Purpose
This Summary for Policymakers presents key findings from the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX). The SREX approaches the topic by assessing the scientific literature on issues that range from the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events (‘climate extremes’) to the implications of these events for society and sustainable development. The assessment concerns the interaction of climatic, environmental, and human factors that can lead to impacts and disasters, options for managing the risks posed by impacts and disasters, and the important role that non-climatic factors play in determining impacts.
The report assesses how exposure and vulnerability to weather and climate events determine impacts and the likelihood of disasters (disaster risk). It evaluates the influence of natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change on climate extremes and other weather and climate events that can contribute to disasters, as well as the exposure and vulnerability of human society and natural ecosystems. It also considers the role of development in trends in exposure and vulnerability, implications for disaster risk, and interactions between disasters and development. The report examines how disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change can reduce exposure and vulnerability to weather and climate events and thus reduce disaster risk, as well as increase resilience to the risks that cannot be eliminated. Other important processes are largely outside the scope of this report, including the influence of development on greenhouse gas emissions and anthropogenic climate change, and the potential for mitigation of anthropogenic climate change.
Overview
The summary also provides working definitions of climate change, climate extreme, exposure, vulnerability, disaster, disaster risk, disaster risk management, adaptation, resilience and transformation.
It also highlights and discusses:
- Observations of exposure, vulnerability, climate extremes, impacts, and disaster losses.
- Disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change: Past experience with climate extremes
- Future climate extremes, impacts and disaster losses
- Managing changing risks of climate extremes and disasters
See also:
- Full Report [pdf, 594 pages, 31MB] here
- Generic Presentation at here
- Audio Visual/Video summarizing the Report: In Harm’s Way at https://youtu.be/Fq8P9RhEpiQ
Audience: Technical staff
Usage: Policy making and guideline for implementation
