In April 2025, New York (the United States of America, USA)-based United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joined the Santiago Network, an international initiative developed specifically to support vulnerable countries and communities in tackling the irreversible impacts of loss and damage caused by climate change.
- This marks a significant step in scaling up technical assistance and policy support for vulnerable countries who are most affected by the climate-induced loss and damage.
Note: The term ‘loss and damage’ refers to the harmful effects of climate change that cannot be avoided or adapted to.
Key Points:
i.A 2023 study showed that between 2000 and 2019, the world suffered minimum USD 2.8 trillion in climate-related damages, nearly USD 16 million every hour (hr).
ii.Vulnerable countries, who are least responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are affected most by the climate change, for example: the 2022 floods in Pakistan affected 33 million people and caused economic damages near USD 30 million.
About Santiago Network:
i.The Santiago Network was established under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2019, which aimed to bring together organizations, networks, and experts to provide the implementation of solutions that avert, minimize and address loss & damage due to climate change.
ii.It secretariat is co-hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Significance:
i.UNDP as a member of the Santiago Network, will be able to expand its outreach and technical assistance to those countries bearing the brunt of climate change, strengthening their climate and disaster resilience through disaster risk reduction, early warning systems (EWS), among others.
ii.The membership will help UNDP in strengthening its engagement with key international mechanisms like:
- Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, which coordinates international efforts to understand and address climate impacts,
- The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, established at the 27th session of Conference of Parties (COP27) climate summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in 2022, aimed to facilitate financial support to countries facing climate related risks. In the initial phase, the fund had pledged to raise USD 700 million, which is further estimated to reach hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030.
About United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
Administrator- Achim Steiner
Headquarters- New York, the United States of America (USA)
Established- 1965
