RELEASE: Adaptation Action Coalition Launches New Disaster Risk Reduction Workstream to Accelerate Implementation and Resilience Among Member Countries
Contacts: Talia Chorover, talia.chorover@wri.org; Animesh Kumar, animesh.kumar@un.org
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT (November 12, 2022) — At COP27, the Adaptation Action Coalition (AAC) is announcing the launch of a Disaster Risk Reduction workstream in partnership with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership (REAP). The new partnership will allow governments to improve their risk management and disaster mitigation efforts at the speed and scale that the climate crisis demands.
“Climate-related disasters demand more proactive, collaborative and far-reaching approaches to adaptation and disaster risk reduction,” said Ms. Loretta Hieber Girardet, Chief of Risk Knowledge, Monitoring and Capacity Development Branch at UNDRR. “But governments also need support to integrate comprehensive risk management into their existing budgets and policies. By working together, we can better adapt to disasters in real time, protect vulnerable communities and improve long-term resilience.”
Launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019, REAP brings together a wide range of stakeholders across the climate, humanitarian and development communities with the aim of making 1 billion people safer from disaster by 2025. Target 1 of REAP’s goals is for 50 countries to integrate crisis/disaster risk management into climate adaptation laws, policies and plans. UNDRR is an active member of REAP and co-leads the Working Group on Comprehensive Risk Management.
“The world is experiencing more climate-related problems every year and governments need to work alongside international actors to protect vulnerable communities from future disasters, storms, and droughts. The more we can globally integrate these systems, the more lives and livelihoods we will be able to protect in the long run,” Mr. Ben Webster, Head of REAP’s Secretariat, said. “Together, we look forward to strengthening the legal frameworks, policies and plans at the national level that will lay the foundation for us to act swiftly and decisively ahead of future crises.”
In support of accelerating the implementation of disaster risk reduction efforts, the AAC is launching a technical workstream with a focus on DRR. The new workstream, led by UNDRR, will focus on achieving the REAP Target 1 through engagement of AAC member countries.
Member countries of the Adaptation Action Coalition are already eager to tap into the AAC’s new workstream offerings. Some AAC member countries, like Japan, have indicated deep expertise in disaster risk reduction and an interest in championing DRR peer exchange among the Coalition. Japan’s early warning systems technologies, particularly against earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and heatwaves, are some of the most advanced in the world. In the spirit of regional collaboration and exchange, the National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan recently launched a revamped Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (AP-PLAT) website in 2021 to promote climate-resilient societies across the Asia-Pacific region. AAC member countries like Fiji, the Philippines and Tuvalu, have also taken several steps to ensure an integrated implementation of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
About the Adaptation Action Coalition
The Adaptation Action Coalition is a country-led initiative of over 40 member countries that have joined together to accelerate global action on adaptation to achieve a climate resilient world by 2030 through targeted sectoral workstreams and peer exchange. AAC member countries support one another through peer learning and knowledge exchange, and participate in sector-specific, action-oriented workstreams led by leading global organizations and experts. The AAC currently offers workstreams on Water Resilience, led by Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA); Health Systems, led by the World Health Organization (WHO); Resilient Infrastructure, led by the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI); and Locally Led Adaptation, led by World Resources Institute (WRI) and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
About World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research organization that spans more than 60 countries, with international offices in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States, regional offices in Ethiopia (for Africa) and the Netherlands (for Europe), and program offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Our more than 1,700 experts and staff turn big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being. More information at www.wri.org or on Twitter @WorldResources.