The European Union (EU) comprising of 27 members has joined the “Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) initiative” of India. The EU joined this initiative following its endorsement of the charter of the CDRI.
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure initiative
CDRI is an international coalition of countries, United Nations (UN) agencies, private sectors, multilateral development banks and academic institutions. The initiative aims to promote the disaster-resilient infrastructure. The initiative was launched with the objective of promoting the research and knowledge sharing in the areas of infrastructure risk management, financing, and recovery mechanisms. It also supports the sustainable development. The CDRI Initiative was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2019. The initiative was launched at the UN Climate Change Summit. It also supports the sustainable development. The initiative also focuses on developing the disaster-resilience in the ecological, social, and economic infrastructure. It seeks to achieve the substantial changes in the policy frameworks of the member countries.
Why EU joined CDRI?
The EU released its statement on March 18, 2021 that the climate-related extreme events are increasing globally. The ongoing covid-19 pandemic has further reinforced the need of robust disaster preparedness. It has also reinforced the need to invest in the green infrastructure, renewable energy, energy and resource efficiency, renovation projects, large-scale retrofitting, and the circular economy.” Thus, EU fund the CDRI as a welcome initiative to help in tackling these objectives. It will also help in implementing the Paris Agreement in a multilateral approach. Thus, the EU joined this initiative. This initiative also aligns with the objectives of “European Green Deal” and “EU Strategy on Adaptation”. This further encouraged the EU to join the India-led initiative.