The report titled “ Resilience Pays: Financing and Investing for our Future” highlights how risk-aware investments can reduce debt, uninsurable losses, and growing humanitarian need.

Key Findings

• Rising Disaster Costs: It now exceed $2.3 trillion annually, with most impacts uninsured, even in developed regions. 
• Higher Vulnerability of Developing Countries: As of 2023, 49% of LDCs had multi-hazard early warning systems.
• Low Investment in Prevention: Just 2% of development aid goes to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), though every $1 invested in DRR saves $15 in recovery costs. Most funding still goes to post-disaster response.
• Findings with respect to India:
  • Severe Infrastructure Damage: In 2019, Cyclone Fani caused around US$1.2 billion in damages to power infrastructure in Odisha.
  • Mass Internal Displacement: India reported between 10 to 30 million cases of internal displacement due to climate-related disasters, underlining the region’s vulnerability.
  • Living Standard: Changing weather patterns affecting agriculture and other sectors could lead to a 9% decline in living standards by 2050.
  • Low Insurance Coverage: India continues to have very low insurance penetration, with coverage below 1%, limiting the ability to share disaster risk.