The Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance at COP28

The Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance and many of our members will be in the United Arab Emirates for COP28 to share our expertise and evidence advocating for the needs of flood prone communities across the globe. This event page provides the details for where we will be, what we’re doing, and what action we are calling for.

The 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP28, will run from 30 November until 12 December 2023. COP28 is a crucial moment in global transformative action on climate change and provides a key opportunity for world leaders to deliver commitments and lead the way on climate action.

What needs to happen at COP28

The Alliance will be in Dubai, sharing evidence from our resilience-building programmes and collectively calling for the following outcomes:

• Increase quality and quantity of climate finance, particularly for adaptation.
• Recognize the need to move from recovery to resilient recovery – risk-informed, multi-dimensional, inclusive – through much deeper and wider preparation at national level, and increased technical and financial support from the global level.
• Increase climate finance to fragile and conflict-affected states, too often overlooked.
• Reach agreement on operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund.
• Strengthen technical assistance for Loss and Damage through the Santiago Network. 

More detail is available in this article.

Hear from us at COP28 events

2nd December, 15:30 GST, Bangladesh Pavilion – Disaster Response to Resilient Recovery

Recovery is a critical element of the disaster risk management cycle, yet has long been overlooked and deprioritised. Following the publication of the Alliance’s report on resilient recovery, this session will explore options to reduce vulnerability, prepare for, adapt to, and respond to rising climate risks and impacts.

The session provides and opportunity to bring together key stakeholders from local, national and global levels to explore how we can ensure a resilient recovery that puts people and communities at the centre of action and decision-making.

3rd December, 15:30 GST, Nepal Pavilion – Loss and Damage & Resilient Recovery: What Nepal Needs

Climate-induced loss and damage is disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities in Nepal, pushing them into poverty cycle and increasing inequality. Due to limited policy frameworks and resources, Nepal relies heavily on external funding in the form of loans and grants to support its existing Disaster Risk Management (DRM) initiatives, including recovery efforts.

This session aims to gather support for the agenda of addressing loss and damage, highlighting the need for resilient recovery, and securing global commitments for the loss and damage fund during COP28.

4th December, 15.00-16:30 GST, SE Room 2 – Loss and damage across humanitarian action and development: from response to resilient recovery

This official side event will explore learning, opportunities and practical actions to overcome barriers and strengthen coherence, coordination and alignment from preparedness and response to resilient recovery from climate-induced disasters.

More information on the event, including which speakers will be participating, can be found here.

5th December, 11:00 GST, Bangladesh Pavilion – Understanding Loss and Damage and the challenges to WASH: Advocating for loss and damage finance

This session, hosted by WaterAid Bangladesh, provides an opportunity to explore the questions surrounding how to ensure strong integration of WASH and water resources evidence into the loss and damage evidence generating effort. Colin McQuistan, Head of Climate and Resilience at Practical Action will join a panel of expert speakers to showcase experts and countries’ integration and potential stance of loss and damage work to further influence practitioners and policy makers on how to carry forward the work around the subject.

7th December, 15:40 GST, Warehouse Four, Al Quoz – Workshop: How can climate finance reach communities on the frontlines of the crisis?

Climate finance is being explored from every angle at COP 28, including at Devex’s Climate + summit. Debbie Hillier, Head of Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance Program at Mercy Corps will be participating in this workshop which aims to highlight the challenges, opportunities, and approaches that will be needed to get climate finance to communities on the frontlines of the crisis. Participants will be sharing insights from their work and discussing a way forward.

You can register here to view the session online.

9th December, 10:30 GST, Resilience Hub – Humanitarian response and recovery: Both a case for disaster risk finance?

This session will explore feasible ways in which financing can support disaster risk management across key areas of loss and damage. Looking first at response, the session will draw on community perspectives to highlight the need for problem – not solution-driven approaches, the value of flexible resources for people-centred response, and emerging approaches and challenges with integrating short-term humanitarian relief and longer-term risk reduction efforts.

Looking next at recovery, where build back better is often sadly more rhetoric than reality, we will explore which financing mechanisms can support an inclusive and resilient recovery, including a required shift for insurers to resilient reinstatement.

9th December, 12:00 GST, Nepal Pavilion – The Global Goal on Adaptation: building accountability for adaptation action and finance Learning from Nepal and other countries

In 2015, the Paris Agreement established the Global Goal on Adaptation with the aim to increase ambition and focus on adaptation through enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change. At the same time Nepal and other countries in the region have developed their National Adaptation Plans and 2nd Nationally Determined Contributions including adaptation. Adaptation initiatives in Nepal have produced many lessons on adaptation and resilience, including how to measure it.

This interactive session will deep dive into these lessons and ask how to build accountability around adaptation to ensure it benefits those who need it most. It will further call for action from developed countries to fulfil their commitment for climate finance and promote appropriate technology.

Please check back for updates as more events are confirmed.