Global resilience index initiative launched

• An international, multi-partner initiative, GRII will be the world’s first curated, open-source reference index
• GRII addresses the data emergency that is contributing to the climate crisis
• Launched during the COP26 Adaptation Day on 8th November under the patronage of Mark Carney, UN; Mami Mizutori, UNDRR; and Eric Andersen, AON & IDF

The Global Resilience Index Initiative (GRII) multi-partner taskforce announces today its formal launch at COP26 Adaptation Day. 

With partial funding and in-kind contributions from the insurance sector and partner institutions, the GRII will provide a globally consistent model for the assessment of resilience across all sectors and geographies. It will be a curated, open-source resource offering high level metrics across the built environment, infrastructure, agriculture and societal exposures with many potential applications in aggregated risk management worldwide.  

Patrons of the GRII initiative are Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance; Mami Mizutori, Assistant 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, President, Aon, Member and Risk Modelling Champion IDF Steering Committee. 

GRII partners and supporters are:

• Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
• Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI)
• Fathom
• GEM Foundation
• Insurance Development Forum (IDF)
• Oasis Loss Modelling Framework
• UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI)
• United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
• University of Oxford
• Willis Towers Watson

The GRII draws upon significant cross-sector risk modelling experience, including public-private partnerships between governments, academia, insurance and engineering.

The mission of the GRII is to address the data emergency that is contributing to the climate crisis by helping sectors across the global economy quantify the value of building climate resilience and the costs of doing nothing. It will enable asset owners to compare portfolio risks across geographies and hazards, as well as helping countries to prioritise national adaptation investments.

The coalition behind the GRII is seeking to achieve two initial goals:

1. Offer global open reference risk data using metrics built on insurance risk modelling principles;
2. Provide shared standards and facilities applicable to a wide range of uses, including corporate climate risk disclosure, national adaptation planning and reporting, and the planning of pre-arranged humanitarian finance.

Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, said:

“It is imperative that it is clear which financial flows and investments are Paris aligned. Without this, we will not achieve the net zero transition needed for 1.5 degrees. Discipline and transparency over alignment will also play a critical role for climate resilient development. GRII can play an important role by creating a shared understanding of mounting physical climate risks. In turn, this will help close the insurance protection gap and direct investment and aid to where they are needed the most.” 

“Mami Mizutori, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction in the UNDRR, said:

“It is a testament to the intense and purposeful collaborative effort of the GRII taskforce partners and supporters across sectors that we are able to formally launch this ground-breaking global initiative. It is particularly important that we are announcing this at the COP26 Adaptation Day, demonstrating our commitment to turn words into action for resilience as we address the climate emergency. 

GRII has the potential to support all sectors in the management of adaptation and resilience, but action and support is required from the private and public sectors to further globalise the initiative. 

The next steps are to ensure that countries are able to make full use of the GRII’s potential, particularly at the strategic risk assessment stage, and support governments in making critical climate investment decisions.”

Eric Andersen, President, Aon, Member and Risk Modelling Champion IDF Steering Committee, said:

“I am delighted to support the launch of the GRII, which is a clear public good. Using consistent reference metrics and spatial information the GRII will support and link worldwide groups working on climate resilience, including the humanitarian sector, infrastructure investment, disaster risk insurance, financial regulation and disclosure.

With the wealth of global insurance risk modelling expertise to bring to the table, this multi-partner program will benefit policy makers, financial markets and exposed communities across the world in understanding their climate risks. This, in turn, will help decision-makers reach, communicate and implement better actions for a more resilient future for all.”

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency and Chair of the CGFI Advisory Board, 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.”

Rowan Douglas CBE, Co-Chair, Global Resilience Index Initiative, said:

“We face a global pandemic of climate fragility. Our mission is a dynamic map that will provide an information vaccine to change the world. The GRII will retrain the Invisible Hand of economics to shape a more resilient and prosperous future for us all. This will spread across our financial systems and, like traditional vaccines, save millions of lives and livelihoods in the decades ahead.”

Dr Ben Caldecott, Director of the UK Centre for Greening Finance & Investment and Co-Chair, Global Resilience Index Initiative said:

“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.”

Live stream the virtual launch of the event at 11:30 GMT today via this link. 

GRII partners and supporters are:

• Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
• Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI)
• Fathom
• GEM Foundation
• Insurance Development Forum (IDF)
• UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI)
• Oasis Loss Modelling Framework
• United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
• University of Oxford
• Willis Towers Watson

For more information please visit: www.globalresilienceindex.org