World Resources Institute Podcasts Plus

Combining socioeconomic data and WRI's Aqueduct water stress tool with record of conflict, the Water, Peace and Security project attempts to track indicators of resource-fueled conflict as they arise. Nicholas Walton talks to Charlie Iceland, director of national and global water initiatives at WRI, about the tool's development and promise.

Negotiators will soon gather in Madrid at COP25 (December 2 to December 13, 2019)to iron out rules for international carbon markets and prepare for the consequential year of 2020, when countries should put forward more ambitious climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. While nearly 70 countries intend to step up their climate commitments, these nations account for only 8% of the world’s gree...

Nicholas Walton with WRI Europe speaks with Paul Polman, co-chair of the Food and Land Use Coalition and the former CEO of Unilever, about the potential for land-use change to drive emissions or be part of the climate solution. The conversation is bookended by a few words from Ed Davey with the Food and Land Use Coalition.

WRI Water Program Director Betsy Otto knows the world should be stressed about water: her team's research showed this year that one-quarter of the world's population lives in extreme water stress. In this conversation with WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald, though, she talks about the solutions--technological, political, and managerial--that we can apply to alleviate the str...

Road safety is a worldwide epidemic. WRI's Claudia Adriazola-Steil (director, health & road safety) and Amit Bhatt (director, integrated urban transport, WRI India)talk with our host, VP for Communications Lawrence MacDonald, about a life-saving new law in India.

Following Friday’s largest climate protest in history, leaders from government, business and civil society came together for the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit on September 23 to offer strategies on how to address the global climate emergency. The summit featured speeches from over 60 country leaders. World Resources Institute hosted a press call with leading experts on international climate policy...

Press Call: Aqueduct 2019 Data & Rankings by WRI's Big Ideas Into Action podcast

A discussion of climate change, science, and national security in the first public appearance by Dr. Rod Schoonover since leaving the U.S. government. Learn more: https://www.wri.org/events/2019/07/climate-change-and-national-security-conversation-dr-schoonover

In a recent commentary, John Woolard, a Senior Fellow in World Resources Institute’s Energy Program, argues that it’s time for consumers to shift their focus from adding more renewables to committing to 100% zero-carbon energy. Woolard recently sat down with WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald to talk about the most effective ways to deliver affordable, clean power to the grid...

In this podcast, WRI Europe's Nicholas Walton interviews Raj Bhagat of WRI India's Bengaluru office about his research into the causes of Chennai's recent water problems. Delving deep into the history of the city, the monsoon cycle and local management, Bhagat identifies not only a need to invest in infrastructure but to protect people. Also includes a conversation with Rutger Hofste, an associate...

Press Call Featuring Caribbean Ministers on International Climate Action, European Council Decision by WRI's Big Ideas Into Action podcast

Press Call: Two Years After Trump’s Pledge to Withdraw from the Paris Agreement by WRI's Big Ideas Into Action podcast

Join Xcel Energy’s Energy & Environmental Policy team to learn more about the drivers and impacts of Xcel Energy’s ambitious new carbon goals. Learn more at: https://www.wri.org/events/2019/05/xcel-energy-setting-ambitious-carbon-goals-system-wide-transition

Mobility is a gateway to opportunity, and transportation can make cities more wonderful, livable and equitable. WRI Vice President Lawrence MacDonald is joined by Robin Chase and Harriet Tregoning to talk about the New Urban Mobility alliance (NUMO) and how they are building better cities for all. Chase is the Executive Chair and Tregoning is the Director of NUMO.

About half of the world's land is collectively held. In this podcast, WRI Vice President Lawrence MacDonald interviews Peter Veit, director of the Land and Resource Rights Initiative in the Governance Center at WRI, about the social, environmental and economic case for securing tenure for indigenous and community lands.

WRI Better Buying Lab Director Daniel Vennard sits down with WRI Vice President Lawrence MacDonald to talk about his research into menu language, including the commentary "It's All In a Name: How to Boost the Sales of Plant-Based Menu Items." They talk about the link between his work and social marketing, how your brain models taste while you're ordering, and why "vegetarian" and "vegan" might not...

Three authors of WRI's World Resources Report, "Creating a Sustainable Food Future: A Menu of Solutions for Feeding Nearly 10 Billion People by 2050" join WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald to talk about how we'll feed the world without destroying the planet. Features Janet Ranganathan, Tim Searchinger, and Richard Waite.

The 20x20 Initiative aims to restore 20 million hectares of land throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In this episode, WRI Vice President Lawrence MacDonald interviews Walter Vergara, a senior fellow and forests and climate specialist at WRI, alongside Etienne Demarais, CEO of Ecotierra, an agroforestry project developer with work throughout Latin America.

WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald interviews Molly Bergen, the Central Africa Communications Officer for WRI's Forests Program. Structured around recordings from Bergen's visits to central Africa--think elephants, song and markets--this podcast explores her unique role within WRI, working for more sustainable forest management in the Congo Basin.

In this episode, WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald interviews Jessica Seddon, director of integrated urban strategy for the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, about her work to improve air quality around the world. Beginning with her time as an academic in San Diego, where she first realized the importance of air quality, we follow her through years in India before she...

WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald is joined by Dan Lashof and Christina DeConcini to talk about what they're watching for in a Green New Deal. Dan Lashof is director of WRI United States. Christina DeConcini is director of government affairs for WRI.

Lori Bird, Director of U.S. Energy at WRI, sits down with WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald to talk about the tech (batteries and rooftop solar), policy (net metering and RPS), movements and politics that are powering the renewables surge in the United States.

P4G Global Director Ian de Cruz is interviewed by WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald, offering updates on the first round of exciting P4G-funded projects. These public-private partnerships include projects that fund electric buses in Latin America, reduce food loss and waste in Indonesia and make delivery services in China greener. But how are such projects identified? What m...

Embargoed: Press Call to Preview WRI’s Global Report on Creating a Sustainable Food Future by WRI's Big Ideas Into Action podcast

On the heels of the IPCC 1.5° C special report, climate negotiators and experts are gathering in Katowice, Poland, for the international climate talks, also known as COP24. This year’s global climate summit will be a critical moment for national leaders and negotiators to fully put in motion the vision set out by the Paris Climate Agreement. In particular, they need to focus on three tasks: finali...