Building resilient hubs
In many places climate adaptation, rather than mitigation is needed. Not just protection against, but aid for recovery after extreme weather events.
Summary: While we talk a lot about climate mitigation, it's important to recognise that for many places it's climate adaptation that is now needed. This covers not only flood and hurricane protection, but also what happens after a disaster, as we try to get local economies back on their feet as quickly as possible.
Why this is important: With extreme weather becoming more prevalent, resilience hubs could be a lifeline. Literally.
The big theme: The UN estimates that climate adaptation spending, just in developing countries, could reach $300bn by 2030. This is on top of the tens of billions being spent by national and regional governments in developed countries. This covers a range of investment themes, including construction of flood defenses, building resilience into our essential services, and enhancing disaster responses.
The details
Summary of a story from RMI on Weathering Climate Disasters with Resilience Hubs
Resilience hubs are physical, community-serving facilities that support residents, distribute needed resources, reduce carbon pollution, and enhance quality of life. Resilience hubs offer local governments a powerful means of supporting vulnerable populations before, during, and after an extreme weather event or other disasters. Depending on the needs of the communities where hubs are located, they can support resilience across five foundational areas — ensuring reliable power, coordinating communication, providing dependable facilities, managing operations, and offering valuable services and programming.
Enhancing energy efficiency at a resilience hub can increase “hours of safety” — a measurement of how long a building can maintain a safe, comfortable temperature when the power goes out. Resilience hubs with solar and storage can be especially impactful for disadvantaged communities. In the case of Storm Uri (Texas 2021) low-income communities who did not live on “critical circuits” with hospitals or other critical infrastructure experienced longer power outages — some up to four days — as the limited power available was prioritized elsewhere.
Let's take a look at why this is important...
