Building Climate Resilience of Small Island Developing States Side Event

Small island developing states (SIDS) are confronting a range of pressing socio-economic concerns, from poverty alleviation to high unemployment, and food security to the improvement of housing, education, and health care facilities. For these states, addressing the impacts of climate change and disasters, and enhancing resiliency of their people, economies, and ecosystems, is becoming an additional burden – and increasingly urgent.

 

This side event will highlight the increasing climate- and disaster-related challenges SIDS are facing and the innovative solutions that they are implementing as an integral part of their development. The discussion will build on the findings of Climate and Disaster Resilience Financing in Small Island Developing States, a report jointly produced by OECD and World Bank, which will be launched during the event. The report documents the growing climate and disaster challenges SIDS must meet and the complex financing landscape they are confronted with to finance resilience; it also details innovative solutions to make the people, economies, and ecosystems of SIDS climate- and disaster-resilient, including insurance solutions to minimise and address the negative impacts of climate change.

 

Representatives of Government from the Caribbean, Indian Ocean/Africa coast and Pacific region will present the implementation of innovative solutions in their countriesm which they carried out with support of EU, the World Bank, and/or GFDRR. These solutions represent a broad range of actions, including risk reduction, risk financing, disaster risk insurance and financial risk transfer mechanisms, and social protection, as well as solutions based on resilient ecosystems and infrastructure. The presentations will underscore challenges that many small islands face with regard to climate change, while the discussion aims to identify partnerships and networks that support the design and implementation of the activities.