Climate solutions don’t just cut emissions. Around the world, they’re improving people's lives in real and immediate ways — creating new jobs, cleaning the air, boosting food supplies, growing economies and so much more. 

So why have we failed to amass political support for climate action at the scale needed to halt the crisis? 

Messaging is part of the problem. We need to stop framing climate solutions solely as a means to reduce emissions and safeguard the future, and start talking about the countless ways they’re making people’s lives better today. WRI President and CEO Ani Dasgupta explains.

Climate actions are often siloed into efforts that reduce emissions (mitigation) and those that protect people from climate risks (adaptation), with resources spread thin between the two. But it doesn’t have to be this way: Many strategies can cut emissions and build resilience simultaneously.

Core to this week’s Africa Climate Summit is a question: How to meet growing energy needs and build thriving economies, without ramping up planet-warming emissions? An emerging solution, known as “Productive Use of Renewable Energy,” offers one answer.

Talks on the Global Plastics Treaty ended last month in gridlock, leaving its future uncertain. Continuing the negotiations will be crucial to solving plastic pollution — but progress doesn’t need to wait. There's plenty that countries can do today to tackle this growing problem.

Electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag behind other regions. But expanding power infrastructure is only the first step to solving this problem — there must also be demand to match the supply.

Released this week, Ani Dasgupta's new book highlights real climate solutions that are already transforming lives around the world — and explores how we can scale them to meet the urgency of today’s challenges. Proceeds from book sales will directly support WRI’s mission.