offshore wind now bring targeted deployment to up to 2,000 GW, enough to power approximately 1.5 billion homes annually by 2050.

Certain countries are leading by example. Norway, for instance, is home to the world’s largest fully operational floating offshore wind park, Hywind Tampen. It has also allocated areas for 30 GW of offshore wind power production by 2040 and announced a competition for offshore wind production in two areas on the Norwegian continental shelf: Sørlige Nordsjø II (3,000 MW) and Utsira Nord (1,500 MW). China currently leads the world in offshore wind capacity, with over half of all operational turbines.

Wind turbines are assembled in Stord, Norway for delivery to a floating wind park. Increased use of offshore renewable energy is one of the most impactful ways to leverage the ocean for climate change mitigation at a global scale. Photo by teaa1946/iStock

To accelerate this transition at a global scale, countries must drastically increase their targets to augment the share of renewable power in the energy mix. They must also provide a stable and clear economic and regulatory framework to stimulate investments in supporting infrastructure for ocean-based energy. This includes reducing barriers in scaling up offshore wind turbines (both fixed and floating), as well as investing in new, innovative ocean-based energy sources, such as floating solar photovoltaics, wave power and tidal power. These technologies can help meet the world’s energy needs while minimizing harm to marine life.

2) Reducing Emissions from Ships

The international shipping industry carries about 80% of the world’s trade between nations; if counted as a country, it would be among the world’s 10 largest emitters.

While some progress has been made to decarbonize ocean-based transport over the last decade — primarily through energy efficiency measures such as redesigning and refurbishing ships to reduce fuel use — reducing the sector’s impact will require much more investment in both existing and emerging low-carbon shipping solutions.

Shipping companies must increase operational and logistical efficiencies, such as reducing the speed of vessels and taking weather conditions into account when planning routes. This can help save fuel and money. At the same time, companies and governments will also need to step up investments in new zero-emission fuel technologies, such as those made from hydrogen and ammonia, as well as supporting infrastructure like fuel storage and processing facilities. Taken together, these solutions could lower shipping emissions by up to 2 gigatonnes per year in 2050, equivalent to taking over 400 million cars off the road every year, while providing jobs.

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Net Zero Framework aims to set a global fuel standard that requires ships to gradually reduce their pollution, as well as a pricing mechanism that will charge a fee on the greenhouse gases ships emit. Countries have yet to adopt the IMO’s Net Zero Framework after it was strongly opposed by the U.S. government in October 2025, but talks are set to resume in late 2026. Without this regulatory framework in place, shipping decarbonization is unlikely to fulfill its emissions-reduction potential.

3) Conserving and Restoring Coastal and Marine Ecosystems

Healthy “blue carbon” ecosystems such as mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes are powerful carbon sinks. They can store up to 5 times more carbon per area than tropical forests and absorb it from the atmosphere about 3 times as quickly. This makes them an important — though often overlooked — ally in tackling the climate crisis.

Beyond their ability to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere, these ecosystems also offer myriad co-benefits, particularly in vulnerable coastal areas. They sustain economies through fisheries and tourism, provide crucial habitat for diverse marine species and help enhance freshwater quality, all while buffering coastal communities from the impacts of increasingly extreme weather like cyclones.

Students plant mangrove seedlings in Situbondo, Indonesia. Protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows can increase carbon removal and storage while helping protect nearby communities from climate impacts. Photo by Sam maulidna/Shutterstock

However, blue carbon ecosystems are disappearing at a rapid pace, driven by the “coastal squeeze” between climate-driven impacts (including sea level rise and extreme weather) and development of coastal areas. Action to address this degradation has been woefully inadequate.

Efforts to conserve, restore and sustainably manage blue carbon ecosystems can significantly reduce emissions, equivalent to shutting down 76 coal-fired power plants per year by 2050.

4) Expanding Sustainable Seafood

As the global population rises, so, too, will the need for food. The ocean can play a key role in meeting this need with a wide range of sustainable seafoods. Algae, fish and shellfish require fewer resources to produce than options like beef and lamb. Incorporating these “blue foods” into global diets not only diversifies protein choices, but could also reduce global emissions by up to 1.47 gigatonnes per year in 2050, comparable to removing 393 coal-fired power plants annually.

