Catalysing Investments for Climate- and Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure

Building infrastructure that is both climate- and disaster-resilient can facilitate rapid response to, and recovery from, natural disasters, particularly for developing countries and among disadvantaged communities. India’s G20 presidency motto, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future,’ provides a unifying call to action that places universalist values above nationalism. With the collective power and reach of the G20, the grouping can launch a long-term, partnership- based effort to catalyse investments for climate- and disaster-resilient infrastructure that could usher a new era of quality infrastructure. Climate resilience is part of the larger concept of disaster resilience, but deserves special consideration. Bodies such as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have pointed to alarming future scenarios if climate change is not reversed. Building such infrastructure in urban and rural systems requires better integration of engineers into the decision-making process.