Building Resilience to the Risk of Compound andCascading Disasters in the Context of Climate
Change IGES International Workshop 21 January 2022

© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Risk is increasing, and global systems are not sustainable
Correlation between poverty alleviation and sustainable consumption and production at global level

Source UNDRR GAR 2022

© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Disaster and economic losses and are increasing

Figure 3.10. As disaster-related economic loss grows, the species extinction risk intensifies (Red List Index)
140.00120.00100.00As bio-diversity
decreases andclimate change
accelerates

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

Source UNDRR GAR 2022

2005

2006

20072008

20092010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1.5.2 Direct economic loss attributed to disasters (current USD in 10 000 000)
15.5.1 Red List Index (Index multiplied by 150 to show better the correlation)© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

2017

2018

2019

© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Transformation is needed in environmental, financial andgovernance systems©©UNDRR– UnitedNations
Office Officefor Disaster
Risk Reduction
UNDRR– UnitedNations
for Disaster
Risk Reduction

Key Policy Developments• Leveraging of science and technology• Recognition of people, planet, prosperity nexus and the role of risk
reduction in safeguarding sustainable development• Innovations in governance to work across silos and design with, not for,affected people• Growing recognition of the systemic nature of risk, and the need tofactor in risk to future generations and long term ecosystem stabliity

Eg: UN DRR GAR 2022, and UN Common Agenda “UN Strategic
Foresight and Global Risk Report” and Futures Lab work plan
© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Emerging research areas• UNDRR-IRDR-ISC Research
agenda highlights 9 priority
areas including; understanding
root causes; supporting justtransitions and enablingtransformative governance• Analytics are a key tool for
consultation, but we can’t
predict the future.
• Moving towards a morecommon risk language is key• Reworking metrics to include
social and environmental assetsand costs© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Food for thought• We live in a time of certain uncertainty• The first line of defense is to reduce the vulnerability, inequality andexposure that drive disasters• Investing in understanding how disasters impact countries andcommunities improves effective decision making• Investments in systemic risk analytics are essential, but are tools notpredictions, so they need to be backed up by more flexible, agile
consultation and governance systems• Reworking financial systems to value sustainable development and to
take into account the real costs of risk is key© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Some key questions to ponder• How agile are your planning systems to uncertainty? How quickly canyour systems pivot?
• Do you have information on what drives vulnerability and exposure in yourcountry? Who is often left out of data? What safety nets are in place forthese groups specifically?
• Do your planning and budgets include provisions for intvesting inresilience building and in protecting essential infrastructure like hospitals,schools etc? If not how can that happen?
• Have you begun to look at knock-on or cascading impacts of disasters?
Do you have modeling that can do this? If not can you start, and whoneeds to be part of discussions to interpret and use that analysis?
• Do your fiscal planning systems value people, and the planet or justprosperity? How can could this become more balanced in your context?
Do you value your children’s generation too?
© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Thank you
www.undrr.org
jenty.kirsch-wood@un.org© UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction