Improving the assessment of disaster risks to strengthen financial resilience: a special joint G20 publication by the Government of Mexico and the World Bank
Responding to a G20 mandate, this publication brings together the experiences of G20 countries in protecting their populations and assets against natural hazards, recognizing the urgent need to integrate risk consideration at all levels of development planning in order to increase the resilience of communities and national economies. Looking at the need to better understand risks to inform decisions, the publication is intended to be used as a wake-up call to Ministers of Finance as well as a guide for countries to improve decision-making and strengthen their financial resilience.
The report includes contributions by fifteen G20 members and invited countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States), as well as the OECD. A World Bank paper introduces the country experiences and sets out the challenges and opportunities to address rising disaster losses with more accurate risk data and better informed decision making. It highlights the critical role of countries being able to understand the risks they face. Identifying natural hazards, and understanding their potential impact on people and assets, is a fundamental element of guiding resilient development.