The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union (EU), has joined the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as part of efforts to limit damage caused by climate change. EIB will work with national governments, UN agencies, multilateral development banks and the private sector that are part of CDRI to promote the rapid development of infrastructure resilient to climate change and natural disasters around the world. EIB has also announced plans to double its annual investments in India from the current level of about €500 million in the next two years.

The development of resilient infrastructure is a key step in limiting the impact of climate change, especially in developing countries that are expected to be among the hardest hit by the phenomenon.

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CDRI was launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 at the initiative of India, and facilitates the sharing of knowledge and resources among its members. It also helps countries meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and expand access to basic services.

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development. It seeks to rapidly expand the development and retrofit of resilient infrastructure to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals imperatives of expanding universal access to basic services, enabling prosperity and decent work. The CDRI Secretariat is based in New Delhi, India.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a distinct group of 58 island states that face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities owing to their geophysical and structural constraints. Most of these countries are prone to the disastrous effects of climate change. Resilient, sustainable, and inclusive infrastructure plays a key role in mitigating these challenges. More investment and improved institutional capacity for infrastructure systems is urgently needed if SIDS are to maintain their sustainability and effectiveness in service delivery momentum and respond to disaster and climate change risks effectively.

Against this backdrop, CDRI with support from Member Countries and organizations is in the process of setting up Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS), a dedicated initiative for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that provides quality technical and financial services to make SIDS infrastructure resilient to climate change and disaster events.