Navigating the financial risks of flooding
Floods continue to be one of the costliest natural hazards, and they are more and more exacerbated by climate change.[1] Over 40% of company locations within MSCI GeoSpatial Asset Intelligence coverage are affected by at least one of the three different flood types: pluvial flooding (from extreme rainfall), fluvial flooding (from rivers overflowing their banks) and coastal flooding (from high tidal water and storm surges).
GCF unveils new organisational structure to accelerate climate action
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) today unveiled the latest phase of its ambitious reform agenda to enhance efficiency and impact in supporting climate action.
The Fund transitions today to a new organisational structure designed to fulfill its promise, potential, and ambition. This transition is part of GCF’s “50 by 30” vision and reform agenda, which aims to efficiently and impactfully manage USD 50 billion in investments by 2030, as announced by GCF Executive Director Mafalda Duarte at last year’s United Nations General Assembly.
SCAR Open Science Conference in Chile: a catalyst for polar research
The 2024 Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Open Science Conference, being held from August 19 to 23 in Chile, is bringing together polar researchers from around the world to share their latest discoveries, foster international collaborations, and address the critical challenges facing the polar regions.
Themed “Antarctic Science: Crossroads for a New Hope,” this edition aims to highlight Antarctica’s unique and fragile ecosystem, especially in the context of escalating climate change concerns.
How to fix funding bottlenecks and pave the way for locally led adaptation
A new survey explores the operational bottlenecks preventing local organisations from accessing climate adaptation funding. As the UN General Assembly approaches, IIED’s May Thazin Aung and BRAC’s Sousan Suha share the survey’s findings and explains how funders can smooth the way for locally led adaptation.
Vicious circle of climate change, wildfires and air pollution has major impacts
A vicious cycle of climate change, wildfires and air pollution is having a spiralling negative impact on human health, ecosystems and agriculture, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Global South cities lack cooling green spaces
Cities in the Global South are more exposed to extreme heat because they lack cooling green spaces, new research shows. The study found that Global South cities have just 70% of the “cooling capacity” provided by urban greenery in the Global North. With temperatures rising, combined with the “urban heat island” effects that make cities hotter than rural areas, heat-related illness and death in cities are becoming more common.
The risk of global water scarcity is greater when accounting for the origin of rain
Securing the world’s water supply is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Research at Stockholm University is now presenting an alternative method for quantifying the global risk of water scarcity. Results indicate higher risks to water supply than previously expected if accounting for the environmental conditions and governability where rain is produced.
WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin
The bulletin, the fourth in an annual series, explores the intricate relationship between air quality and climate. This year’s theme is Invest in Clean Air Now. Ambient air pollution causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths annually and wreaks a high economic and environmental cost. The WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin includes a special focus on wildfires. It also looks at global and regional concentrations of particulate matter pollution and its harmful effects on crops in 2023.
The final report of the Climate Resilience Dialogue puts forward actions for increasing climate resilience in the EU and addressing the climate protection gap, with a focus on adaptation measures. The European Commission convened a Climate Resilience Dialogue in November 2021 to facilitate an open exchange on ways to address the climate protection gap and increase climate resilience in the EU, with a focus on climate adaptation. The Dialogue brought together stakeholders such as public authorities, including supervisors, consumer organisations, and the insurance industry.
Making climate finance work for all: Five tests for a robust New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)
This report sets out key principles and five tests that can help ensure the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) is robust, all of which are underpinned by a core principle of fairness.
This year, at the United Nations climate conference in Azerbaijan (COP29), countries are due to agree a new global finance goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions, boost resilience, help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change, and cover the costs of loss and damage. It is critical that this New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG, reflects the lessons learned over the last 15 years, restores trust in the multilateral process, and equips countries to respond to rapidly escalating challenges.
Maturity model: Adaptative social protection system
This model is organized into 7 dimensions and consists of 50 indicators. It assesses the level of maturity of the system across 5 different levels. The interconnectedness and reciprocal influence across these dimensions ensure a holistic examination, preventing fragmented approaches and offering a comprehensive perspective of the system.
Adaptive social protection refers to the utilization of social protection systems and programs to enhance the ability of impoverished and vulnerable households to withstand and recover from various shocks, such as those associated with climate change.The maturity model is an assessment tool that seeks to measure the capacity of social protection systems to fulfill these new functions.
Building on 16 years of success, the Arab Water Forum will gather visionaries and pioneers from across the water value chain to advance the solutions that matter most to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all.
Taking place in Abu Dhabi, the three-day event provides a platform for industry leaders to fast-track collaborative efforts to meet water security goals and identify the most promising innovation and growth opportunities.
Against the backdrop of the worsening climate crisis, the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit aimed to showcase “first mover and doer” leaders from government, business, finance, local authorities, and civil society who came with credible actions, policies and plans – and not just pledges – to accelerate the decarbonization of the global economy and deliver climate justice in line with his Acceleration Agenda.
“If these first-doers and first-movers can do it, everybody can do it,” the Secretary-General said in his closing remarks, calling it a “Summit of Hope.”
GEO Symposium and ODOK Workshop 2024
The 2024 GEO Symposium and Open Data & Open Knowledge Workshop (ODOK) will be held in Hangzhou, China from 23 to 26 September 2024.
Under the theme ‘From Vision to Action: Crafting GEO’s Post 2025 Implementation Plan’, the Symposium and ODOK will focus on translating the GEO Post-2025 Strategy into a detailed and costed Implementation Plan.
Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
The Government of the Philippines partners with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) to host the next Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) from 14 to 18 October 2024 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila (18 October is reserved for an optional site visit). The APMCDRR is the main platform in Asia and the Pacific to monitor, review and enhance cooperation for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at the regional level.
Disaster Research Days 2024: shaping the future of science and research for disaster risk reduction
DG HOME is pleased to announce a new CERIS event: Disaster Research Days 2024, which will be held in Vienna on 8-10 October 2024 with a focus on Shaping the Future of Science and Research for Disaster Risk Reduction!
Integrated Drought Management Program – IDMP, World Meteorological Organization – WMO, Global Water Partnership – GWP, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – UNCCD , Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – FAO, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – UNDRR, World Bank, Integrated Water Management Institute – IWMI, International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN, National Drought Mitigation Center – NDMC, Maroc Meteo, U.S. Department of State, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – NOAA, Agencia Estatal de Meteorología – AEMET
