12 June 2009: The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) presented two reports on risk reduction, adaptation and insurance within the context of climate change, at a side event held during the climate change talks in Bonn, Germany.

Andrew Maskrey, UN/ISDR, presented key outcomes of a collaborative report entitled “Risk and Poverty in a Changing Climate.” He highlighted global-level findings, including that: disaster risk is concentrated in a small part of the world, particularly in highly populated developing countries that are prone to natural hazards; in relative terms, small countries with small economies are most at risk; risk is increasing; and risk, measured in terms of mortality and economic loss, can be over 100 times greater in countries with lower incomes and human development levels.
Christoph Bals, Germanwatch, presented results of a collaborative report entitled “Adaptation to Climate Change: Linking Disaster Risk Reduction and Insurance.” He said direct investment, such as restoring mangroves, can be cheaper than insurance payouts, and highlighted the potential of making risk reduction a pre-requisite to accessing insurance. He stressed that insurance can play a positive role if embedded in the right risk reduction environment, which in turn must be embedded in the right adaptation environment. [IISD ENBOTS]