Blog Posts: green infrastructure

A new report finds that implementing a bundle of currently available technologies and practices across six emerging countries could collectively cut annual emissions from key urban sectors by 87–96% by 2050 beyond countries’ initial commitments under the Paris Agreement. But achieving these benefits will require the full support of national governments.

A unique partnership in North Carolina’s Triangle region demonstrates how cities can better collaborate across jurisdictions to secure their water supply by protecting and improving natural infrastructure. Their success with this model can serve as an inspiration for other communities looking to protect their water resources.

CAW partnered with green finance experts Encourage Capital and WRI to pioneer the first-ever certified green bond to acquire forests for watershed protection. This bond offers important lessons to invest in forests for water quality

The correlation between urban tree cover and income is well-documented in cities around the world, and is often a by-product of historic inequality. However, cities can proactively address inequality, build resilience and improve residents' lives by making green spaces more equitable.

Worldwide, cities are struggling to plan and finance climate-appropriate infrastructure. Inter-department collaboration and nature-based solutions could be the key to addressing both issues simultaneously.

African countries face some of the highest water risk in the world, now exacerbated by climate change. But management and investment are often bigger challenges. Tackling them can strengthen economies and build countries' resilience to climate change.

Green infrastructure can mitigate most of the world's major water problems, but investment has been held back by lack of certainty about returns. Our new methodology helps lay out how to measure the costs and benefits of green and gray infrastructure projects.

Green infrastructure like forests, wetlands and coral reefs can help traditional “gray infrastructure” perform better. Yet, green-gray infrastructure projects remain relatively niche, mainly because of persistent myths about their costs and feasibility.

The decisions each country, business and investor makes today will directly impact global climate and development goals. Do it right and we can feed 9 billion people, provide clean electricity for all and grow the economy while protecting the environment.

When WRI's recent global office renovation earned LEED Silver certification, it joined more than 38,000 LEED projects that are reducing carbon emissions and improving building efficiency worldwide. As standards for greener construction are incorporated into national and local building codes, they are raising the bar for the future.