New Delhi: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in collaboration with the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) orchestrated a side event under the Adaptation Pillar of the Quad Climate Working Group (QCWG). The event, titled “Capturing the Resilience Dividend: Quad Achievements under the Climate Adaptation Pillar,” took place on December 9, 2023, at the India Pavilion during the UNFCCC COP 28 in Dubai.
Representatives from all Quad countries participated in the panel, including the Environmental Management and Climate Change Group from JICA (Japan), Rajasree Ray (Economic Advisor, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, India), Nicola Ross (Director-Climate Integration Unit, DFAT, Australia), Toru Yoshida (Senior Deputy Director), and Michael Schiffer (Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia, USAID, USA). The session was moderated by Krishna Vatsa, a Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in India. The panel emphasized the crucial need to measure and promote the resilience dividend among all stakeholders.
The discussion underscored the necessity of incorporating resilience into investments, policies, planning, and governance to safeguard infrastructure, investments, and communities. The panel also highlighted challenges, such as data scarcity, coordination issues, financing gaps, and limited conceptual and implementation capacity at the local level in integrating adaptation measures.
Efforts towards resilience integration were shared during the session, including Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), community initiatives focusing on nature, and locally-led adaptation and resilience projects. These initiatives encompassed climate-resilient projects from the Indo-Pacific region. The panel commended the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), supported by all Quad partners, as an exemplary partnership among global stakeholders advocating for resilience and providing support to countries in accelerating economic growth and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.