COP30: From Ambition to Action

Held in Belém, Brazil, COP30 aimed to move from promises to delivery — an implementation- and people-centred COP focused on tangible action. It prioritised stronger national plans, accelerated decarbonisation, scaled climate and adaptation finance, operationalised loss-and-damage support, protected nature and forests, and promoted just, inclusive processes that deliver real results for frontline communities. Adaptation and resilience finally took centre stage, with COP30 Programme Director Alice Amorim calling for resilience to become “the new normal” across policies, investments, and development decisions.

The COP30 Presidency also championed the Global Action Agenda (GAA), a UNFCCC platform linking commitments to practical solutions. The GAA highlighted initiatives already delivering measurable climate outcomes, particularly in infrastructure — where resilient, inclusive, and nature-positive projects are essential for adaptation and mitigation.

For ICSI, COP30 was a milestone, providing a platform to showcase research, tools, and partnerships while accelerating real-world implementation of climate-resilient, inclusive, and nature-positive infrastructure. We were delighted to launch the Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Report: A Focus on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion, Infrastructure Pathways 2.0, the Port Decision-Makers’ Guide to Climate Risk Assessment and Chapter 4 of the Global Infrastructure Resilience Report 2025.

We will continue building on this momentum, supporting governments, practitioners, and financial institutions with practical guidance, data, and collaboration models that turn commitments into action.

We are grateful to our partners, speakers, collaborators, and the COP30 Presidency for enabling us to contribute to this critical process and be part of a global collective working to strengthen resilience for people and the planet. 

As we look ahead to COP31 in Türkiye, we invite our networks to join us in driving action, sharing expertise, and supporting solutions that advance resilient, inclusive, and nature-positive infrastructure worldwide.

At the Sustainable Built Environment Panel: Nature-and-People-Positive Infrastructure for Resilient Urban Growth, two key ICSI deliverables were launched. Co-convened by ICSI and Sustainable Business COP, the session highlighted a range of solutions that together have the power to make our cities more resilient. It explored scalable, high-integrity pathways for resilient, inclusive, nature- and people-positive urban infrastructure, linking engineering, finance, and policy through concrete case studies to enable replicable, near-term delivery.

During the session, the fireside chat featured Marina Bragante (City Councilor, São Paulo) and Axel Schmidt Grael (former Mayor of Niterói), who discussed how their cities are embedding nature- and people-positive approaches into urban planning, the key barriers to implementing nature-based and climate-resilient solutions at the municipal level. In the subsequent panel, Annika Zawadski (BCG) highlighted the importance of integrating resilience and nature-positive infrastructure early in the planning process, as well as the business models and financial mechanisms needed to scale these solutions. Sam Cho (Port of Seattle) focused on the role of climate risk assessment in strengthening port infrastructure and guiding investment and operational decisions, while Luana Ozemela (iFood) explained how technology and social impact companies can influence public policy. We also thank Maria Emília Peres (Deloitte) for moderating the panel and delivering the closing remarks.

The event provided an ideal platform to launch Infrastructure Pathways 2.0, a major upgrade designed to support climate-resilient infrastructure worldwide. The new version features a clearer structure, updated references, and two additional phases, Feasibility & Preparation and Funding & Financing, developed in partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It serves as a practical guide for the entire infrastructure community, from policymakers and investors to engineers, builders, communities, and end-users, helping them embed climate resilience and adaptation across the full infrastructure lifecycle.

The second deliverable was the Port Decision-Makers’ Guide to Climate Risk Assessment, developed through ICSI’s Resilience4Ports programme. This resource is a critical first step in helping port authorities understand, anticipate, and respond to climate change impacts. By following a structured climate risk assessment approach, ports can identify risks, prioritise adaptation measures, and strengthen their long-term resilience and sustainability.

Download the guide below:

The Plan to Accelerate Solution (PAS) for Resilient and Adaptive Transport Infrastructure was launched under Objective 13 of the COP30 Action Agenda as a global roadmap to speed up progress on climate-resilient transport systems.

Co-hosted by ICSI and CDRI and supported by Brazil’s Ministry of Transport, the plan sets out priority actions including stronger policies and standards aligned with National Adaptation Plans, the integration of resilience and adaptation across the full transport infrastructure lifecycle, enhanced institutional capacity and coordination, and scaled resilience finance with greater private-sector mobilisation. At its core, it delivers a message of action and a global “mutirão” – a collective effort – making clear that governments cannot achieve this transition alone. Non-state actors such as companies, investors, cities, researchers and civil society are essential to moving from commitments to implementation. By aligning these actors around shared priorities, tools and investment pathways, the plan aims to accelerate delivery of resilient and adaptive transport infrastructure worldwide, leading up to the 2028 Global Stocktake.

We convened a workshop at COP30 to discuss the plan and get support from more stakeholders from the transport sector. 

The Global Infrastructure Resilience Report 2025 (GIR2025) by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) was launched by Amit Prothi, Director General of CDRI, at the DRI Pavilion high-level session Unlocking the Resilience Dividend: Building Futures through Resilient Infrastructure, marking a shift from defining the resilience dividend to demonstrating how it can be captured in practice. First published in 2023, this year’s report shifts from awareness to action. With 60% of global infrastructure yet to be built by 2050, it presents a roadmap to embed resilience into future investments. It reveals that economic losses from service disruptions are 7.4 times higher than direct damages, and outlines practical strategies across four pillars: technology, finance, governance, and nature-based solutions. 

