Natural disasters have cost us $162 billion this year.

The first half of 2025 marks a new inflection point in the global climate risk landscape. According to leading professional services firm Aon, global insured losses from natural catastrophe events reached $100 billion, the second-highest 1H total on record, surpassed only by the $140 billion seen in 2011.

Largely driven by Los Angeles wildfires and a series of severe convective storms across the US, the losses highlight the growing financial impact of climate-related weather volatility alongside growing exposure in event-prone areas. The moment presents a powerful opportunity for the insurance industry to not only adapt to rising climate volatility, but to lead the way – driving innovation, resilience and proactive solutions that redefine how risk is understood and managed in a changing world.

The Global Heatwave Crisis: What It Means for the Next Generation

2024 ranked as the hottest year on record. Global average temperature reached 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and every year from 2015 to 2024 is now in the top ten hottest years ever recorded. Scientists also reported a sharp rise in humid heat days, which strain the body far more than dry heat. These are not statistical outliers. They are the new baseline conditions that today’s children will inherit.

The global heatwave crisis is no longer a future problem—it is here, and its impact is measurable across health, education, food systems, economies, and urban living. This article outlines what the crisis means for the next generation, using verified data from global agencies and peer-reviewed research, while mapping practical solutions for governments, schools, families, and businesses.

Europe confronts an unprecedented wildfire season – What can we do to prevent them?

Europe is experiencing what may become one of its most devastating wildfire seasons on record. Since the beginning of 2025, more than 450,000 ha have burned — this is more than double the area burnt in the same period last year, with severe impacts on landscapes, cities, and communities that have spread with alarming speed and severity.

From the Mediterranean to the Balkans, relentless heat and drought have fuelled fierce infernos. In Greece, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Albania, Montenegro, Cyprus, the UK, France, Italy, and elsewhere, communities are grappling with waves of fire, displacement, and emergency response. While wildfires are common in the summer, this is more than a seasonal crisis. Climate-driven heatwaves, prolonged drought, high wind patterns, and abundant dry vegetation are converging to create a “new normal” of extreme wildfires.

Triple whammy: how 3 types of drought crippled southern Australia this year

Soaking mid-winter rains have brought some relief to drought-stricken farms and rural towns across southern Australia, but the crisis is not over yet. And there’s more to this challenging episode than you might think. As climate scientists, we see more than a single drought. Rather, it’s a trilogy of droughts. Across southern Australia over the past six months, three interconnected phases have unfolded in rapid succession: flash drought, green drought and fodder drought. Each phase brings its own challenges. Together, they reveal the complex and cascading nature of climate stress in southern Australia.

Why the UK needs more proactive heat risk management

When the UK recorded temperatures above 40°C for the first time in July 2022, it marked a clear signal: extreme heat is no longer a distant or unlikely threat. In 2025, the Met Office warned that, due to climate change, such heatwaves are now becoming the norm, underscoring the urgent need for preparedness. Yet, as our new study published in Earth’s Future shows, the country’s readiness to manage heat risk remains fragmented and reactive, focusing on immediate impacts rather than the complex interdependencies that amplify these risks.

IEFG BIG Series: Education x Climate = Philanthropy²

How can education and climate funders collaborate more strategically, sharing insights, evidence, and approaches, to deepen understanding and strengthen the critical connections between climate change and education?

In this episode of the BIG Series, we bring together funders from both sectors who are actively engaging at the nexus of climate and education, they will share with you concrete examples of successful collaboration. The discussion will explore how aligned funding strategies and shared learning can catalyze more effective, long-term collaboration, ultimately advancing solutions that respond to both climate and education challenges in an integrated way.

Weathering the storm

Most of Victoria’s infrastructure was not built for more frequent and severe weather. This means infrastructure, like roads and powerlines, is exposed to greater damage from wild storms, bushfires and floods.

This research can help governments decide how and where to invest in adapting infrastructure. It shows how to assess the risks from extreme weather and compare different solutions to better protect infrastructure assets. Extreme weather damage already costs Victoria about $2.7 billion a year. Without action to better protect infrastructure, costs will grow.

