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Newsletter December 2025
Making the case for DRI
At COP30, the Director General called on governments to prioritize disaster resilient infrastructure to protect communities, reduce economic losses, and build a safer, more sustainable future.
Our growing Coalition
Our growing Coalition
Armenia, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, along with CAF and ECOWAS have joined the Coalition, taking our membership to 64. To mark CAF’s membership, the Director General spoke with CAF’s Director of Climate Action on how CDRI is convening global partners and mobilizing expertise to advance DRI.
Leading Global Conversations on DRI
Turning risk into resilience
CDRI’s Global Infrastructure Resilience Report 2025 shows that disaster-related service disruptions cause, on average, 7.4 times higher losses than the direct damage to infrastructure. Investing in disaster resilient infrastructure (DRI) and unlocking the resilience dividend can halve GDP losses by 2050.
DRI Pavilion 2025
In Belém, Brazil, CDRI again hosted the COP DRI Pavilion, engaging 12 countries and 60 partners across 38 sessions with 70+ impactful interventions. Dr Kopal Verma explains why resilient infrastructure is the smartest investment, highlighting the opportunity to build resilience within the infrastructure the world will build between now and 2050.
A call to make DRI central to adaptation
A CDRI supported Action Agenda urges placing DRI at the heart of national adaptation strategies. With 75% of global infrastructure yet to be built and climate disasters causing US$700 billion annually, early resilience investments adding just 5–15% upfront-can deliver 7–12x returns and strengthen long-term development outcomes.
Champions of DRI
Champions of DRI
Kathy Baughman McLeod, Founder and CEO of Climate Resilience for All, and longtime champion of DRI, highlights CDRI’s pivotal role in enhancing governments’ technical capacity to assess climate risks and jointly develop resilient infrastructure amid escalating climate losses.
Promoting risk-informed policy and practice
Embedding resilience in the cities of tomorrow
David White, Director – Advocacy and Communications, spoke at Allianz’s session at Seguros’ House of Insurance panel at COP30. He stressed that by 2050, 70% of people will live in cities, and 75% of the infrastructure we will use then is yet to be built, meaning we are at a moment of opportunity, where we can embed resilience and not risk.
Advancing climate resilient urban water systems
A workshop in New Delhi focused on strengthening urban water resilience, complemented by the launch of its Urban Water Infrastructure Resilience training modules at COP30, developed with financial support from the Government of the Netherlands, which will equip cities with practical tools for climate- and risk-informed water planning.
Advancing gender inclusivity through infrastructure design
A new report by the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI) and CDRI highlights how embedding gender equality, disability, and social inclusion across infrastructure lifecycles strengthens resilience, reduces vulnerability, and advances equitable climate adaptation.
Enhancing capacities to impact DRI & post-disaster recovery
New tools, stronger systems: Enhancing Early Warning Systems (EWS)
CDRI SIDS programme, backed by donations from Australia, India, the United Kingdom, and the EU, is supporting 24 projects across 25 SIDS. In December, the project in the Dominican Republic became the first to deliver final output – an EWS framework, a national risk atlas, and upgraded alert system.
Building resilience in mountain regions
CDRI’s new publication Shaping Resilience in Mountains has been designed to equip policymakers and practitioners with evidence, case studies, and actionable guidance to strengthen DRI-advancing risk-informed planning, inclusive development, and long-term protection of fragile mountain ecosystems and livelihoods.
Advancing urban resilience in Bhutan
Phub Zam, Engineer at Bhutan’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, describes the urban resilience efforts that CDRI is supporting, which are enhancing risk-informed planning in Bhutan’s cities-enabling safer infrastructure development while reducing long-term maintenance costs in the face of escalating climate risks.
ICDRI 2026 – Save the Date!
The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure will be held in New Delhi, India, on 22-24 April 2026. This 8th edition of ICDRI will bring governments, financiers, the private sector and experts to advance solutions, forge partnerships, and drive investments that strengthen sustainable, disaster resilient infrastructure globally.
Viewpoint
Staff testimonial
Deepak Rawat, Senior Specialist in CDRI’s Procurement team, reflects on his five years working at the Secretariat. From a climate-vulnerable north Indian state, he shares a deeply personal journey aligned with CDRI’s mission to strengthen resilience in vulnerable regions worldwide.
