Blogs

The topic of health, both mental and physical, is taking an increasing amount of space in climate change discussions and negotiations. According to the World Health Organization, climate-related health damages are estimated to cost up to USD 4 billion by 2030, with outsize impacts on developing nations. To this end, the recent 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) saw the launch of...

More than two years on from the mid-July 2021 Western European floods, researchers are still unpacking different aspects of the deadly event to mitigate such occurrences in the future. A recent paper published in Frontiers from experts at the University of Bonn and the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) looks at the role of forests in flood disasters i...

Insights from a recent study examining the German 2021 flood response show that critical infrastructures, their interdependencies and collaborative processes need a stronger consideration in preparedness planning. The research article ‘Collaboration is key: Exploring the 2021 flood response for critical infrastructures in Germany‘ was published on 1 June 2023 by the International Journ...

Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of floods across the globe. As recent severe events in Italy, Brazil, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Malawi, the Philippines, Somalia and Western Australia have shown, floods affect nature and society, leaving communities, cities and entire regions devastated. Jointly produced by United Nations University institutes in...

Ahead of the Flood Knowledge Summit 2022, the UNU Climate Resilience Initiative (CRI) of people in seven countries from the Global South. Contributors from Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal, Nigeria and the Philippines provided insights on the impact of flooding on their lives, families and communities. All interviewees offer anecdotes and information on the havoc floods and extreme weather events ...

On 28 February 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its most worrying report. The report underscores the impact of climate-induced shocks on cities, people, and nature while stressing the crucial need for cross-border cooperation. In recognition of the multifaceted effects of the climate emergency witnessed during the 2021 floods in Europe, the UNU Climate Resilience...

A post-Covid19 world troubled by multi-faceted environmental, political and economic crises, requires us to rethink the interconnected global challenges at hand today. A combination of drastic geopolitical shifts, restructured economic and social domains, novel political opinions, amplified environmental emergencies and complex migration waves poses unprecedented, hybrid risks threatening every as...

The UNU Climate Resilience Initiative will participate in IWPP3 BUDAPEST – The International Public Policy Association’s International Workshops on Public Policy, June 28 – 30, 2022, Budapest, Hungary contributing to thematic session: Policy Process, Policy Making, Policy Implementation in the sub-section (W05) “Climate Policy Integration at Stake” The working title of the ...

Special Issue: Water-Related Disasters and Risks A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section Hazards and Sustainability. Complex and excessive interactions and interlinkages between human activities and the water cycle result in water-related disasters. Such disasters are frequently visible globally, such as floods, droughts, landslides, storms, an...