EU joins Indian initiative to build Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

To build disaster-resilient infrastructure across the country, the 27-member European Union has joined India's Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) initiative, following its endorsement of the charter of the CDRI earlier. Launched by the Indian PM in 2019 at the UN Climate Change Summit, the CDRI is an international platform involving the public and private sector. It aims to promote resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks while supporting sustainable development.

Climate-related extreme events are increasing globally, and the covid-19 pandemic has further reinforced the need for robust disaster preparedness and investment in renewable energy, green infrastructure, energy and resource efficiency, large-scale retrofitting, renovation projects and the circular economy. In this context, the CDRI is a welcome initiative to help tackle these objectives in a multilateral approach, which will help the implementation of the Paris Agreement, through both global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhanced climate change adaptation action. EU's Ambassador to India, Ugo Astuto, informed that they are happy to join CDRI, an initiative fully aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the recently adopted EU Strategy on Adaptation.