Challenges and opportunities in climate risk assessment: future directions for assessing complex climate risks

This systematic literature review examines the latest developments in Climate Risk Assessment (CRA), focusing on how climate risks are framed and assessed. It explores advancements, ongoing challenges, and emerging opportunities to guide future generations of CRAs. Key findings highlight a more nuanced risk framework that incorporates climate responses, modulating the three risk determinants (exposure, vulnerability, and hazards), as outlined in the latest IPCC assessment. The state-of-the-art concentrates on the temporal and spatial characteristics of hazards, while exposure and vulnerability are increasingly understood as dynamic concepts influenced by socioeconomic changes. Recent developments, such as multi-hazard approaches, risk tolerance integration, and the concept of Climatic Impact-Drivers (CID), provide new perspectives on assessing climate risks.

Enhancing water sector resilience through Nature-based Solutions in South Asia

This report outlines five strategic directions for national governments to prioritise in order to accelerate the mainstreaming and scaling up of NbS, thereby strengthening water resilience for communities and economic sectors. South Asia is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, with countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan consistently ranking among the top ten most affected nations in the Global Climate Risk Index. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are emerging as a promising and holistic approach to addressing the impacts of climate change on water resources.

Debating Disaster Risk: Ethical Dilemmas in the Era of Climate Change

Dealing with the risks of climate change and disaster is a political process. It produces winners and losers, mobility and permanence, radical change and continuity, relief and suffering. For some, it ultimately leads to life or death. Yet consultants, academics, humanitarian agents, and politicians often simply propose well-intentioned ideas—resilience, sustainability, community participation, emergency shelter, green development—while failing to perceive the blind spots and unintended consequences of such approaches.

Debating Disaster Risk brings together leading global experts to explore the controversies that emerge—and the tough decisions that must be made—when cities, people, and the environment are at risk. Scholars and practitioners discuss the challenges of reducing vulnerability and rebuilding after destruction in an accessible and lively debate format, with commentary by researchers, students, and development workers from across the world. They emphasize the ethical consequences of decisions about how cities and communities should prepare for and react to disasters, considering issues such as housing, environmental protection, urban development, and infrastructure recovery.

Register Now: Webinar – Addressing Urban Heat Islands for Equitable Climate Resilience

Cities, with their concrete landscapes and limited green cover, can become significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas, intensifying health risks, energy demands, and social vulnerabilities. These impacts are often concentrated in low-income or marginalized communities, exacerbating existing inequalities.

This webinar will explore how data, governance, and climate finance can converge to combat urban heat. Through high-resolution environmental data and community-level assessments, cities can identify hotspots and prioritize interventions such as nature-based solutions, reflective infrastructure, and improved urban planning. The discussion will highlight the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration and equitable financing mechanisms to ensure that adaptation efforts serve all urban residents—especially the most vulnerable.

Date: 2nd September 2025.
Time: 09:00-10:00 CEST / 07:00-08:00 UTC

World Water Week 2025: Water for Climate Action

World Water Week 2025, on 24 – 28 August, will focus on innovation at a time of unprecedented changes. Human activities have triggered a global water crisis where we have for the first time crossed the safe planetary boundary for water. Yet this is only one of multiple interlinked crises; in addition, we must simultaneously tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and poverty. Water is at the core of all these threats, which also means that it is one of the most powerful tools to find solutions.

From Strategy to Structure: Leveraging ReMA and BRI for Organizational and Asset-Level Resilience

In the face of escalating climate and disaster risks, both the public and private sectors are under growing pressure to assess and strengthen their resilience. The UNDRR-supported Corporate Chief Resilience Officers (CCRO) Network and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)—through its Green and Resilient Buildings team—are joining forces to showcase two complementary tools that help organizations and developers assess and advance their resilience journey: Building Resilience Index (BRI): A free, science-based, self-assessment tool developed by IFC to evaluate and benchmark the resilience of individual buildings based on hazard exposure and design features. Resilience Maturity Assessment (ReMA): A qualitative and strategic tool designed to help organizations (including private sector companies, utilities, and others) understand their current resilience maturity and identify pathways for improvement. Together, these tools form a comprehensive roadmap: ReMA identifies strategic and organizational gaps, while BRI helps implement tangible improvements at the asset level.

