7 July 2009: The UN International Strategy on Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) urged the G8 Summit convening in L’Aquila, Italy, from 8-10 July, to apply their “considerable influence, resources and political will” to advance five major action points on disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The action points include the following climate related activities: ensuring the research needed at all levels to develop, disseminate and apply climate forecast information, early warning systems and ecosystem essentials – particularly in developing countries – through improved water resource management and increased sustainable agricultural, fisheries and forestry productivity; and making unequivocal financial commitments to disaster risk reduction, such as allocating a minimum of 10% of all humanitarian and reconstruction funding, at least 1% of development funding, and a sizeable portion of climate change adaptation funding to DRR.
According to Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRR, the “ongoing impetus to push DRR up the international agenda is founded on partnerships – both at the community and national level – coupled with intensive effort to concentrate the minds of the world’s political leadership.” The plea to the G8 was made by the seven agencies and organisations forming the UN/ISDR Management Oversight Board, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Environment Program (UNEP), UN/ISDR, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Bank and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). [UN/ISDR press release]