U.S. Climate Change Policy

Climate & Energy
Security Impacts		 Current Legislative
Proposals		 U.S. Emissions
Flow Chart		 U.S. & International
Emissions

On this page:

WRI Contacts

 

Jonathan Pershing Program Director
Jennifer Layke Deputy Director
Tim Herzog Policy Communications

Congressional Testimony & Submissions

Policy Briefs & Backgrounders

Charts & Data

WRI Publications

About the World Resources Institute

WRI is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people’s lives. Our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment for current and future generations.

With respect to global warming, our goal is to protect the global climate system from further harm and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change. In the United States, we believe that national, mandatory legislation with significant emissions reductions in the short- and long-term is an essential step to combat global warming and lay the foundation for comprehensive international efforts.

What We Do

As an independent non-advocacy research organization, WRI has been a trusted partner providing policy analysis, facilitated dialogue, and guidance to public and private decision-makers as they develop climate change strategies. Our information and inventory tools are used extensively to assess and measure GHG emissions at every level. We focus our efforts in the following approaches:

  • Technology. Based on the “wedge” model, WRI is analyzing the technology options that can produce significant emissions reductions; for instance, wind power, biofuels and carbon capture and sequestration. This analysis focuses on the investments and policies required to deploy these and other technologies on the scale required, along with the environmental impacts.
  • Business Engagement. WRI has had great success in working through private sector partnerships to develop innovative climate change policies and the business case for action. In particular, WRI is currently working with major corporations on greenhouse gas accounting, renewable energy purchasing, climate change strategy development, and carbon capture and storage technology and policy reviews.
  • Objective Policy Expertise. WRI does not advocate for specific legislation, but we are experts on the specifics of policy architecture. We have testified before Congress on policy options, important design considerations, and the possible effects on other sectors and policies. We advise U.S. state and regional policymakers and we also work extensively to turn our extensive experience with the private and public sector into workable and effective policy strategies.
  • International Perspectives. Internationally, WRI is a high-level participant in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the G-8, the European Union, the Asia-Pacific Partnership, and many major emitting countries. We can speak to both the international and U.S. experiences with environmental protection and policies: what has worked in the past, how climate, energy, and agriculture policy relate, and how U.S. policies could link to state and international efforts.