CODATA Data Ethics Working Group Policy Briefs Available for Comment and Feedback

The CODATA Working Group on Data Ethics (now a Task Group), has produced three policy briefings on important topics in relation to data ethics.  At least two more are in the pipeline. The policy briefings respond to the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.  They start from the premise that the Recommendation, in its statements of values and principles, and its other argumentation, is a document with a significant ethical orientation.  The policy briefings, therefore, seek to augment the Recommendation and add further considerations and policy guidance for ethical issues in relation to data. The first three Policy Briefs are available for comment

Webinar on Understanding Short-Lived Climate Forcers for Improved Air Quality and Climate information

The webinar aims to provide ECRs with an overview of short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), their sources, trends, mitigation strategies, and the broad climate and air quality benefits of targeting their reduction.

High-level launch: from heatwaves to cyber threats – understanding today’s hazards

The UNDRR–ISC Hazard Information Profiles (HIPs) provide a comprehensive, science-based overview of 281 hazards relevant to disaster risk reduction – from floods and wildfires to pandemics and cyber threats. This 2025 edition reflects a major shift toward a multi-hazard understanding of risk – recognizing that hazards often interact, cascade, or occur together in ways that intensify their impacts.  With contributions from over 330 experts across 150+ organizations, the HIPs are a trusted reference for governments, agencies, researchers, and practitioners worldwide.

Rising to the challenge: boosting adaptation and resilience for development

One in five people globally are at high risk from climate-related hazards-not just because they’re exposed to floods, heatwaves, cyclones, or droughts, but because poverty or limited access to essential services like clean water, electricity, social protection or financial services leaves them more vulnerable. But here’s the good news: the share of people at high risk from climate-related hazards has halved globally within a decade-from 2010 to 2021, demonstrating global progress and illustrating the benefits of development for resilience.

Europe has a heating strategy—now it needs one for cooling

For decades, European policymakers have defined energy security primarily as maintaining heat during winter. From strategic gas reserves to household subsidies, systemic, top-down responses have shaped the continent’s heating strategy.

But a new threat is emerging. The record-breaking heat wave sweeping across Europe is disrupting daily life, energy systems, and health services, exposing how unprepared Europe remains for summer extremes that are becoming longer, hotter, and more frequent.

New index ranks vulnerabilities of 188 nations to climate shocks

The Columbia Climate School, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, has unveiled a novel index that integrates countries’ vulnerabilities to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, conflicts, and other hazards with their ability — due to availability and access to financing—to take prevention, recovery, and rebuilding actions. Illustrating current and future risk exposure scenarios of 188 nations, the Climate Finance (CliF) Vulnerability Index’s interactive dashboard identifies the 65 most at-risk, ‘Red Zone’ nations ― two-thirds of which are in Africa.

The overarching goal of the CliF Vulnerability Index is to promote more comprehensive risk assessment standards, target resources for various bands of vulnerability, and ultimately, inform how to more effectively reach communities facing various types of disaster and financial risks.

Duration of heat waves accelerating faster than global warming

New research finds that not only will climate change make heat waves hotter and longer, but the lengthening of heat waves will accelerate with each additional fraction of a degree of warming. Researchers found that the longest heat waves will see the greatest acceleration, and the frequency of the most extreme heat waves will increase the most. The duration of a heat wave exacerbates the risk to people, animals, agriculture and ecosystems.

Quantifying future local impacts of sea level rise on buildings and infrastructure

This paper presents a refined method for assessing the consequences of sea level rise on coastal communities by quantifying future impacts to buildings and infrastructure at a local level. While community resilience models typically address acute hazards, this work considers sea level rise and tides as a chronic hazard and its temporal impacts. Local sea level rise scenarios and tide predictions are combined to develop a time series of future water levels. The future water levels are mapped to the local topography to obtain the spatial extent of flooding.

Understanding the global subnational migration patterns driven by hydrological intrusion exposure

As climate change intensifies, water-related hazards like floods and droughts are playing a growing role in where people choose—or are forced—to live. While most studies look at migration trends at the national level, this research analyzes nearly 47,000 regions globally to understand how local exposure to hydrological risks drives human movement. Using satellite data, the study offers a detailed view of how hazards, exposure, and vulnerability interact to influence migration.

The findings show that direct exposure to water risks is a more powerful driver of migration than socioeconomic factors. However, not everyone can leave: economically disadvantaged and older populations are more likely to stay in high-risk areas or relocate only nearby. The research also reveals a complex, S-shaped migration pattern—initial resistance to move, followed by increasing departures, and eventually entrapment—shaped by a community’s resilience and ability to adapt.

