The road from Glasgow to Sharm el-Sheikh has been rife with a number of extreme events, such as floods, heatwaves, wildfires; the frequent occurrences have impacted almost every individual, albeit differentially, in the intervening year. The cascading effects of climate change and the accentuated disaster risk scenarios have also presented significant threats to infrastructure assets and service continuity. The estimated US$94 trillion investments required in global infrastructure until 2040, must therefore embed resilience and enhanced adaptive capabilities.

The COP27 Presidency has made the clarion call for “enhanced global agenda for action on adaptation”. According to a UN report, 88 percent of all adaptation costs are attributed to infrastructure. Integration of climate and disaster resilience across the infrastructure life cycle of assets will be instrumental is attaining climate and sustainability goals. As countries are developing their Global Goal on Adaptation programme, the articulation and presentation of climate and disaster resilient infrastructure will be non-negotiable in achieving the shared goal of universal access to basic services, enabling prosperity and decent work.

Building on the key outcomes of CDRI’s engagement at COP26 in Glasgow, at COP27 CDRI envisions to strengthen the case for integrating resilience in infrastructure sectors through policy shift, scalable solutions, capacity development, risk informed financing, and joint action. COP27 and its clarion call provide an urgent and critical platform for fostering collaboration, sustaining momentum and accelerating catalytic action on climate and disaster resilient infrastructure.