Keeping up the pressure

IIED's 2021 annual review reflects on the year dubbed the 'super year' for climate and nature and looks ahead to 2022, recognising the pace of change needed. 

2021 delivered some significant successes for people and planet. And within the Northern development sector, there was growing recognition that justice — climate, social and environmental — must be the starting point for any effective response to the challenges we face. But with every achievement spurring greater ambition, and some pandemic-delayed ‘super’ moments yet to come, we cannot consider IIED’s impact over the last 12 months in isolation. So this annual review also looks forward, anticipating how we will work with partners to make change happen in 2022.

To meet these and other ambitions for change, IIED will build on successes, lessons learned and groundwork laid in 2021 — just some of which are covered here. We will collaborate globally with partners and others, to understand and document positive change at local level and take that knowledge to the places where critical decisions are made. This is what we do best: collective action and local agency have now been at our core for 50 years, fulfilling the pioneering vision of our founder, Barbara Ward.