Growing economic losses due to climate-related damage to infrastructure

In the past five decades, the number of climate-related extreme events increased fivefold. In parallel, economic losses from disasters increased sevenfold between the 1970s and the 2010s from an average USD 198 billion to USD 1.6 trillion.

Infrastructure assets make up an important share of the economic damages. This, in turn, multiplies the losses (e.g. forgone income) for businesses whose operations are disrupted. Investing proactively to achieve climate-resilient infrastructure systems is cost effective, can save lives and support continued economic growth.

Find out more: Infrastructure for a Climate-Resilient Future