Climate resilience is the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and other systems to cope with and respond to hazards associated with the climate crisis, such that they maintain their capacity for adaptation and/or mitigation to adequately address future threats, needs, and priorities.
It is largely influenced by a system’s responses to the following components of a climate risk: hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. It exists when communities that contributed the least to the climate crisis do not disproportionately experience its impacts.
It requires evidence-based, justice-grounded actions to be taken by governments and corporations that have significant roles in causing and/or worsening the climate crisis. It is a vital component of climate action, especially at the local level, that when properly enhanced and accompanied by genuine solutions, allows communities and nations alike to achieve genuine sustainable development.
Tunaimati’a Jacob Netzler, a matai (Samoan chief) and member of Samoa’s Tama O le Mau Brigade, attends the United Nations Climate Conference COP28 wearing an Ula Fala, fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, and a "1.5 to stay alive" pin, expressing his resilience and grassroots approach amid the COP28 Global Stocktake, where frontline delegates highlight the failure to address the concerns of climate-vulnerable island nations and communities. Dubai, UAE, 2023.
Photography By Pamela EA
