World faces $800bn annual bill as climate disasters batter infrastructure, warns global coalition CDRI

The world is losing around $800 billion every year in damaged infrastructure from disasters such as earthquakes and cyclones, with climate-related events accounting for 70 per cent of the destruction, according to the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Amit Prothi, Director General of CDRI, speaking at WION podcast, said, "In a given year, we are already losing about $800 billion of infrastructure and buildings because of all the disasters, including earthquakes, cyclones. Out of that $800 billion, 70 per cent is related to climate-related issues.”

He added that the wider economic fallout is far greater. “The cost of one rupee damage to your road has a seven times multiplier on the economy,” Mr Prothi said, warning that the true annual impact could run into several trillion dollars when lost trade, jobs and access to food and markets are included. CDRI, launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations in 2019, has grown rapidly from around 20 members to 64 countries and organisations.

Headquartered in New Delhi, it describes itself as a global movement to make new and existing infrastructure withstand tomorrow’s more frequent and intense disasters.“When we build roads and if they get flooded and you can’t use them, that’s not resilient. When we build buildings that get damaged because of cyclonic activity, that’s not resilient,” Mr Prothi explained.

With the amount of infrastructure expected to be built in the next 20 years equalling everything constructed in the past 200 years – much of it in climate-vulnerable Africa, Asia and small island states- the coalition is pushing for a fundamental shift in design and construction standards. CDRI is already supporting 25 island nations with grants from India, the UK, Australia, and the European Union.

From Dominica, devastated by a hurricane, the coalition is helping rebuild around 25,000 homes to better survive future storms. In Fiji and Papua New Guinea, it is advising on cyclone- and flood-resilient roads, while in Comoros, it is working to ensure hospitals remain operational after earthquakes or hurricanes.

Mr Prothi highlighted three core areas of work: “One is preparation ahead of a disaster… Second is during an event… can you make sure that your infrastructure doesn’t fail during that moment? And the third is recovering from a disaster… How do they recover quickly?”

As extreme weather intensifies, the coalition argues that investing in resilient infrastructure now will save trillions in the decades ahead. “We are trying to build a body of knowledge to see how we shift our practices of building infrastructure, so we don’t lose infrastructure because of climate change,” Mr Prothi said.