Harnessing emerging technologies to address data gaps in natural disaster risk management: A conceptual framework and applications

Natural disasters are increasingly disrupting lives and economies across the globe. While new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning hold great promise for improving disaster risk management (DRM), most existing studies focus only on specific tools or applications. Broader frameworks are rare, and there’s a key gap: how to handle the complex data challenges that come with using technology in disaster response.

This study introduces a new framework centered on data governance, tackling three major problems—lack of data, poor data quality, and limited use of data—across both the technical and human sides of risk management. Drawing on real-world examples, the paper shows how emerging technologies can help address these issues while also highlighting new risks that come with relying on advanced tech. The proposed model offers a practical, closed-loop approach for aligning data strategy with evolving disaster needs—moving beyond tech hype toward smarter, more resilient systems.

The future of poverty: Projecting the impact of climate change on global poverty through 2050

This paper presented global and regional projections of the potential poverty impacts of climate change through 2050, using a macro-to-micro simulation approach that links temperature-driven GDP shocks to household-level income and consumption data.

The findings suggest that under a high-emissions, limited-adaptation scenario (SSP5-RCP8.5), climate change could significantly slow progress in poverty reduction—particularly in regions with high baseline poverty, low adaptive capacity, and strong dependence on climate-sensitive sectors. The projections show that climate-induced income losses alone could push an additional 41 million people into extreme poverty by 2050.

Think Resilience Dialogue – Unlocking Potential: Resilience at the Core of LLDCs’ Sustainable Development

The Think Resilience Dialogues – co-hosted by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Group of Friends for Disaster Risk Reduction – provide a space for Member States, as well as the United Nations system, invited experts and stakeholder groups, to informally discuss issues central to risk-informed decision-making with a view to mainstreaming a risk-informed approach across various intergovernmental fora.

This Think Resilience Dialogue will unpack the disaster risk reduction and resilience building elements of the Awaza Programme of Action and discuss key areas of work that are of particular significance to LLDCs, to support delegations as they prepare for the Third International Conference on LLDC3.

Nature-based Solutions to Global Challenges Foundation Course

This course is an introduction to Nature-based solutions (NbS) for professionals working in a range of sectors: staff at NGOs from the development and environmental sectors wanting to better understand the evidence from research and practice on how NbS can deliver multiple benefits and for whom, to enable them to hold governments to account; business executives wanting to better understand the risks and also the opportunities of investing in NbS; civil servants, regulators, and investors working to develop policies that can enable economic recovery whilst supporting net-zero and biodiversity goals; and philanthropists wanting to support activities that have positive outcomes for both people and nature.

The Workshop on Advancing Regional Climate Centres Products and Services to Meet Evolving Needs of Members

The workshop will focus on the key CSIS functions, including climate monitoring, climate prediction, and data, as well as the deployment of Climate Services Toolkit (CST).  It will also build on the lessons learned and good practices of RCCs emerging from the WMO contribution to ClimSA. The workshop will bring together experts from all RCCs in Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) regions supported under the ClimSA programme, as well as WMO Subject Matter Experts (SME) who will serve as resource persons.

Disaster risk reduction and resilience building in LLDCs: From commitment to action

This event will bring together government representatives from Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), UN agencies, and partners to explore strategies for implementing the disaster risk reduction and resilience-building priorities outlined in the new Programme of Action for LLDCs (2024–2034). With LLDCs facing heightened vulnerability to climate change and natural hazards, the event will focus on advancing risk-informed development through improved data, financing, technology transfer, resilient infrastructure, and regional cooperation. Discussions will identify concrete steps, good practices, and gaps to support LLDCs in building more resilient societies and achieving sustainable development.

Disaster Resilience in New Zealand: What we can learn from Australia.

As climate risks and disasters intensify and our infrastructure ages, ensuring the disaster resilience of critical infrastructure comes at a cost, but who should bear it?

At Infrastructure New Zealand’s Infrastructure Resilience Conference, James Russell, Sector Director – Finance and Insurance, spoke alongside colleagues Chris Perks, Sector Director – Transport and Delivery Partners, and Sean O’Meara (BDO). The panel discussed how Australia has approached the funding, financing, and governance of infrastructure resilience, drawing lessons for New Zealand.

