Brutal heatwave spurs leaders to action at climate resilience finance summit
Records were broken inside and outside the 2026 London Climate Resilience Finance Summit as leaders gathered to focus on how effective finance can be supercharged for climate resilience.
IIED executive director Tom Mitchell; the Rt Hon. Baroness Chapman of Darlington; H.E. Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Finance and Treasury for the Republic of Türkiye; and chief executive officer of the COP32 presidency secretariat office and member of the government of Ethiopia Negusu Aklilu, at the opening plenary of the 2026 summit (Photo: Tariq Chaudry/Corpix Photography)
Over 850 people, from 75 different countries; one goal.
On Britain’s hottest ever June day, IIED brought together ministers, COP presidencies, top insurers and bankers, and civil society leaders to answer the questions: what is holding back investment in climate resilience and what can we do about it?
The second London Climate Resilience Finance Summit proved adapting to climate change is now a primary concern even in the wealthiest countries – though this issue is not new for small island states and low-income nations.
The summit, a flagship event at this year’s London Climate Action Week, sought to identify and remove blockers to investment that may be standing in the way of protecting people and businesses from the effects of extreme weather.
IIED’s commitment to locally led climate adaptation, the rights and needs of low-income communities, and better access to finance for global South countries meant voices representing these agendas were prominent throughout the event.
Ana Toni, the chief of Brazil’s COP30 presidency, said: “We are talking about adaptation in the way we talked about mitigation 15 years ago. We need to move quickly.”
Ministers of the world, unite
The summit opened with ministerial addresses from FCDO’s Baroness Chapman, Mehmet Şimşek of Turkey and Éléonore Caroit of France, plus Negusu Aklilu, from Ethiopia’s COP32 team. All made it clear that building resilience to climate change was, while also a massive business opportunity, simply the sensible and moral thing to do.
“No one should have to choose between economic growth and sustainable development,” said Caroit.
You want detail? We’ve got detail
Amal-Lee Amin of British International Investment praised the “material and granular” discussions that took place, with delegates getting into real detail on tactics to encourage investment.
Many, including Marco Serena from the Private Infrastructure Development Group, Clare Hierons of Laudes Foundation and Alexander Kennedy from Standard Chartered, highlighted that while it’s true that investing in resilience now will stave off future economic loss, that’s not necessarily the kind of compelling story needed to entice the private sector.
For example, climate resilience can also lead to lower insurance premiums, and therefore provide a competitive advantage, the conference heard. “Climate risk is credit risk,” as Valentina Ramirez of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change put it.
When it comes to financing, it’s important to start at the risk and the need at the community level, not the product
– Rory Bruce, global resource development and management director, VisionFund International
Bringing the right people together
A strong mix of people attended this year’s expanded summit, which featured 102 speakers across 19 sessions. Some 326 CEOs or directors were registered, demonstrating IIED’s convening power and the broad appeal of the summit agenda.
Companies and governments had a 14% share of registrations each, with investors and banks at 9%. Philanthropies and multilateral institutions made up 7% and 6% of registrations respectively, while civil society groups and NGOs were the largest contingent, at 27%.
Sponsors
Our sponsors contributed strategic thinking, expertise and financial support at various levels throughout the summit. The summit was sponsored by British International Investment, FloodAction Coalition, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, QCF and Zurich.
