Thursday, 24 September 2026, 8.00-10.00 AM EDT (2.00-4.00 PM CEST), DanChurchAid, UN Foundation, E3G, and the Talanoa Institute hosted a high-level event during United Nations General Assembly, UNGA 81, that showcased how key actors are turning the growing urgency on adaptation and resilience into concrete commitments and action.
The consequences of climate change are no longer a distant risk; they are already part of the climate crisis we are facing today. Record-breaking temperatures, widespread flooding, and droughts are increasingly exceeding the capacity of governments, communities, and financial systems to cope with increasingly frequent extreme weather events. These impacts are undermining economic stability, food and water security, and the resilience of states across all regions of the world.
One thing is clear: the new climate reality is here. Therefore, adaptation must evolve from incremental adjustments to a fundamentally new approach to resilience: shared resilience – an approach that is faster and more equitable. We know that investing in adaptation pays off by saving lives, increasing productivity, and building a safer and healthier world. Adaptation is therefore an investment in global stability and prosperity, and it is time to finance it accordingly.
The event brought together champion countries, financial institutions, elected officials, the private sector, and civil society, the panel highlighted the urgent need to shift priorities towards adaptation and resilience. The event showcased how the different actors are responding to the heightened urgency to act on adaptation and resilience in the lead up to the climate summit, COP31.
#AdaptationForLife
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Livestream
The event
Explore key messages, campaigns, and resources at Adoptation Campaign hub here
– And reach out to Mattias Söderberg msd@dca.dk if you have questions regarding the event.
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DEBATE ARTICLE: Human security relies on adapting to the world’s new climate reality
PRESS RELEASE: Beyond 1.5°C: Leaders Gather to Confront the New Climate Reality During the 81st UN General Assembly
The recently published Limiting Overshoot report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) confirms what scientists have warned for years: Exceeding 1.5°C of global warming is now unavoidable under current policies.
As UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen, said at the launch: “Now is the time to step up climate action … strengthen resilience and adaptation and ensure that the 1.5°C overshoot is as small and short-lived as possible.”
Program
Welcome by Co-Organizers
Introduction by the Moderator
Ms. Megan Rowling, Editor, Climate Home News // X: @meganrowling
Scene Setting: The Demand for New Responses to Accelerating Impacts
Mr. Martin Krause, Director of UNEP’s Climate Change Division
Panel 1: Responding to the new climate reality within and outside of the UNFCCC
- Mr. Ole Thonke, Climate Ambassador and Under-Secretary for Development Policy, Denmark
- Ms. Julia Gardiner, Chair, Subsidiary Body for Implementation (UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement)
- Dr. Manjeet Dhakal, Advisor, LDC Group and Head of LDC Support Team, Director, Climate Analytics South Asia
- Ms. Alice de Moraes Amorim Vogas, Program Director COP 30 Presidency, Brazil
Panel 2: Facing the New Climate Reality: The Strategic and Prosperity Case for Investing in Adaptation and Loss & Damage
- Mr. Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at the Food and Agriculture Organization
- Mr. Stanley Nkhuwa, Lead Coordinating Officer – Natural Capital Accounting for Zambia, Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Zambia
- Dr. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, Climate Envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Mr. Isaac Solomon, Vice-President – Operations, Caribbean Development bank (invited)
Panel 3: Resilience Reckoning: Implementing New Responses for Human Security and Wellbeing
- Ms. Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Mr. Khalid Ali, Managing Director for the Proximate Fund of Sudan
- Ms. Anna af Ugglas, Chief Executive, International Confederation of Midwives
- Mr. Mikko Ollikainen, Head, The Adaptation Fund
Synthesis & Closing
Breakfast & Informal Conversations
Co-hosts