Continuity planning empowers businesses to adapt, recover, and thrive

Businesses often struggle to recover from extreme weather events and natural hazards because they are not ready.

It has been estimated that 40% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do not reopen after a disaster, and many of those that do fail within a year. Businesses need to rethink their operating models before disruptions happen. Yet building disaster resilience does not always have to require a resource-intensive process or lead to something new.  It does not mean changing what a business does, but how it does it. This is where business continuity planning comes in.

New study shows rapid cloud loss contributing to record-breaking temperatures

Earth’s cloud cover is rapidly shrinking and contributing to record-breaking temperatures, according to new research involving the Monash-led Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather.

The research, led by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and published in Geophysical Research Letters, analysed satellite observations to find that between 1.5 and 3 per cent of the world’s storm cloud zones have been contracting each decade in the past 24 years.

Most finance ministries are concerned about climate change, but face barriers to including it in economic analyses and decisions

Most finance ministries are concerned about the physical impacts of climate change, and the implications of the transition away from fossil fuels, according to the results of a major survey published today (9 June 2025) by the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.

However, finance ministries are finding it difficult to incorporate climate change into their economic analyses and face many challenges in taking it into account in their decision-making.

Drought in Europe June 2025

The objective of this brief is to provide an analytical overview of the current and projected drought conditions across central and northern Europe, northern Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

Some areas have been experiencing more severe alert drought conditions, particularly in the Mediterranean region, including south-eastern Spain, Cyprus, and most of North Africa, as well as central and south-eastern Türkiye and the Middle East. Alert conditions are rapidly intensifying in large areas of Ukraine and in the neighbouring countries, impacting crops and vegetation. Similar conditions are emerging in some areas of central Europe, the Baltic, and the UK.

Artificial Intelligence approaches for disaster risk management

This brief explores AI capabilities to support the EU’s prevention, preparedness, and resilience-building strategies, including the Preparedness Union Strategy. Efforts focus on enhancing information and image processing, advancing AI-driven risk assessment, and strengthening early warning systems.

Understanding social vulnerability for more effective climate strategies: Lessons from CCDRs in Southern and Eastern Africa

The goal of the report is to show how understanding social vulnerability can help policymakers to prioritize climate investments, design projects and programs to be more inclusive, and create tailored initiatives that make households and communities stronger and more resilient overall. It highlights how social vulnerability puts some people in harm’s way or prevents them from finding safety; limits their access to resources for adaptation; and constrains their agency and their voice. Poverty is a key factor, but so is social exclusion.

Multi-hazard early warning system – Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System

This report presents the updates and describes the Multi-Hazard and Early Warning System component (MHEWS) of the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS). This report focuses on the methodology underpinning the GDACS score employed across the seven hazards covered by the MHEWS.

GDACS events are produced automatically or semi-automatically for each hazard independently, using dedicated algorithms and the data available, with expert supervision. Every event on GDACS features a score and colour, based on the estimated risk that the given event poses to the exposed population and affected area

Online Workshop on Effective Public Governance and Finance for Disaster Risk Reduction, Local Resilience and Climate Action

The Workshop will introduce concepts and tools to help ensure effective governance, disaster-related data management, planning and finance mobilization for local-level disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience and climate action. It will provide a comprehensive understanding of concepts, tools and approaches for risk understanding and loss and damage assessment, integrated planning, institutional strengthening across different levels of governance, as well as finance mechanisms to support disaster risk reduction and climate action, with particular focus on response to loss and damage.

[MCR2030 Webinar] Using MCR2030 Dashboard to Strengthen Engagement with Cities

The Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative is a global partnership that supports cities in strengthening disaster and climate resilience. A key tool available for its cities and partners is the MCR2030 dashboard, an online platform designed to help cities assess their resilience, share insights, and monitor progress along the resilience roadmap. The dashboard also facilitates city’s access to useful tools and resources provided by MCR2030 service providers which further support cities in achieving their resilience goals in line with broader global frameworks such as the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

GCF 42^nd Board meeting

4th International Conference on Financing for Development 

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) provides a unique opportunity to reform financing at all levels, including to support reform of the international financial architecture and addressing financing challenges preventing the urgently needed investment push for the SDGs. FFD4 Conference will be held in FIBES Sevilla Exhibition and Conference Centre.