COP27, The French Government Hosts a High-level Event on Public-Private Approaches in Response to the ‘Early Warning for All’ Initiative

Sharm El-Sheikh, 8 November 2022, The French Government hosted a high-level event at COP27 on Public-Private Partnership in response to the ‘Early Warning for All Initiative’, which was announced by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the COP27, underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, during a meeting of government and UN leaders, financing agencies, Big Tech companies, and the private sector. The Secretary-General unveiled the details of his action plan to ensure everyone on the planet is protected by early warning systems by 2027.

The event came to highlight the critical role of public-private partnerships in turning the Action Plan into reality.

“Public-private partnerships are needed to strengthen all elements of early warning systems,” said Mami Mizutori, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR in her opening remarks. “And these partnerships must be built way in advance of any early warning activation.”

France has long supported the development of early warning systems, including through the Climate Risks and Early Warning Systems initiative (CREWS) launched at COP21 and today covering 75 countries. At the French Pavilion at COP27, the high-level event gave the floor to high-level representatives from vulnerable countries and donor countries to the CREWS initiative, as well as representatives of the private sector, who addressed the priority needs and possible solutions related to the Early Warnings for All initiative.

The panel discussion saw the participation of the Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change, and Environment, Seychelles, Flavien Joubert; the Minister for Transports and Telecommunications, Mozambique, Mateus Magala; the Director of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization Arlene Laing; the SODEXAM Ivory Coast Director General Jean-Louis Moulot; the Climate Ambassador and CREWS Chair Stéphane Crouzat; the President of the Meteo France International Patrick Bénichou; and the President of the Predict Services Alix Roumagnac.

The speakers explored synergies between the contribution provided by multilateral initiatives such as CREWS, and solutions proposed by the private sector. The private sector has a key role to play on the pathway towards achieving the objective set by the UNSG.

The Executive Action Plan for the Early Warnings for All initiative, calls for initial new targeted investments of $ 3.1 billion between 2023 and 2027, equivalent to a cost of just 50 cents per person per year. The plan identifies key areas for advancing universal disaster risk knowledge, outlining priority actions required to achieve this, and building on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Action Plan is a firm step in the right direction. Early warning systems are a pivotal component to move towards a world with zero climate disasters, a UNDRR strategy.