Download the report below:

ICSI, as lead author of Chapter 4 of the report, contributed findings from the Global Infrastructure Resilience Survey (GIRS), the largest of its kind, engaging over 3,000 infrastructure professionals across 100+ countries. One of the key findings of the survey is that strengthening resilience-focused policies, standards, codes, and regulations that address future climate risks is the most important action governments can take. During the session, which explored the financial, technological, and ecological dimensions of resilience and showcased practical tools and case studies for risk-informed decision-making, Savina Carluccio (ICSI) emphasised that resilience cannot be achieved through isolated projects alone. She stressed that structural capacity gaps must be addressed, with stronger institutions, aligned incentives, and clearer, enforceable standards that translate ambition into everyday practice. She also highlighted the need to move nature-based and digital solutions beyond pilot phases by embedding them into mainstream planning, regulation, and investment.

Also at the DRI Pavilion, ICSI convened a separate session on the Global Infrastructure Resilience Survey (GIRS), titled Global Priorities for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure, which focused specifically on practitioner perspectives and implementation challenges. This discussion highlighted real-world barriers and solutions across different contexts: Ashish Kulkarni (BCG) addressed gaps in private-sector preparedness and supply-chain resilience; Bruce Chong (Arup) spoke on improving risk assessment practices and strengthening standards; Dr. Nidhi Nagabhatla (UNU) focused on scaling nature-based solutions and professional capacity development; and Mafua’-i-Vai’utukakau Maka (Tonga, public administration) brought a Small Island Developing State perspective on local capacity strengthening and the long-term sustainability of resilience measures. Thank you Ede Ijjasz-Vásquez (CDRI) for moderating the session and Raina Singh (CDRI) for the closing remarks.

Watch a recording below:

COP30 was a timely moment to launch ICSI’s Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Report: A Focus on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI), which demonstrates how embedding gender equality, accessibility for persons with disabilities and social inclusion throughout the infrastructure lifecycle, from planning and procurement to operations, is both a moral imperative and a strategic pathway to stronger, faster-recovering and more resilient infrastructure systems.

Download the report below:

At the DRI Pavilion, ICSI convened a session dedicated to GEDSI, Building Resilience for All: Integrating GEDSI into Infrastructure. During the panel discussion, Bala Nagendran (Global Disability Innovation Hub) and Uzoamaka Nwamarah (Commonwealth Secretariat) focused on how traditional infrastructure has failed women, persons with disabilities, and other marginalised groups during climate disasters, and shared real-world examples of what GEDSI-responsive infrastructure looks like in practice. Marcia Toledo (Climate High-Level Champions) and Dr. Sanae Okamoto (UNU) explored how inclusivity strengthens climate resilience and adaptation, with Dr. Okamoto also addressing critical data gaps for GEDSI-responsive planning. Urszula Kasperek (C40, GCoM) spoke on the policy and regulatory levers needed to embed GEDSI into national and urban infrastructure standards, while all panellists contributed to discussions on partnerships, local and Indigenous knowledge, and the most urgent first steps governments must take post-COP30 to institutionalise GEDSI in infrastructure planning and delivery.
We extend our thanks to CDRI and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) for co-hosting this session with ICSI, and to Ranjini Mukherjee (CDRI) for her opening remarks.

Watch a recording below:

As climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution converged into a triple planetary crisis, the urgency for infrastructure solutions that work with, rather than against, nature became clearer than ever. In response, ICSI used several COP30 events to highlight how nature-positive engineering can help design infrastructure that restores ecosystems while strengthening communities and long-term resilience.

At the Resilience Hub: Race to Resilience – From Pledges to Implementation session, which marked the launch of the 2025 Progress Report, Savina Carluccio (ICSI) highlighted how resilient infrastructure can deliver both climate adaptation and social equity. She stressed the importance of collaborative models that connect engineers, policymakers and communities to move beyond plans and into real-world implementation, supporting inclusive and locally led resilience.

Watch a recording below:

At the Resilience Hub: Co-Designing Infrastructure with Nature and Communities session, co-hosted by ICSI, Bentley Systems, Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) and the United Nations University (UNU), discussions focused on how co-design, technology and local knowledge can work together. Rodrigo Fernandes (Bentley Systems) highlighted how digital tools such as digital twins and open data can support climate-resilient and nature-positive infrastructure when combined with community input. Laia Romero (Lobelia Earth) shared examples from the Sahel, showing how satellite data paired with community-led ground-truthing can improve monitoring of nature-based solutions. Ariana Karamallis (Build Change) and Bijal Brahmbhatt (Mahila Housing Trust) presented community-driven approaches to housing and water infrastructure, demonstrating how co-design strengthens long-term resilience and local ownership. Dr Nidhi Nagabhatla (UNU) brought an ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction perspective, highlighting multifunctional solutions such as constructed wetlands and nature-based stormwater systems, while Thalia Cachimuel (Kichwa-Otavalo, Indigenous climate leader) emphasised the importance of Indigenous leadership and free, prior and informed consent. Contributions from Stellah Ndiwa (Kenya Railways), Artur Brito (FIDIC Future Leaders), Emmanuel Escoto (ASTM), Alice Piva (Conservation International) and Illya Azaroff (AIA) reinforced the need for reforms in governance, standards, and finance to mainstream co-designed and nature-positive infrastructure.

Watch a recording below:

Last but not least, at the official side event, Engineering for Climate Resilience: Water Planning, Energy Transition, Biodiversity Gain, hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Engineering Institute of Canada, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savina Carluccio further outlined the role of engineers in advancing nature-positive solutions. She described why biodiversity loss represents a direct risk to economic and social systems, called for a shift from harm reduction to ecosystem regeneration, and emphasised the need for stronger standards, financing mechanisms and professional upskilling to support this transition. She also shared practical examples, including hybrid green–grey infrastructure and ecosystem-based coastal protection, showing how engineering can support both climate resilience and ecological recovery.

Read more:  COP30