Skip to main content

Business and nations headline WRI's stories to watch in 2015

本文最初出现在WRI博客

As world leaders deal with climate change, aim to lift more people out of poverty and make the world a more sustainable, prosperous place in 2015, here are the top要看的故事, according to WRI’s experts and as presented by WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer on Jan. 8.

1.全球气候交易

2015年12月是目标日期全球协议这将团结所有国家对气候变化的雄心勃勃的回应。但是,这将是什么样的共识?

“这不会是您老祖父的朴素瓦尼拉教科书气候交易。这将比这更有趣。” Steer告诉a packed briefing在华盛顿的国家新闻俱乐部。跟随hottest year on record,2015年开始momentum to limit greenhouse gases, as 38 countries and 23 cities, states and provinces now have a price on carbon dioxide emissions. With emissions higher than at any point in history, keeping the planet cool enough to avoid the worst consequences of climate change is possible only with rapidly reduced emissions and big changes in the energy mix.

美国,欧盟和中国共同占所有温室气体排放的一半,已承诺做更多, but that may not be enough. All nations are expected to make their emissions-cutting commitments known in the first half of the year, and these pledges will send important signals about野心将于12月达成的最终协议。

美国可以在这一问题上领导,并提议将其排放量从2005年的水平削减26%,至2025年。但是,这种减少是否会在很大程度上取决于rules on power plant emissions由美国环境保护署发布。EPA的最终标准将有多强?

2.可持续发展目标

在九月,leaders will gather at the United Nations headquarters to agree on goalsto reduce world poverty while encouraging sustainable development, replacing the Millennium Development Goals that expire this year. While the MDGs helped cut poverty in half from 1990 through 2015, 1.2 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day.

竞彩足球app怎么下载可持续性将是新目标的核心,这是从到期的目标转变。新目标本质上也将是普遍的,反映了世界大国的转移平衡,并具有不同形式的融资。

3.新的行动联盟

“The old government-to-government way of doing things is breaking down quite rapidly,” Steer said. He pointed to public-private partnerships that bring governments, businesses and civil society groups together to make progress on sustainability, climate and other issues. These include the热带森林联盟2020,旨在到2020年减少商品扩张的热带森林砍伐;这市长(PDF), an agreement signed by leaders of 228 cities to cut 13 gigatons of carbon emissions by mid-century; and the纽约森林宣言(PDF),一项致力于restoring在未来15年内,有3.5亿公顷(8.65亿英亩)退化的土地。提供这些联盟和其他联盟遵循他们的承诺, they can tap into the message of the新气候经济报告, making economic growth and environmental sustainability work together.

4. Water risk rising

From the western United States to Brazil to China, water scarcity is a global stressor. WRI’s Aqueduct platform found that 36 countries面对水压力的极端水平。根据最近的科学论文,美国西部正在经历最严重的干旱in 1,200 years. In Brazil, the city of São Paolo is in its最严重的干旱in 80 years,其储层系统降至容量的7.1%。在中国,有90%的沿海城市面临水压力。

私营部门开始做出回应。Brewer Ambevuses3.3升水可生产1升啤酒,比2002年的5升啤酒。麦当劳正在合并渡槽的水风险评估是其供应链。消费产品巨头宝洁计划to reduce water use in its factories by 20 percent per unit of production over 2010, focusing its plans in water-stressed regions. Will other companies and governments follow? Will there be innovative water management policies, such as水价or new efficiency mandates and incentives?

5.印度在聚光灯下

Steer说:“今年,我们不可能做到这一点,而没有关于该国的故事,这可能会经历所有政策上最大的不连续性,即印度。”Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a populist with a bold leadership style and a mandate to drive economic growth for the world’s largest democracy.他表示,他的头几个月将非常活跃,而2015年将是他推进议程的重要时机。

莫迪(Modi)艰巨的任务是确保该国在经济上扩展,同时还应对主要的可持续性和人权挑战。竞彩足球app怎么下载预计到2030年,印度的城市人口将翻一番;同时,3亿仍缺乏电力,该国的煤炭使用和空气污染继续增长。

莫迪政府计划在明年在100个智能城市投资12亿美元,资金来自私人投资者和国外。政府也有承诺将增加30倍的太阳能,到2022年安装100吉瓦。实现这些目标将需要大量投资和对低碳增长的承诺。印度将在全球舞台上扮演什么角色,巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)即将对印度的访问将有什么影响?

6.新领导

Along with India’s Modi, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip ErdoGAN和印度尼西亚的Joko Widodo共同代表18亿人口,是世界人口中四分之一的人。他们的国家也充满了重大挑战:巴西的城市应对干旱,印度尼西亚面孔pressure from expanding agricultureandother industries that drive deforestation。这些领导人会拥抱可持续的低碳增长吗?

美国的图片同样复杂。奥巴马总统希望在他的最后两年内巩固自己的遗产。同时,国会对应对气候挑战的有效方法几乎没有希望的迹象。展望2016年,美国总统竞选活动将为候选人提供阐明其在可持续性和气候问题上的立场的机会。竞彩足球app怎么下载现在这是一个值得一看的故事。

有关此主题的更多信息