If well managed, global blue food production could sustainably grow by roughly 30–75% by mid-century, almost entirely from low-impact aquaculture and rebuilt fisheries, while delivering major nutrition and climate benefits.

However, while consumption of these foods is common in some cultures, awareness of their environmental and health benefits remains limited at a global scale. Prices are also sometimes prohibitively high for consumers. Governments and the food industry can do more to raise awareness, send clear policy signals (such as subsidizing these foods), and invest in the right enabling environments.

Farmers tend to a large seaweed farm in Jangheung-gun, South Korea. Ocean-based foods such as seaweed and fish are often less resource-intensive and more sustainable than land-based protein options like meat. Photo by Stock for you/Shutterstock

Some countries are starting to do this. Australia, for example, is investing AUD $70 million (US $45 million) in the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre. The initiative brings together expertise in aquaculture, marine renewable energy and marine engineering as part of a collaborative effort between industry, researchers and the community. It aims to develop innovative and sustainable offshore industries to increase Australian seafood and marine renewable energy production.

5) Leveraging the Ocean’s Potential for Carbon Removal and Storage

The latest climate science recognizes that, in addition to deep emissions cuts across all sectors, meeting global climate goals will require removing some of the carbon that’s already in the atmosphere. Alongside restoring blue carbon ecosystems which absorb CO2 naturally, ocean-based carbon removal approaches, including marine carbon dioxide removal and carbon capture and storage below the seabed, have sparked interest in recent years.

Carbon capture and storage involves harvesting carbon from the atmosphere through direct air capture or waste combustion and pumping the liquified carbon into chambers below the seabed, where it can be stored permanently. These methods are currently more mature than marine carbon dioxide removal techniques and could provide up to 1 gigatonne of emissions reductions by 2050 if current deployment trajectories continue.

Marine carbon dioxide removal includes a range of techniques. For example, ocean alkalinity enhancement involves adding alkaline minerals into the ocean to alter its chemistry and increase carbon uptake. Ocean nutrient fertilization spurs massive algal blooms that may absorb huge amounts of carbon. These strategies show promise, but are currently only at early stages of development. Prior to scaling marine carbon dioxide removal, thorough research on the ecological and socio-economic impacts must be conducted, in addition to addressing policy and governance questions.

While research into ocean-based carbon removal technologies should be accelerated, it should not be a reason to delay solutions that are already viable and ready to implement today, such as offshore wind, marine ecosystem conservation, and increasing low-carbon seafoods.

6) Decarbonizing Ocean Cruises

Coastal and marine tourism represents at least 50% of total global tourism. It constitutes the largest economic sector for most small island developing nations and many coastal ones, and it’s the largest single-employment sector in the ocean economy. While critical to these countries’ economies, cruise tourism is also a considerable polluter: One recent study found that a large cruise ship can have a carbon footprint greater than 12,000 cars. Cruise ships also emit other pollutants besides carbon dioxide — such as sulfur oxides, nitrous oxides and particulate carbon — that can harm marine ecosystems and human health.

A large cruise ship sails off the coast of Portugal with dark fumes emitting from its smokestack. Cruise ship pollution is harmful not only to the climate but also to human health and marine ecosystems. Photo by Amra Pasic/Shutterstock

Efforts to reduce emissions from ocean tourism should start with improving the efficiency of ships, such as through net-zero fuels and decreasing ship resistance in the water. Policies promoting fuel efficiency and the use of alternative fuels (such as liquefied natural gas and other bio and synthetic hydrogen-derived fuels) are also needed in the longer-term. Successfully decarbonizing cruise tourism could deliver 0.1 gigatonne of emissions-reduction potential by 2050, equivalent to the annual emissions of 251 natural gas-fired power plants.

7) Reducing Offshore Oil and Gas

The world cannot tackle the climate crisis without drastically reducing fossil fuel production and consumption. Phasing down offshore oil and gas offers the largest opportunity for ocean-based climate action, with the potential to eliminate up to 5.30 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases annually in 2050, equivalent to taking about 1.1 billion cars off the road each year. (This assumes that energy demand formerly supplied by fossil fuel generation can be met by a parallel increase in zero-emission energy sources, such as ocean-based renewables).

