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Under-counted risk
Under-estimating the risk of disasters means under-valuing the benefits of risk reduction.
Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025
Resilience Pays: Financing and Investing for our Future
The Global Assessment Report (GAR) 2025: Resilience Pays: Financing and Investing for our Future highlights how smarter investment can reset the destructive cycle of disasters debt uninsurability and humanitarian need that threatens a climate-changed world. Disaster risk is increasing as more frequent and intense hazard events unsafe urbanization and ineffective development put more people and assets in harm’s way. Disasters are having profound macroeconomic impacts with direct losses estimated at $202 billion. When indirect and ecosystem costs are taken into account escalating disaster costs now surpass $2.3 trillion annually. There is an urgent need to transform how disaster risk is addressed amid a rapidly changing climate. Risk is no longer a peripheral issue but a systemic challenge that affects financial stability sustainability and equity. By embedding risk reduction into core policy and investment decisions it is possible to break the recurring cycle of shocks losses and debt. With the right choices resilience can become a foundation for long-term prosperity enabling societies not only to withstand disasters but to thrive despite them.
Taking stock of global progress on the Sendai Framework
Building resilience is increasingly recognized not just as a humanitarian or environmental imperative but as a fundamental pillar of sustainable economic development.
Foreword
Disasters are a defining feature of the 21st century and the impacts are far-reaching. Storms fires floods heatwaves and droughts have become fiercer and more frequent exacting an ever-greater toll on communities and economies – from eroding sustainable development gains to rendering entire regions uninsurable and knocking chunks out of countries’ GDP.
Investing in resilience for economic stability
There is a stark mismatch between the increasing levels of global disaster risk detailed in previous chapters of this report and current investment in resilience.
Future risk and the choices ahead
The world faces an increasingly volatile future. As hazard patterns evolve risk understanding and preventive action are more important than ever.
The path to resilience in a volatile world
Increasing risk when combined with inadequate resilient investment poses a major threat to sustainable development.
Conclusion: Resilience Pays
Disaster risk is increasing as more frequent and intense hazard events unsafe urbanization and ineffective development put more people and assets in harm’s way.
Preface
Disasters are happening more frequently and exacting a greater toll on communities. Loss of life habitat loss of infrastructure and loss of livelihoods are eroding past development gains. In poorer nations – particularly LDCs SIDS and LLDCs – a single disaster event can have devastating consequences for the national economy.
What disasters really cost and why building resilience is worth it
Disaster risk reduction delivers more than just safety. It protects prosperity. Yet while the benefits of investing in resilience are clear such investments are still far from sufficient.
Executive summary
The Global Assessment Report (GAR) 2025: Resilience Pays: Financing and Investing for our Future highlights how smarter investment can re-set the destructive cycle of disasters debt uninsurability and humanitarian need that threatens a climate-changed world.
État du climat en Afrique 2024
Le rapport « État du climat en Afrique 2024 » révèle que les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes et le changement climatique aggravent la faim l’insécurité et les déplacements de population en Afrique impactant tous les aspects du développement socio-économique. L’année 2024 a été l’une des plus chaudes jamais enregistrées avec des températures de surface de la mer sans précédent et des vagues de chaleur marines généralisées. Le rapport souligne les graves défis qui se posent à l’agriculture à la sécurité alimentaire et hydrique à la santé et à l’éducation tout en soulignant les opportunités émergentes offertes par l’IA les outils mobiles et les modèles météorologiques avancés. Il appelle à des investissements urgents dans les infrastructures le partage des données et les services inclusifs afin de renforcer les systèmes d’alerte précoce et la résilience climatique.
حالة المناخ في أفريقيا 2024
The State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report reveals that extreme weather and climate change are intensifying hunger insecurity and displacement across Africa impacting every facet of socio-economic development. 2024 ranked as one of the warmest years on record with unprecedented sea-surface temperatures and widespread marine heatwaves. The report outlines severe challenges for agriculture food and water security health and education—while also highlighting emerging opportunities through AI mobile tools and advanced weather models. It calls for urgent investment in infrastructure data sharing and inclusive services to strengthen early warning systems and climate resilience.
State of the Climate in Africa 2024
The State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report reveals that extreme weather and climate change are intensifying hunger insecurity and displacement across Africa impacting every facet of socio-economic development. 2024 ranked as one of the warmest years on record with unprecedented sea-surface temperatures and widespread marine heatwaves. The report outlines severe challenges for agriculture food and water security health and education—while also highlighting emerging opportunities through AI mobile tools and advanced weather models. It calls for urgent investment in infrastructure data sharing and inclusive services to strengthen early warning systems and climate resilience.
Priorities and needs in, and uptake of, adaptation technologies in agriculture, water resources and coastal zones
Adaptation planning is a key mechanism through which national governments – as well as governments at other levels and non-state actors – identify technology-related needs and priorities.