At COP29, the Global Shield against Climate Risks, a G7-V20 initiative, reaffirmed its commitment to protecting climate-vulnerable countries through pre-arranged finance. Co-Directors Nilesh Prakash and Dr. Astrid Zwick led the delegation, unveiling the Global Shield Ambition—a blueprint for enhancing climate resilience and tackling loss and damage via pre-arranged financing solutions.
During the high-level dialogue on Coordination and Complementarity for Funding Arrangements Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), Co-Director Nilesh Prakash highlighted the critical role of pre-arranged finance in reducing loss and damage.
Through the In-Country Processes (ICPs) in 17 countries, the Global Shield sets up sustainable structures to plan and mobilise Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI), identifies protection gaps and develops tailored pre-arranged financing solutions. At COP29, this came to fruition with Pakistan’s formal submission of a comprehensive Request for CDRFI Support to the Global Shield.
Official Handover of Pakistan’s CDRFI Request for Support to Global Shield
The Global Shield also engaged in a series of side events. At a UNDRR-hosted side event, the Global Shield presented Ghana’s Akosombo Dam as a case study, showcasing how investment in resilient infrastructure enables social protection for local communities. Similarly, during a panel discussion hosted by Madagascar, the Global Shield highlighted the importance of resilient education and health infrastructure in fostering climate change adaptation and human capital development.
Scaling Regional Risk Mechanisms for Climate-Vulnerable Countries
The Global Shield continues to innovate in addressing climate risks. Earlier this year, the initiative supported Ghana’s purchase of its first drought insurance policy from African Risk Capacity (ARC) Ltd, enabling a swift response to the onslaught of drought and protecting livelihoods in the northern part of the country. At COP29, the Global Shield Solutions Platform (GSSP) and the Global Shield Secretariat presented a joint request from regional risk pools to strengthen collaboration. These mechanisms enable countries to collectively share and manage disaster risks, providing a financial buffer against climate shocks. The importance of such partnerships for innovation was further highlighted in an event by The Gambia through their RICAR project with the World Food Programme, which is developing an innovative and inclusive insurance scheme.
GSSP – Risk Pools’ panelists engaged in a critical discussion on enhancing financial protection for climate-vulnerable countries.
The Global Shield Financing Facility (GSFF) launched its programmatic window on adaptive social protection. Integrating financial tools with social systems ensures quick liquidity to support vulnerable populations, fostering sustainable and equitable recovery.
Commitment to Inclusive Resilience for Most Vulnerable Groups
To protect the most vulnerable groups, inclusivity remains central to the Global Shield’s mission. The Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Gender-Smart Solutions within the Global Shield Secretariat ensures gender considerations are mainstreamed across disaster risk finance, empowering marginalised groups to equitably participate in and benefit from resilience programmes. The CoE also had a side event at COP29 to demonstrate practical approaches to addressing gender and inclusivity concerns through the country-led work of the Global Shield.
Dr. Astrid Zwick, the Global Shield Secreatriat’s Co-Director, joined an insightful panel discussion on financing resilient education and health infrastructure for climate-vulnerable countries at at the COP29 Mionjo Project Pavilion by Madagascar’s BNGRC.
With continued support from the G7, V20, and its global partners, the Global Shield is driving efforts to build resilience, ensuring no one is left behind in the face of climate impacts. As we forge ahead with in-country work and the completion of comprehensive requests for CDRFI support from Global Shield countries, we expect a lot of momentum in the implementation of pre-arranged financing solutions in 2025 and beyond.