To help accelerate this transition, governments can withdraw fossil fuel subsidies in countries that currently provide them; enact legislation or regulations to ban routine flaring (a current practice for disposing of large unwanted amounts of petroleum gas); stop new licensing for offshore oil and gas extraction; and invest public finance in energy security and access for the most economically vulnerable communities.

Investing in the Ocean as a Climate Change Solution

These ocean-based climate solutions could potentially exceed one-third of the total emissions reductions needed to meet global climate goals. But perhaps even more compelling is the wide range of co-benefits that come with them — protecting coastal communities from storms, providing jobs, harboring wildlife and improving food security. For example, a recent study shows that employment in the sustainable ocean economy could grow by 51 million “blue jobs” by 2050.

However, these benefits can only be realized if governments and companies alike invest in the technology and infrastructure needed. Securing the ocean’s full emissions-reduction potential will require at least $1 trillion of additional finance between now and 2030, increasing toward $2 trillion between 2030 and 2050. However, the ocean currently receives less than 1% of official development and philanthropic spending. Investments fall significantly short of the estimated $550 billion required yearly to secure long-term ocean health.

We need a strategic shift in investment across each sector to maximize impact. Where finance is already available, such as offshore renewable energy, it needs to be fully directed toward the most impactful solutions. Where funding is scarce, such as for blue carbon restoration and conservation, de-risking, guarantees and blended finance can help make investing in these solutions more attractive.

Research commissioned by the Ocean Panel lays out how these ocean-based climate actions can be fully leveraged. To learn more, see: The Ocean As a Solution to Climate Change: Updated Opportunities for Action.

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A Turning Point for Europe's Seas: How Sustainable Ocean Plans Can Help the EU Ocean Act Succeed

alicia.cypress@wri.org — Thu, 21 May 2026 12:30:11 +0000

A Turning Point for Europe's Seas: How Sustainable Ocean Plans Can Help the EU Ocean Act Succeed alicia.cypress… Thu, 05/21/2026 - 08:30

Europe’s seas are under mounting pressure. From intense fishing and shipping traffic to expanding offshore renewable energy and the urgent need to protect marine ecosystems –– demands on the ocean are growing fast. But, under current governance structures, policies and protections are managed in silos, lacking coherent coordination across competing priorities. This is resulting in cumulative impacts that current systems are ill-equipped to address.

In response, the European Commission launched the EU Ocean Pact last year to create a more unified and strategic approach to governing the national waters of the 22 EU member states with a coastline. As part of this effort, the Commission proposed the EU Ocean Act — a new legal framework intended to help manage Europe’s seas.

The EU Ocean Act offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve how Europe’s seas are governed, looking to improve coherence across marine policies within the regions waters. To do this, the EU created an Ocean Board — of which WRI is a member with other NGOs, trade and business associations, think tanks and academic institutions — to advise on relevant issues and foster dialogue. And the EU has set clear directives around ocean observation and data sharing, marine protected areas (MPAs) and fisheries investments, among others. However, effectively delivering on these goals will require stronger coordination across sectors, policies and member states.

One way to achieve this would be to require all EU countries to develop and implement Sustainable Ocean Plans (SOPs), which bring together maritime spatial planning, fisheries, conservation, shipping, offshore energy and ocean data into a single umbrella framework ensuring 100% sustainable ocean management within a country’s national waters.

Planning for Success

Pioneered by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) and created by its secretariat hosted at WRI, SOPs have already been adopted by 29 countries accounting for over 1.5 million square kilometers (about 580,000 square miles) of ocean. SOPs are supported by practical guidance, including a practitioners’ handbook as well as groups like Ocean Action 2030 that provide the technical and financial assistance for countries to create SOPs.

These plans have also been recognized more widely by key institutions like the Commonwealth’s Ocean Declaration as well as the Political Declaration at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. In parallel, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission launched its first strategy on sustainable ocean planning, embedding the approach in the international scientific community.

Currently two EU members — France and Portugal — are developing or have already published SOPs as part of their commitment as members of the Ocean Panel. As SOPs are already tested and supported internationally, integrating them into the EU Ocean Act would reduce implementation risks while providing a ready-made framework supported by existing guidance, training and national experience.

