Cop Out or Radically Change the Way the World Pays for Disasters
About the Event:
Extreme weather events and natural hazards are on the rise worldwide due to climate change. Between 2000 and 2019, their number surged by 75% compared with the previous 20 years, claiming 1.2 million lives and causing $3 trillion in economic losses.
The international community is struggling to match up the funding needed to prepare for, respond to, and rebuild from disasters. And where money is available, it is slow to reach affected communities, ultimately increasing the time and cost of recovery, and not always going where it is needed the most.
Unless the system we use to pay for disasters is adapted to meet the modern challenges of today, vulnerable communities will be kept in a vicious circle of poverty, making long term development progress – including the protection of biodiversity – impossible. While we already have the technology and skills to predict most disasters, funds are normally only sought after a disaster has already hit. Looking at 9 recent disasters, just 2.3% of the total funding was agreed up front, despite most of the disasters having been predicted.
The longer you leave a crisis, the bigger it grows and the more funds are ultimately needed to help recovery. Through pre-arranged finance, much needed money can reach those on the frontline faster – early response has been shown to as much as triple the cost-efficiency of disaster response.
This event, hosted by Devex in partnership with DAI and the Centre for Disaster Protection on the occasion of COP26, will examine how international and local actors can work together to create mechanisms for pre-agreed financing to ensure more timely, efficient, and agile disaster response. Drawing on the work of the Crisis Lookout Coalition, it will also explore how a new global agreement for crisis protection can help identify priority risks, help people adapt, and make sure they have the funds they need when it matters most.
Time: 5:00 p.m. GMT | 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Virtual
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2021
