
Partnering to improve urban resilience
When natural disasters occur in highly populated areas, the ripple effects can be felt for miles, and years, to come. That's why helping communities bounce back from catastrophe is no more urgent than...
Pledge will support at least 100 cities in building resilience to natural disasters and other risks.
President Bill Clinton announced during the opening plenary of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting on 24 September in New York that Swiss Re, the Rockefeller Foundation and two other partners will launch a commitment to support 100 cities around the world to become more resilient. Watch a playback of the announcement here.
A part of the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge, the goal is to support at least 100 cities in the next three years to appoint Chief Resilience Officers (CRO), create resilience strategies, and establish a CRO support network to share information and best practices.
The commitment will be realized through a new not-for-profit organization established by The Rockefeller Foundation, which will coordinate the network of cities and the platform of services offered to network members.
Powered by a USD 100 million pledge to build urban resilience from the Rockefeller Foundation, the 100 Resilient Cities network will, over time, grow to include at least 100 cities from around the world. 500 cities have been invited to apply. 20-25 cities will be invited to join the network in December of this year, as part of the first round.
The four commitment partners, The Rockefeller Foundation, Swiss Re, AIA/Architecture for Humanity, and software company Palantir will contribute. Swiss Re's contribution will consist of practical risk management insight, and access to risk assessment and risk financing tools. This includes CatNet®, a state-of-the-art risk assessment software, which will be offered to the cities free of charge. We will also bring our expertise to bear in helping to define the role of the Chief Resilience Officer, and support the development of the CRO network.
The launch of the 100 Resilient Cities commitment follows Swiss Re's launch of the publication Mind the risk, adding to the dialogue at Climate Week and other forums. Martyn Parker, Chairman Global Partnerships, representing Swiss Re at CGI said, "The 100 Resilient Cities commitment can be described as an answer to the risks outlined in the report. This challenge is an exceptional vehicle to work with these cities to identify their risks and deliver insurance solutions reducing the financial exposure of their citizens while making their communities more resilient."
Published 24 September 2013
Image: Swiss Re Global Partnerships Chairman Martyn Parker (3rd from right) with President Bill Clinton.
When natural disasters occur in highly populated areas, the ripple effects can be felt for miles, and years, to come. That's why helping communities bounce back from catastrophe is no more urgent than...
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