In the run-up to COP26, the Windows on Resilience blog series highlights practical and inspiring resilience solutions from communities and countries around the world. The series of stories is produced for the COP26 Resilience Hub - a physical and virtual space at COP26 dedicated to sharing best practice and building collaboration, momentum and new opportunities on adaptation and resilience. 

The ‘Windows on Resilience’ story series is produced by the Resilience Hub’s ‘cross-cutting champions’, as part of their role to promote diversity and build bridges from knowledge to climate action. The stories aim to showcase innovative and local solutions on adaptation and resilience from diverse people, communities, businesses and governments across sectors and countries. 

The cross-cutting champions are represented by the Resilience Knowledge Coalition, hosted by the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and co-led by CDKN and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD). The coalition aims to ensure that the best knowledge and practice on resilience is used to shape policies, plans and investments to deliver a resilient future for all. Windows on Resilience forms part of this offering.

Windows on Resilience stories

Building heat resilience in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Mayor Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone, has appointed a Chief Heat Officer, to protect the well-being of city residents. Kathy Baughman McLeod reports from the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center.

Financial pathways to climate-resilient housing

40% of the world is projected to live in vulnerable housing by 2030. Elizabeth Hausler and Monica Schroeder from Build Change show how financing improvements to existing housing stock is one way to provide climate-resilient housing at the scale required.

Unlocking youth potential in water resilience and climate action

Three young climate leaders argue that impactful water resilience and climate change adaptation depends on meaningfully supported and empowered young people across all sectors and levels.

What’s needed to accelerate coastal resilience around the world?

Sven Kramer of Van Oord calls for proactive coastal resilience adaptation planning, the integration of nature-based solutions and innovative financing in order to accelerate climate change adaptation in coastal areas around the world.

Climate and disaster risk finance and insurance: what works and what doesn’t? A strategic Evidence Roadmap

Janek Toepper from the InsuResilience Global Partnership shares a new ambitious roadmap to enhance the reach and effectiveness of insurance and risk finance solutions for climate disasters.

Launch of new tool at COP26 for countries to integrate water resilience into national climate plans

The Water Tracker for National Climate Planning has been developed as a tool to enhance water resilience in national climate plans. Kelsey Harpham from the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) reports.

Enhancing affordability and sustainability of climate risk insurance through smart financing

The over 110 members of the InsuResilience Global Partnership are collaborating to scale up affordable and sustainable risk finance and insurance in climate-vulnerable countries, aiming to assist 500 million poor and vulnerable people by 2025. Daniel Stadmueller reports.

Ocean action is climate action – accelerating resilience to secure a sustainable future for coastal communities

Karen Sack from the Ocean Resilience Action Alliance shares examples from around the world where locally-led action is protecting the ocean and nature, and helping communities to adapt and thrive.

Scalable approaches to moving rural families beyond resilience in developing countries 

Michael Carter – Director of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Markets, Risk & Resilience – shares examples from Mali, Bangladesh, Mozambique and Tanzania where risk management tools are helping rural families not only withstand shocks, but move towards greater prosperity.

What’s in the pipeline for resilience? A perspective from a young water industry professional

Craig Hopkinson, Sustainability Manager for Anglian Water’s Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA), reflects on his role as a young person helping to deliver one of the largest infrastructure projects currently taking place in the United Kingdom.

Launching today at COP26 – InsuResilience Centre of Excellence on Gender-Smart Solutions

Tuga Alaskary from InsuResilience Global Partnership shares a bold new initiative to drive gender-smart approaches in insurance and risk finance for climate disasters, launching on Gender Day at COP26, 9 November.

Creating resilient cities amidst climate change, informality and migration

The Oxford Martin Programme on Informal Cities is studying informal neighbourhoods, economies, health and climate change in cities. A panel discussion with Michael Keith, Kazem Rahimi, Tim Schwanen and Susan Parnell discussed climate challenges and the urgent actions that academics, policy-makers and the global community can take.

Can locally-led anticipatory action address climate impacts at scale?

There is considerable potential for more locally-led anticipatory action to prepare people for extreme weather and climate events and avoid loss and damage – reports Myriam Castaneda Solares of the START network.

COP Resilience Hub

The COP Resilience Hub will offer events across a virtual and physical space, in parallel with COP26, from 1-12 November 2021. While previous COPs have seen an increase in focus on resilience and adaptation, it has been spread across different initiatives, spaces and events inside and outside the COP. Adaptation and resilience was “everywhere but nowhere” without a focal point. The Resilience Hub is designed to meet this challenge. Its central purpose is to advance action on adaptation and resilience at COP26 and beyond, and to help provide a strong collective voice on resilience for all those globally who are working to build a more resilient world.

Read more on the COP Resilience Hub.

Photo: Proyecto Madre Tierra project (featured in the story on Unlocking youth potential)