France to host global meet on disaster-resilient infra in June

New Delhi | The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2025 will be held in Nice, France, on June 6 and 7, with focus on ways to unlock public and private finance to protect coastal and island communities from growing climate risks such as sea level rise and extreme storms.

The conference is being organised by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) along with the French government.

This is the first time the global meet will be held in Europe. It will bring together ministers from Ecuador and Fiji, global leaders, senior UN officials, technical experts, policymakers and practitioners from across the world.

The event will focus on three key areas: improving access to money for building safer infrastructure, updating building rules and codes, and using technology and data to reduce disaster risks.

As climate impacts intensify rising sea levels, stronger storms impact vulnerable infrastructure systems and communities more acutely.

For example, Small Island Developing States face an average loss of 2.1 per cent of GDP due to disasters, while other countries experience an average loss of 0.3 per cent of GDP. That's roughly seven times more.

ICDRI 2025 will focus on the urgent need for investments and innovations in disaster resilient infrastructure, particularly in SIDS and other vulnerable regions.

One of the highlights will be the launch of a global report on making coastal infrastructure more resilient. The report has been prepared with the help of experts and groups from different countries, including small island nations. A call to action with global recommendations will also be released.