Worldwatch Projects


Worldwatch Institute focuses on the 21st-century challenges of climate change, resource degradation, population growth, and poverty by developing and disseminating solid data and innovative strategies for achieving a sustainable world. For more than three decades, Worldwatch research has been the gold standard in sustainability analysis for decision makers in government, civil society, business, and academia.
 

The Institute's current projects include (by program area):
 

Climate & Energy:

  • Low-Carbon Development Strategies – Providing nations with policy advice and research on the potential and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and transportation, in order to support achievement of low-carbon development goals.
  • Natural Gas and Sustainable Energy Initiative – Investigating the latest natural gas sources and extraction technologies, their environmental impact, and their potential to reduce greenhouse gases and enable widespread adoption of renewable energy.
  • Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status Reports – Providing an integrated picture of the global renewable energy and energy efficiency situations, including reports for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), and REN 21.
  • Climate and Energy Security 2.0 – Researching the security implications of transitioning international energy, industrial, and transportation systems toward green technologies.
  • China Program – Helping decision makers in China and around the globe better understand China’s environmental challenges and opportunities, including in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • India Climate Initiative – Tracking key developments in India while helping today's leaders make the decisions of tomorrow.
  • New Economy Council – Connecting green industry players and sustainability champions with policymakers and experts from Europe and the United States.
  • ReVolt – A blog that provides cutting-edge commentary on international climate and energy policy as well as updates on the work of Worldwatch’s Climate & Energy team.

Food & Agriculture:

  • Nourishing the Planet – Chronicling agricultural innovations from Africa and around the world that reduce rural poverty and provide safe, nutritious food to the planet's nearly 1 billion hungry people, while also enhancing ecological sustainability. Visit our blog.
  • Agriculture and Climate Change – Raising awareness of the food and agricultural community's important role in stabilizing the world's climate, including by eating to reduce our "foodprint" and using farming methods that create "carbon sinks.
  • Farming in Cities – Highlighting the innovative ways that urban gardeners and livestock keepers in cities from Accra to Rio are finding to feed their communities, as more of humanity lives in cities than rural areas for the first time in history.

Environment & Society:

  • Green Economy Program – Offering solutions that enhance human wellbeing and reduce inequities while protecting the planet, and acknowledging that the global environmental and economic crises have common origins and must be tackled together.

  • Population, Climate Change and the Environment – Exploring the influence of population change on the world's climate and environment, and the ways that access to family planning and improving women’s lives can slow population growth.

  • Green Transport Jobs – Exploring policies that encourage investments in rail and transit manufacturing.
  • Transforming Cultures – Examining how we can shift today's consumer cultures to cultures of sustainability.