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03 June 2022
In 2017, a World Bank team met with donor partners from Germany and the United Kingdom to discuss how to shape the future global disaster risk finance agenda. The Caribbean, and parts of Latin America and the USA had just been hit by a series of devastating hurricanes, costing thousands of lives, and leaving affected countries with the highest ever recorded damages. As natural disasters and climate shocks increasingly threatened lives, assets, and livelihoods — especially poor and vulnerable... Keep reading
28 April 2022
Alongside increased focus on climate change, the discussion has widened to consider nature and biodiversity. It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is both a direct and indirect financial threat from nature degradation and reduced biodiversity. This is still an evolving area, where we expect the COP 15 in Q3 2022 to set the agenda for the next few years. The G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap (G20 SFWG, 2021) highlighted the need to integrate nature and biodiversity in future work on... Keep reading
31 March 2022
In 2019, a devastating earthquake struck Albania. It was estimated to be a 1-in-100 year event, causing significant damages and losses to the country. Just a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the country. It presented immense difficulties for the Albanian economy which was still trying to recover from the earthquake. As the consequences from these events unfolded, many Albania businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) had to close or suspend their... Keep reading
01 February 2022
The blog was originally posted at the Centre for Disaster Protection . When the Centre for Disaster Protection convened the Crisis Lookout Coalition in January 2021, it challenged the international system, and the donors that sustain it, to ensure that, wherever possible, finances to pay for disasters are arranged in advance. Doing so could help reduce costly delays associated with the current model where most international aid is agreed and dispersed after a disaster has taken place. In... Keep reading
27 January 2022
African countries are among those most vulnerable to natural disasters and the impacts of climate change. In a sample of 30 African countries, 20 are warming faster than the global average - a trend expected to continue in coming decades. As natural hazards increase in frequency and severity and climate impacts continue to evolve, African countries are likely to experience more—and more dangerous—shocks in the future. Every year Africa is affected by dozens of such disasters that vary in type,... Keep reading
24 January 2022
Like many other good ideas, this one started on a paper napkin. Fifteen years ago, a World Bank team was in Jamaica to arrange emergency relief funding to cope with destruction of Hurricane Ivan. This disaster destroyed 6,000 houses and affected almost 400,000 people. In a restaurant in Kingston, we began brainstorming ideas for creating a lasting financial solution for rapid response in the inevitable event of future hurricanes or earthquakes. Back in 2005, disaster risk insurance relied on... Keep reading
20 January 2022
Extreme weather events are commonplace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Agriculture is particularly vulnerable to extreme droughts and flooding — which are expected to increase in frequency and severity due to climate change. But planning and preparing for crises and disasters is difficult in DRC, as in many other developing countries, even for common risks such as weather hazards. Typically, managing agriculture sector risks and emergencies happens after the crisis hits. The World... Keep reading