Report on Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals

The Escalating Climate Crisis and its Impact on Human Settlements

Alignment with SDG 11 and SDG 13

Recent data indicates a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters, posing a direct threat to the safety and sustainability of human settlements. This trend directly challenges the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The rising incidence of catastrophic events underscores the urgent need to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards.

• In 2024, the United States experienced the second-highest number of billion-dollar natural disasters on record, following the peak in 2023.
• More than 100 million people across 20 states and Washington, D.C., are in the path of increasingly severe hurricanes.
• The risk of tornadoes has expanded to encompass most of the eastern half of the country.
• Both coastal and river valley regions have seen an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding, as exemplified by the deadly floods in central Texas in July 2025.
• Wildfire activity in 2025 is already higher than average, compounded by predictions of a busy Atlantic hurricane season.

Challenges to Institutional Capacity for Disaster Management

Undermining SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The effectiveness of national disaster preparedness and response is being compromised by significant reductions in funding and staffing for key federal agencies. These institutional weaknesses undermine SDG 16, which calls for effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. The erosion of federal capacity places a greater burden on state and local governments, which may lack the resources to manage large-scale incidents.

• Wildfire Mitigation: Federal programs for proactive forest management, such as thinning and prescribed burns, have been halted due to staffing cutbacks and lack of funds.
• National Weather Service (NOAA): Reductions in force have led to gaps in weather forecasting, diminishing the public’s ability to prepare for extreme weather events like tornadoes and floods.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): The agency faces severe challenges that compromise its ability to fulfill its mission.
  • Funding has been cut for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a key tool for developing flood-resistant infrastructure.
  • The agency has lost a third of its workforce since the start of the year, following a period of being already understaffed.
  • Training programs have been scaled back, and the agency faces a potential budget cut of $646 million, with proposals to phase out the agency entirely after the 2025 hurricane season.

Strategies for Enhancing Resilience at Multiple Scales

Individual and Household Level Actions (Home Hardening)

In the face of systemic challenges, individual action to “harden” homes against specific threats is a critical first step in building resilience. These measures align with SDG 11’s target to reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities and SDG 13’s call to strengthen resilience to climate-related hazards.

1. Wildfire Mitigation: Homeowners can seek free wildfire assessments from local fire departments. Key actions include clearing potential ember traps in eaves and decks, removing “ladder fuels” like oily junipers that allow fire to climb to tree canopies, and replacing flammable fencing that can act as a wick for fire.
2. Hurricane Preparedness: Recommended retrofits include installing impact-resistant doors (especially garage doors), using storm shingles, and adding reinforced roof bracing to help structures withstand high winds.
3. Flood Protection: Measures to protect against water damage include sealing cracks in foundations, elevating electrical boxes and other utilities, and incorporating berms and drains into landscaping to direct water away from the home.

Community and Neighborhood Scale Solutions

While individual efforts are important, risk is often shared at a community level. Landscape-scale problems require landscape-scale solutions, emphasizing the importance of SDG 11 and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Collective action can lead to greater protection and tangible benefits, such as reduced insurance premiums.

• Insurance providers are more likely to recognize mitigation efforts conducted on a neighborhood scale. In 10 states, communities certified as “Firewise” through the National Fire Protection Association are eligible for insurance discounts.
• Experts note that risk is interconnected, as the condition of a neighbor’s property can directly impact one’s own vulnerability.
• Effective regional tools include consistent fire hazard mapping programs and updated building code requirements for new construction, which can significantly reduce risk for entire communities.

A Multi-Layered Approach to Risk Management: The “Swiss Cheese Model”

Integrating Efforts for SDG 11, 13, and 17

A comprehensive approach to disaster risk reduction can be conceptualized using the “Swiss cheese model,” where multiple layers of protection work together to prevent a threat from becoming a catastrophe. This model highlights the necessity of integrating actions across personal, local, and national levels to achieve the resilience targets of SDGs 11, 13, and 17.

• Layer 1: Personal Scale: Includes individual actions such as home hardening and maintaining personal preparedness plans.
• Layer 2: Local and Regional Scale: Encompasses community-wide projects like floodplain mitigation, organized evacuation planning, and robust municipal services.
• Layer 3: National Scale: Relies on federal institutions like FEMA and NOAA to provide critical forecasting, support scientific research, and coordinate resources during and after large-scale disasters.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The Imperative for Strengthening All Layers of Protection

The increasing severity of climate-related disasters necessitates a robust, multi-layered defense system. However, the current weakening of federal institutions (a challenge to SDG 16) shifts a disproportionate amount of responsibility onto individuals and local communities.

