Torrential rain and flooding devastated East Africa this spring. “I have never seen such heavy rains in my entire life,” said one farmer in Kenya, where nearly 300 people lost their lives and thousands saw their homes and livelihoods washed away. Extreme weather events — like this year’s floods and the drought that wrecked the country’s food supplies in 2023 — are likely to happen more often as climate change worsens.

Kenya’s farmers were among the hardest hit. But even as they piece their lives back together, many are working to make their lands and livelihoods more resilient in the future. Through practices like sustainable farming and planting native trees, these “Restoration Champions” are reviving Kenya’s degraded lands to bolster themselves and their communities against climate shocks. Read more.

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South and Southeast Asia have some of the fastest growing energy demand in the world. Meeting this demand with clean, renewable power will be essential to avoid intensifying global warming and local air pollution. So far, countries in the region have struggled to attract enough private investment to make this shift possible. But development banks have an opportunity to help turn the tide. Read more.

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In a small town in Bolivia, people from local and Indigenous communities throughout the Amazon recently came together to discuss threats to the rainforest and how to protect it. Though little known, this Pan-Amazon Social Forum hosts some of the world’s most critical climate stewards: Research from WRI shows that Indigenous-managed areas of the Amazon are some of its last “carbon sinks," while other parts of the forest have become a carbon source. Read more.

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Britain’s freshly elected Labour Party has promised to double down on clean energy and address the climate and nature crisis, calling it  “the greatest long-term global challenge that we face.” This is just one in a slew of 2024 elections that will help shape the future of the planet. But now that the Labour Party is in office after 14 years of Conservative leadership, what must it do to fulfill its bold commitments? Edward Davey, Head of WRI Europe’s UK Office, weighs in. Read more.