Examples already exist in-situ where SOPs could clearly help alleviate strains on projects across various EU countries. For example, in the North Sea, countries working through the North Sea Energy Cooperation aim to deploy 300 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2050, yet delivery risks are falling short without stronger cross-border coordination of spatial planning, grid infrastructure and environmental safeguards. At the same time, persistent overfishing in European waters shows how fragmented governance can undermine sustainability despite frameworks like the Common Fisheries Policy.

The Ocean Act could therefore include an SOP-style overarching requirement that would help EU countries across four key objectives:

Governance and Conflict Resolution: SOPs help governments to communicate clearer long-term governance strategies and identify opportunities for cross-border collaboration. A key issue within EU waters is rising competition for space and resources, and insufficient tools to anticipate and resolve them. In sectors like fishing, shipping and tourism, SOPs can help strengthen governance across the ocean economy by reducing fragmented coordination between sectors and integrating existing management tools such as marine spatial plans and MPAs.
Climate and Biodiversity Objectives: SOPs could also help EU countries better align ocean governance with their international commitments, such as the Paris Agreement and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. By embedding these climate and biodiversity objectives directly into marine planning processes, SOPs would enable EU countries to make more climate and biodiversity-smart decisions about how ocean space is used. For example, by identifying suitable areas for offshore renewable energy while safeguarding vital carbon-storing habitats, such as seagrass meadows and salt marshes.

Noting that the ocean is one interconnected system, SOPs would also support the strategic expansion and effective management of MPAs, strengthen ecosystem restoration efforts and help safeguard biodiversity hotspots across Europe’s seas. In doing so, they would ensure that the growth of Europe’s blue economy contributes to climate mitigation, resilience and restoration efforts, rather than placing additional pressure on already vulnerable marine ecosystems.
Sea-Basin Coordination: Europe’s marine ecosystems and ocean industries span across several sea basins, including with non-EU members, making regional cooperation essential. By embedding SOPs within the EU Ocean Act, member states would increase their ability to coordinate ocean management across shared sea basins such as the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

This would support more coherent decision-making on issues such as fisheries management, shipping routes, offshore energy development and marine conservation. By strengthening collaboration at the sea-basin level, SOPs would help ensure that actions taken by one country complement sustainability efforts across the wider region.
Ocean Observations: Managing the ocean sustainably requires reliable data to monitor changes to the ocean ecosystem over time. Implementing SOPs would strengthen the role of ocean observations in EU governance –– increasing capacity to collect data needed to understand the state of the ocean, predict and mitigate the impacts of climate change, enhance the competitiveness of economic activities at sea and contribute to maritime security, by standardizing data collection procedures, monitoring and reporting systems into marine planning and management processes.

A more coordinated approach to ocean data would help reduce fragmentation between national monitoring efforts and sectoral datasets, improving the consistency and accessibility of information used for decision-making. This approach aligns with the EU’s recently announced Ocean Eye initiative, which aims to enhance and integrate ocean observation systems across Europe through improved coordination of satellite data, in-situ monitoring platforms and ocean modelling. SOPs could help further this effort through embedding data baselines, and implementing the monitoring and reporting architecture needed for standardization.

A useful model for how this kind of coordination can work is emerging through the Pacific-led Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity (UBPP) initiative. Bringing together more than 20 Pacific Island countries and territories, UBPP applies a shared regional approach to 100% sustainable ocean management that mirrors the principles SOPs. By aligning national priorities, strengthening regional data systems and fostering collaboration across borders, the initiative is helping the Pacific Islands to manage transboundary challenges such as fisheries, climate impacts and marine conservation more effectively.

This approach highlights how the EU could similarly benefit from embedding SOPs within a regional framework, enabling member states to move beyond fragmented and siloed governance toward a more integrated, cooperative model that delivers stronger environmental outcomes and greater economic resilience.

This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rethink how Europe governs its seas will be crucial to secure the long-term resilience of Europe’s coastal communities, food systems, and clean energy future, while safeguarding the marine ecosystems that provide essential environmental and economic benefits.

Now, the EU must seize this opportunity to position Europe as a global leader in sustainable ocean governance and demonstrate how ambitious ocean policy can deliver for people, nature and the climate.

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