Global Assessment Report On Disaster Risk Reduction 2023

Global warming will surpass 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels during the next decade, due to greenhouse gas emissions. The constant rise in temperatures and related impacts combine with other pressures, thus increasing risk and undermining resilience. The increasing interconnectedness of people and human systems increases the risk of compound and cascading crises. The maps in this report highlight a number of these resilience deficits that are holding back achievement of key sustainable development goals. At the same time, the report’s action case examples show that this is not inevitable, and how action is possible on every continent to stop the worsening spiral of risk and disasters and to accelerate SDG target achievement. Addressing resilience gaps will require the unprecedented scaling-up of resilience investment and adaptation action both from within the public and private sectors, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. As these investments take time to mobilize and prepare, delay will increase the inevitable costs. Action is needed now. Disaster risk reduction sits at the nexus between development, humanitarian and climate change action, and can help foster more-sustainable resilient action in each. Readjusting development pathways requires a re-examination of how prosperity is measured, and a greater emphasis on resilience as key element of sustainable development today and in the future.

Global warming will surpass 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels during the next decade, due to greenhouse gas emissions. The constant rise in temperatures and related impacts combine with other pressures, thus increasing risk and undermining resilience. The increasing interconnectedness of people and human systems increases the risk of compound and cascading crises. The maps in this report highlight a number of these resilience deficits that are holding back achievement of key sustainable development goals. At the same time, the report's action case examples show that this is not inevitable, and how action is possible on every continent to stop the worsening spiral of risk and disasters and to accelerate SDG target achievement. Addressing resilience gaps will require the unprecedented scaling-up of resilience investment and adaptation action both from within the public and private sectors, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. As these investments take time to mobilize and prepare, delay will increase the inevitable costs. Action is needed now. Disaster risk reduction sits at the nexus between development, humanitarian and climate change action, and can help foster more-sustainable resilient action in each. Readjusting development pathways requires a re-examination of how prosperity is measured, and a greater emphasis on resilience as key element of sustainable development today and in the future.

The central question for this year's report is how governance systems can evolve to better address the systemic risks of the future. In today's crowded and interconnected world, disaster impacts increasingly cascade across geographies and sectors, as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change are rapidly making clear. Despite progress, risk creation is outstripping risk reduction. Disasters, economic loss, and the underlying vulnerabilities that drive risk, such as poverty and inequality, are increasing just as ecosystems and biospheres are at risk of collapse. The report highlights that a) the climate emergency and the systemic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic point to a new reality; b) understanding and reducing risk in a world of uncertainty is fundamental to achieving genuinely sustainable development; and c) the best defense against future shocks is to transform systems now, to build resilience by addressing climate change, and to reduce the vulnerability, exposure, and inequality that drive disasters.

The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) is the flagship report of the United Nations on worldwide efforts to reduce disaster risk. The GAR is published biennially by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and is the product of the contributions of nations, public and private risk-related science and research, amongst others. The GAR contributes to achieving the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through monitoring risk patterns and trends, as well as progress in disaster risk reduction, while providing strategic policy guidance to countries and the international community. The GAR aims to focus international attention on the issue of risk and encourage political and economic support for risk reduction.

The central question for this year's report is how governance systems can evolve to better address the systemic risks of the future. In today's crowded and interconnected world, disaster impacts increasingly cascade across geographies and sectors, as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change are rapidly making clear. Despite progress, risk creation is outstripping risk reduction. Disasters, economic loss, and the underlying vulnerabilities that drive risk, such as poverty and inequality, are increasing just as ecosystems and biospheres are at risk of collapse. The report highlights that a) the climate emergency and the systemic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic point to a new reality; b) understanding and reducing risk in a world of uncertainty is fundamental to achieving genuinely sustainable development; and c) the best defense against future shocks is to transform systems now, to build resilience by addressing climate change, and to reduce the vulnerability, exposure, and inequality that drive disasters.

This publication (published in 2 volumes, not sold separately by TSO) is intended for people who have an interest in and practice disaster risk management and sustainable development. It provides guidance, policy orientation and inspiration, as well as serving as a reference for lessons on how to reduce risk and vulnerability to hazards and to meet the challenges of tomorrow. It consists of (vol. 1) the report, including case studies; and (vol. 2) annexes, for example, a glossary of specialized terminology , and a directory of international, regional, national and specialized organizations (vol. 2). It replaces the preliminary version which was released in July 2002 (not available from TSO).

This brochure explains why voluntary standards have a key role to play in the prevention and management of disaster risks, disruptions and crises. It is based on original analysis as well as an update to the paper produced by the UNECE secretariat as background for the United Nations publication “Global Assessment Report” (GAR) which was issued in early 2015 to support the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) that was held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015. Standards need to be brought into the toolbox of disaster risk reduction by both encouraging their use by business and by enhancing their role in legislation and regulatory practice. The analysis concludes with recommendations for actions that authorities can undertake to further the implementation of standards in the context of disaster risk reduction (DRR), and with an overview of current and future activities by the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies which support implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030, adopted at the 3rd WCDRR and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in June 2015.

The last twenty years has seen the number of major floods more than double, from 1,389 to 3,254, while the incidence of storms grew from 1,457 to 2,034. Floods and storms were the most prevalent events. The report “The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019” also records major increases in other categories including drought, wildfires and extreme temperature events. There has also been a rise in geo-physical events including earthquakes and tsunamis which have killed more people than any of the other natural hazards under review in this report.