• Achieving the targets of SDG 11 and SDG 13 requires a renewed commitment to funding and supporting institutions at all levels, particularly federal agencies tasked with research, preparedness, and response.
• The loss of federal research capacity creates significant gaps in understanding how to build resilience most effectively, hindering future preparedness efforts.
• In the current environment, collective action at the neighborhood and community level becomes more critical than ever. Educating neighbors and implementing community-wide mitigation strategies is a vital pathway to making a meaningful difference in local resilience.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 15: Life on Land
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
  
  Explanation: The article directly addresses this target by discussing the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. It quantifies the impact by mentioning that “deadly May tornadoes… killed at least 27 people” and that 2024 had the “second-most billion-dollar natural disasters ever for the US.” It also highlights the number of people affected, stating that “More than 100 million people across 20 states and Washington, DC, live in the path of the increasingly fierce hurricanes.”
• Target 11.b: By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters…
  
  Explanation: The article emphasizes the need for disaster resilience policies and plans. It discusses FEMA’s “Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, a major tool for building flood-resistant infrastructure,” and the importance of “building code requirements for new construction” to reduce risk. The concept of the “Swiss cheese model of risk assessment” is presented as a form of holistic disaster risk management, involving layers of protection from personal to federal levels.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
  
  Explanation: This is a central theme of the article. It details numerous strategies to strengthen resilience, such as “home hardening” (installing impact-resistant doors, storm shingles, sealing foundations), community-level actions like the “Firewise” program, and individual preparedness through risk assessment using tools like “FEMA’s National Risk Index.” The entire article is a query into what individuals and communities can do to adapt to the increasing threat of climate-related disasters.
• Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
  
  Explanation: The article highlights the importance of education and early warning. It mentions the role of the “National Weather Service” in forecasting, noting that cutbacks have led to “gaps in forecasting, which makes it harder for the public to plan for extreme weather events.” It also emphasizes education at the community level, quoting a specialist who says that when agencies are spread thin, “education shared among neighbors” becomes critically important.

SDG 15: Life on Land

• Target 15.2: By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.
  
  Explanation: The article connects sustainable forest management directly to disaster mitigation. It mentions that “Federal programs for wildfire mitigation, proactive work like thinning forests and conducting prescribed burns, which help prevent large scale fires, have been halted.” This directly refers to sustainable management practices aimed at reducing the fuel load for wildfires and protecting ecosystems and human settlements.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
  
  Explanation: The article critically examines the effectiveness of key federal institutions. It reports that FEMA, “the agency explicitly tasked with disaster relief is shrinking,” having “lost a third of its workforce” and facing a potential loss of “$646 million in funding.” Similarly, it notes that “cutbacks to the National Weather Service, through reductions in force at NOAA,” have undermined its forecasting ability. This erosion of institutional capacity directly impacts the government’s ability to prepare for and respond to disasters effectively.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships…
  
  Explanation: The article underscores the necessity of multi-level partnerships. The “Swiss cheese model” is used as a metaphor for this, involving “personal scale… local and regional projects… to federal tools.” It highlights the collaboration between local fire departments providing “free wildfire assessments” and homeowners, and the success of community-scale programs like “Firewise” which can lead to insurance discounts, demonstrating a partnership between communities and the insurance industry.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Indicators for SDG 11

• Indicator for Target 11.5: Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population.
  
  Explanation: The article provides specific data points, such as the “deadly May tornadoes, which killed at least 27 people” and the “more than 100 million people” living in hurricane paths.
• Indicator for Target 11.5: Direct economic loss in relation to global GDP, including disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services.
  
  Explanation: The article mentions that “2024 held the second-most billion-dollar natural disasters ever for the US,” which is a direct measure of economic loss from disasters.

Indicators for SDG 13

• Indicator for Target 13.1: Number of countries that have communicated the establishment or operationalization of an integrated policy/strategy/plan which increases their ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, and to foster climate resilience…
  
  Explanation: The article implies this indicator by discussing the existence (and subsequent defunding) of national strategies like FEMA’s “Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program” and community-level strategies like the “Firewise” certification program.
• Indicator for Target 13.3: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula.
  
  Explanation: While not about school curricula, the article points to public education and early warning systems. The mention of “gaps in forecasting” due to cuts at the National Weather Service implies a weakening of early warning capacity, a key metric for this target. The availability of tools like “FEMA’s National Risk Index” is an indicator of public access to risk information.

Indicators for SDG 15

• Indicator for Target 15.2: Progress towards sustainable forest management.
  
  Explanation: The article implies a negative trend for this indicator by stating that “Federal programs for wildfire mitigation, proactive work like thinning forests and conducting prescribed burns… have been halted due to staffing cutbacks and lack of funds.” The status of these programs serves as a direct measure of progress.

Indicators for SDG 16

• Indicator for Target 16.6: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget.
  
  Explanation: The article provides specific figures on budget cuts, noting FEMA “stands to lose $646 million in funding.” This directly relates to government expenditure and institutional capacity. It also mentions that President Trump “plans to phase out FEMA,” indicating a complete halt in expenditure.
• Implied Indicator for Target 16.6: Institutional workforce capacity.
  
  Explanation: The article provides clear metrics for this, stating FEMA has “lost a third of its workforce” and that there have been “reductions in force at NOAA.” These staffing numbers are a direct indicator of institutional strength and effectiveness.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: motherjones.com