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Dear John,
We are at a critical juncture in human history. The challenges the world faces — confronting climate change, safeguarding natural ecosystems, and addressing global inequality — seem insurmountable at times.
At the same time, the low-carbon transition is just beginning. Almost every country in the world has made commitments to reduce emissions, thousands of companies are committing to net zero targets, renewable energy deployment is continuing to break its own records, and communities around the world are planting seeds to restore millions of hectares of land. Yet, we are still not doing enough. There is not a single sector that is moving with enough speed or scale to meet the magnitude of the crisis.
At WRI, we think a different path is possible, one that not only averts the crisis, but moves the world towards a brighter future.
WRI’s new strategic plan Getting the Transition Right for People, Nature and Climate 2023-2027 sets course for a new era of economic opportunity that meets people’s essential needs, restores nature and rapidly lowers emissions while building resilient communities. For us, success means delivering all three together. Decarbonization by itself is not enough—the race to net-zero simply won’t work if we destroy nature in the process, or if we leave any communities behind.
This needs to be a decade of converting commitments to impact. To achieve impact at scale, we have to focus on the systems that support our everyday needs. Today, these systems continue to drive unsustainable production and consumption. WRI’s new strategy will focus on transforming three key systems we believe have the biggest potential for impact: energy systems, food systems and cities.
All impact is local. We will provide decision-makers with the data, research and evidence-based approaches needed to transform the way their nations produce food, manage natural resources, generate energy and manage cities. Every country in the world will need to find a way to transition. Building on our long-term presence and local networks, we will focus on a few select countries to build a practice that can help deliver the just, rapid and widespread transition they need.
This transition will not happen if countries don’t have access to finance or if we don’t continuously increase ambition. WRI will work to ensure that finance is available for every country transition, and that the world collectively increases ambition to meet our goals.
We are evolving and adapting into a more unified and innovative organization — one even more focused on learning, accountability and achieving impact in the world.
The goals we have set are undeniably ambitious and the task of achieving system change is herculean. We cannot do this alone. To bring the right change-makers together and create the transformative systems-change we seek, WRI will expand and deepen our partnerships with governments, businesses, civil society and others.
I invite you to explore WRI’s new strategy in detail.
Building on 40 years of trusted research and results, we find ourselves in an incredibly privileged position that allows us to have such an ambitious strategy. We would not be where we are without your continuous support.
Thank you for standing with us as we begin this new chapter. Your continued support and partnership are invaluable in making this vision a reality.
Warm regards,
Ani
Ani Dasgupta
President & CEO
World Resources Institute
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