Webinar Slides: Financing Climate Change and Disaster Resilience Strategies in the Asia Pacific by Dr Saut Sagala

The UCL Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction (RDR) is pleased to present an online lunchtime talk with Dr Saut Sagala of the Resilience Development Initiative (RDI) - a non-profit organisation and global think-tank promoting sustainable development and resilience-building efforts in communities facing challenges such as disasters, climate change, and social vulnerabilities.

Developing countries in the Asia-Pacific are highly vulnerable to climate change-induced disasters, and face increasing impacts through more frequent and intense floods, tropical cyclones, droughts, heatwaves, and sea-level rise. Disaster events, coupled with the impacts of climate change and other shocks, have caused significant economic losses—estimated at US$57 billion in 2022 alone—and exacerbated non-economic damages.

Lower-income nations in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and small island developing states (SIDS) suffer disproportionately, with disaster recovery straining fiscal health and diverting resources from development priorities to debt repayment. Investing in climate-sensitive disaster risk reduction (DRR) through cost-effective mechanisms like risk retention, pooling, and transfer schemes is critical to mitigate these challenges.

UCL RDR and RDI are collaborating Social Finance for Better Post-Disaster Health. This work is supported by a Research Collaborations grant, number 1203760081, under the International Science Partnerships Fund. The grant is funded by the UK Department of Science Innovation and Technology in partnership with the British Council. Find out more on the UK Government website.