Zero Climate Disasters by 2030

1Boost political commitment to mitigation and funding for adaptation

We call for COP27 delegates to inject #zeroclimatedisasters by 2030 into these deliberations, to guide the ambition and accelerate the pace of resilience building on the ground.

We call on G20 nations to align the ambition of climate plans with the reality we face. We must rein in unchecked greenhouse gas emissions to meet the 1.5-degree target as an urgent global priority and for stakeholders to commit to the “Race to Zero” campaign.

• We call on global decision-makers to uphold the commitment to double adaptation and DRR finance to vulnerable countries to reduce climate and disaster-related risks.

The Glasgow Climate Pact marked a new era in action on adaptation and loss and damage. A critical discussion at COP27 will be building a shared understanding for further international agreement to deliver funding on both adaptation to, and losses and damages from, climate change.

This means advocating for greater ambition to reduce emission levels, alongside efforts to limit vulnerability and exposure. Current mitigation trajectories are leading to unmanageable disaster risk. A continued increase in carbon emissions will result in irreversible changes including the breach of limits to adaptation and tipping points of planetary boundaries. Our success in reaching ‘Zero Climate Disasters by 2030’ is contingent on reducing carbon emissions and a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery as envisioned in the “Race to Zero” campaign. Ensuring a safe climate is the greatest public good governments can deliver.

2Double down on global efforts to reduce vulnerability, poverty, and inequality, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

• We call on Member States to prioritise their commitments to achieving the SDGs, especially reduction of poverty and inequality, while urgently addressing climate vulnerability with a focus on the most vulnerable countries and communities.

Climate disasters are caused not only by growing hazards such as floods, cyclones, and droughts but also by vulnerability and exposure. Today, 10 per cent of the world population live in extreme poverty, around 193 million people in 53 countries are experiencing acute food insecurity.

Risk associated with weather-related hazards is disproportionately concentrated in developing countries and, within all countries, in poorer sectors of the population. Inequality causes disadvantaged groups to suffer disproportionately from the adverse effects of climate change, resulting in greater inequality. The climate crisis is not “gender neutral.” Including people of all genders and ages and all communities, results in stronger climate action for all. Under the frameworks of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we have the tools, the targets, and the systems in place but we need far greater investment and commitment to reduce vulnerability, tackle inequality, and reach the Sustainable Development Goals.

3Scale up effective Comprehensive Risk Management

We call on national and local governments to integrate disaster and climate and related strategies, plans and financing, with clear goals to achieve #zeroclimatedisasters by 2030.

We call on global decision-makers to uphold the commitment to double adaptation and DRR finance and deliver on the ground with and for the communities who need it most..

We call for climate finance directed to fragile and highly vulnerable countries to mitigate climate and disaster related risks, and to reduce the compounding vulnerability emanating from the intersection of fragility and climate change.

We call for Member States to urgently implement the Santiago Network, as a key mechanism to catalyse technical assistance to avert, minimise and address climate-related losses and damages. UNDRR and the Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience stand ready to support this implementation through its normative tools, guidance, and technical assistance.

Member States are called upon to break down the silos that separate disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and related humanitarian and development action. Comprehensive disaster and climate risk management promotes integrated planning, implementation and financing that identifies actions to reduce climate-related disaster risks and reach the most vulnerable.

To implement Comprehensive Risk Management, many climate-vulnerable countries need urgent technical assistance, needed to build local capacities to better understand existing and emerging risks and integrate them into current plans. This includes integrated disaster risk reduction and adaptation plans and strategies, or, at the minimum, risk-informed adaptation plans and climate-informed disaster risk reduction plans. Moreover, synergies can be achieved through building a shared understanding of risk and applying disaster data for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, including through its Global Stocktake and Global Goal on Adaptation.

4Prioritise inclusive local action and community engagement

We call on Member States to increase the volume of devolved and decentralized funding provided to local levels to implement local resilience solutions.

We call on climate finance providers to make flexible resourcing mechanisms available to non-governmental stakeholders to enable the full and meaningful participation in resilience building of all stakeholders, particularly those traditionally excluded from decision-making.

We reiterate the UN Secretary-General’s call for climate justice for all, directing resources to those highly vulnerable countries facing climate impacts that cannot be mitigated.

Scaled up adaptation and disaster risk reduction are most effective at the local level where the consequences of climate change are felt. Local and indigenous knowledge and experiences are critical to identify solutions that work best to avoid maladaptation, worsened inequalities, and unsustainable programming.

People are affected differently by disasters so we must empower and include local actors, especially community-based organizations, in the development and implementation of national and local strategies to effectively avert, minimize and address losses and damages.

5Early warning and action for all by 2027

We call for universal early warning coverage in the next five years, as a key means to preparing the communities to act before disasters strike.

We call for the universal availability of high-quality data to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems, particularly in LDCs, SIDS and African countries.

Early warning and action save lives, however, only half of the countries, and one-third of the world’s people – living mainly in the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), – are still not covered by early warning systems. The UN Secretary-General announced that the UN will spearhead action to ensure every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within five years.

Early warning systems should be end-to-end – invest in every stage of the early warning value chain, from risk assessments to technical infrastructure and community ‘last-mile’ outreach to ensure the timeliness of actions to reduce losses and damages. Early warning systems must be multi-hazard and inclusive of communities most at risk, with adequate institutional, financial, and human capacity to act on early warnings.