David Wheeler

This report summarizes recent trends in large-scale tropical forest clearing identified by FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action). FORMA produces indicators that track monthly changes in the number of 1-sq.-km. tropical forest parcels that have experienced clearing with high probability. This report...

This paper develops and illustrates a prototype incentive system for promoting rapid reduction of forest clearing in tropical countries.

David Wheeler and co-authors use detailed monthly data from FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action) to determine the factors that contribute to deforestation in Indonesia. Their results highlight the importance of incorporating economic dynamics into financial compensation arrangements for forest...

David Wheeler analyzes the results of CGD's online survey on selecting the IMF managing director

New research by David Wheeler shows that developing countries have borne their fair share of global mitigation expenditures relative to per-capita income. The challenge now is for rich countries to do the same.

Developed countries have promised to mobilize $100 billion per year to help developing countries combat climate change, a commitment that will require substantial capital from private investors. The authors of this working paper propose a public-private green venture fund (GVF) to promote the...

Senior fellow David Wheeler quantifies and makes available in an accompanying database the vulnerability of 233 countries to three major effects of climate change (weather-related disasters, sea-level rise, and reduced agricultural productivity) and develops a methodology for donors and other to...

This paper asks why carbon regulation in the U.S. Congress has failed to pass while the EU has succeeded in implementing carbon regulation.

CGD fellow David Wheeler explains the role of economics in population policy and how it effects carbon emissions reduction in developing countries.

After rejecting emissions caps, India seems poised to curb greenhouse gases on its own. Senior fellow David Wheeler calculates that a proposed new renewable energy standard would cause a massive shift of new power capacity within a decade.

The authors address several questions relevant to international discussion about climate adaptation: How will climate change alter the incidence of extreme weather events, and how will their impact be distributed geographically? How will future socioeconomic development, notably an increased...

In this paper, we introduce FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action), a prototype system for monitoring real-time deforestation from publicly available satellite data at a resolution of one square kilometer. Maps of the data showing probable areas of deforestation will be available on Google Earth and...

As temperatures rise this century, massive tropical storm surges and growing populations may collide in disasters of unprecedented size. CGD senior fellow David Wheeler and co-authors explore the implications for 84 developing countries, providing new data for 577 cyclone-vulnerable coastal cities...

Senior fellow David Wheeler and Kevin Ummel argue for rapid, very large-scale deployment of existing solar thermal technology. Using maps of solar radiation and project finance calculations, they show that with modest subsidies solar power generated in North Africa and the Middle East could meet...

CGD research fellow David Wheeler applies econometric analysis to politics to discover the reasons behind the Senate’s failure to pass Warner-Lieberman, the first carbon cap-and-trade legislation to come up for a Senate vote. He finds that opposition can be explained by measurable...

In November 2007 CGD’s Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) provided the first global database on CO2 emissions from the world’s 50,000 power plants and the firms that own them. CARMA was widely welcomed as a tool for public education and as an important first step toward reliable, consistent...

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a revolutionary change in the world's energy mix. So why is the World Bank conducting business as usual? This new working paper by CGD senior fellow David Wheeler focuses on the bank's latest proposed venture, a huge coal-fired plant to be fueled by the...

As a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, developed countries have an indisputable responsibility to address global warming. But the developing country argument that, as blameless victims of climate change they should be unfettered by emissions regulations, is wrong. In this working paper,...

Nearly everybody agrees that cutting greenhouse gas emissions to save the planet will require market-based instruments such as carbon taxes or cap-and-trade. But so far there is no reliable source of data to support such a system. In this new working paper, CGD senior fellow David Wheeler, who...

CGD's online survey of views on selecting the World Bank's next president received nearly 700 responses from people representing 71 nations; all world regions; high-, middle- and low-income countries; a variety of professional affiliations; and all adult age groups. In a new working paper analyzing...