Emma Howard Boyd, Mark Carney and more welcome launch of Global Resilience Index Initiative

Emma Howard Boyd and Mark Carney were among those welcoming the launch of the Global Resilience Index Initiative (GRII) – the world’s first curated, open-source reference index.

Launched today on COP26 Adaptation Day GRII is described as a 'globally consistent model for the assessment of resilience across all sectors and geographies' that addresses the 'data emergency' contributing to the climate crisis.

The GRII is patronised by Mark Carney, UN special envoy on Climate Action and Finance; Mami Mizutori, sssistant secretary-general and special representative of the secretary-general for Disaster Risk Reduction in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR); and Eric Andersen, Aon Corporation president, member and risk modelling champion IDF Steering Committee.

Offering high level metrics across the built environment, infrastructure, agriculture and societal exposures it draws on significant cross-sector risk modelling experience, including public-private partnerships between governments, academia, insurance and engineering.

GRII partners and supporters include the University of Oxford, UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI), the UNDRR, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI).

On the launch Environment Agency chair and interim chair of the Green Finance Initiative Emma Howard Boyd said:

“In the last year, the heatwave in Vancouver, the floods in Germany, the polar vortex in Texas and the drought in Madagascar have shown everyone the horrifying human costs of climate change. By making our systems and economies more resilient to climate disruption we can save millions of lives and livelihoods.

"To inject pace into this vital agenda we need adaptation and resilience to be clearly understood by governments, businesses and communities. The Global Resilience Index Initiative helps deliver that.”

UK Centre for Greening Finance & Investment director Dr Ben Caldecott and co-chair GRII added:

“For our societies to be resilient to climate change we need to know where is exposed to the increasing risk of floods, storms, heatwaves, wildfires, and other extreme weather events. Businesses, households, governments, and financial institutions globally urgently need this information to make better decisions, but it is in terribly short supply, especially in developing countries and emerging economies.

"The GRII will help to change that by making climate risk modelling and asset-level datasets a global public good.”

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