Opening Summary: Risk, Resilience, and Climate Change

Risk management can be aided enormously by establishing the root causes of the problem, linking cause and effect, and communicating this relationship effectively. Climate change is a marquee example of a typically low-probability but high-impact disaster turning into a high-probability and high-impact one. By backing any GDP growth regardless of its quality, aspects of mainstream growth economics have, ironically, given cover to, and implicitly cheered, high-carbon growth. In the face of anthropogenic (originating in human activities) climate change, risk reduction is not just about people’s exposure and vulnerability but also mitigating the intensity of the hazard. Innovative approaches to resilience are needed as countries face severe shortages in skilled staff and financial resources. The priority for investing in resilience in countries across regions must rise sharply as the price of delayed action mounts.