Last year brought major political shocks to the world: the election of Donald Trump; the rise of “fake news;” and the emergence of populist, anti-globalization movements in Britain, the Philippines and elsewhere. Many of these were fueled by the growing feeling among certain groups that they are being left out of economic opportunities.

The big question for 2017 is: Are these disruptions merely a speed bump for progress toward a more sustainable, equitable world, or will they signal a much larger retreat?

WRI总裁兼首席执行官Andrew Steer今天在华盛顿的一年中在华盛顿解决了这个问题Stories to Watch presentation, highlighting six major topics to scrutinize over the course of this year. How they unfold will help determine whether we continue to curb emissions, expand the economy and foster sustainable development – or not.

Story #1: How Far Will Trump Go?

In advance of his inauguration as U.S. president on January 20, President-elect Trump命名他的内阁几种气候必威官网是真的吗怀疑论者。重要的是要注意这些新领导者及其政策决策如何影响环境保护，例如臭氧和甲烷排放标准，可再生能源燃料和能源效率标准以及清洁水规则。

The role of the United States作为气候领必威官网是真的吗袖同样受到威胁，清洁能源计划的未来，美国对巴黎关于气候变化协议的承诺以及该国实现其国家目标以减少排放量为2025％的国家目标的能力。必威官网是真的吗

Steer说：“保护上帝的创造没有什么特别的党派，传统上是共和党人经常领导的。”“因此，在我们看到真实的证据之前，不要假设，但是毫无疑问，（特朗普）的陈述表明，这个国家的某些环境保护将陷入困境。”

观看地方层面的领导者的反应将很有趣。已经有15个州和51个城市呼吁采取气候行动。必威官网是真的吗面对联邦一级威胁，这些领导人，国会和公民的领导人会加强比赛吗？

故事＃2：化石燃料复兴与可再生能源激增

尽管特朗普已承诺将煤炭带回，但考虑到当前的经济状况，他不太可能这样做。

The U.S. coal industry has slumped since 2008, and clean energy is now one of the fastest-growing U.S. job sectors. Wind and solar power are now nearly cost-competitive with coal and natural gas in many areas. “Coal declining in the United States has almost nothing to do with climate legislation at all,” Steer said. “It has to do with pure economics.”

And globally, while one-third of planned power capacity is still in coal, renewable energy investment was double that of coal and gas last year. Will this growth continue? Follow-through on renewable energy commitments from big players likeIndia和中国将是7月G20峰会的强烈迹象以及财务成果。

故事＃3：国际气候行动势头会继续吗？必威官网是真的吗

去年是国际气候行动的里程碑式时刻必威官网是真的吗采用the Paris Agreement. The only three that haven’t signed are Syria, Uzbekistan and Nicaragua.

Many countries are already translating their Paris commitments into action on the ground. For example, 38 nations and eight institutions have joined theNDC Partnership，旨在加快行动并提高实施国家气候目标的野心。必威官网是真的吗

重要的是要注意来年是否取得了更多进展。一些重要的时刻包括：印度会击中雄心勃勃的太阳能目标？中国将成功推出国家碳市场？And, will the new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres make climate change优先考虑正如他的前任Ban Ki-Moon所做的那样？

故事＃4：明天的市场

Many businesses aren’t just moving toward sustainability; they’re leading on it. More than 200 companies have committed to set基于科学所说的必要条件的减少降低目标为了防止气候变化的最严重影响，将近600个努力必威官网是真的吗无森林砍伐的供应链，以及84个致力于100％可再生能源。

同时，投资者越来越多地使用环境，社会和治理因素（ESG）管理资金，并且必威官网亚洲体育mounting evidenceshows that incorporating these screens can have a neutral or even positive effect on returns. “In the old days, the picture image was governments set regulations and the private sector says ‘OK, we’ll fulfill them,’” Steer said. “Today the private sector is really driving the agenda.”

问题是，这种势头是否会在2017年持续，而向可持续投资的转变会转化为C型和董事会房间的压力？

要观看的基准包括更多公司是否设定基于科学的目标，以及这些目标是否扩展到其他领域land and water use。有趣的是，在下周在达沃斯举行的世界经济论坛上，企业和投资者如何应对即将到来的可持续发展开发业务委员会。

故事＃5：基于植物的食物的上升

The consumption of meat and especially beef has one of the biggest impacts on the environment of any sector. Cattle are the single-largest drivers of deforestation and, if all the cattle in the world were their own country, it would bethe third-largest emitter。挑战是遏制这种影响，同时产生食物多70％到2050年需要养活不断增长的人口。

Fortunately, we are seeing increasing interest inplant-based protein, especially in the United States. One-quarter of Americans already report eating less red meat, while one in 10 millennials are vegetarian or vegan. Tyson launched a venture capital fund worth $150 million to explore meat alternatives. As part of the农场动物投资风险和回报计划, 42 institutional investors representing $1.25 trillion in assets pressured food companies to futureproof their supply chains by diversifying their protein sources. AndBeyond Meatproducts, including plant-based proteins that taste like burgers, chicken and meatballs, are now sold in 11,000 stores.

问题是，牛肉生产者是否会开始多样化并制定减少影响的策略？消费者对植物性蛋白质和其他可持续替代品的需求会增长吗？

故事＃6：汽车的创新会帮助人们和地球吗？

忘记马车。新的汽车趋势是无人驾驶汽车。目前，有30多家主要公司正在尝试自动化车辆。同时，Uber和中国的迪迪are worth tens of billions of dollars, and there are more than one million electric vehicles on the roads globally.

问题是，这三个趋势（自动化，共享和电气化）是否会集成以减少汽车对环境的影响，或者它们是否会在孤岛中运行并增加道路上的车辆数量？正如WRI董事会成员和Zipcar联合创始人Robin Chase所说：“仅仅消除汽车中的驾驶员，并将有关我们系统的其他所有内容保持不变，那将是一场灾难。”毕竟，在当前以汽车为中心的模式下，工人每年在交通中损失大约八天的生产力，交通运输占全球排放量的14％。

这些新的创新也必须与人和行星友好的行动能力（如大众运输和骑自行车）进行补充，而不是与人和行星友好的行动能力竞争。

令人兴奋的一年

观看这些故事在明年的演奏方式可能并不容易，但是2017年肯定不会很无聊。

Steer说：“喜欢与否，真正的变化将[今年]发生。”“有些变化看起来可能不是很好。获得良性周期并获得真正积极的变化是我们的工作。”